Race Report: Grand Haven Sprint Triathlon

I know, I know.  I said I would write this post on Monday.  I've been a busy girl celebrating my mom's 50th birthday and going back to work after vacation (so much catching up to do!).

So let's get to it.

My transition area

Right before the start of the race

The weather couldn't have been anymore perfect on the day of the race.  I woke up early, ate my breakfast and hit the road for the drive to Grand Haven.  On the way up there, I started freaking out listened to some of my jams and enjoyed the beautiful sunrise.  I found a parking spot close to the YMCA and walked my bike over to the transition area to get it set up.  The transition area wasn't as crazy busy as I had expected and it was easy to find a spot.  I didn't really pay attention though, I racked my bike the furthest rack from the bike in/out- that's what I get for being a newbie!  After racking my bike, I got numbered (318, should have been 319...that's my birthday!) and headed down to the beach for the swim start.

The walk from the YMCA (where the transition area is) to the beach was about 1/2 mile.  I would have to walk/jog/run? back to the Y after the swim.  Some people brought proper shoes (ie-not flip flops like me) and left them on the rocks along the boardwalk to put on after the swim.  I hadn't thought about that until the last minute and didn't realize that so many other people did that.  Looking back on the experience, it is definitely something I should have done.

I got down to the beach and stood in the crowd all by myself.  Some people were warming up in the water and I debated on whether I should or not.  I decided not to since I overheard others saying that it was pretty cold.  I decided it would be better to just be shocked right away at the start so I wouldn't be hesitant about getting in.  My family met up with me and wished me off.  I lined up with the other females for the sprint race as the announcer counted down.

At the end of the countdown we rushed into the water for the swim.  I plowed my way through the water (it was cold!) until it was about mid-thigh deep and then jumped in to swim.  Plowing through the water from the beach had really gotten my heart rate up and between that and nerves I just wasn't able to get into a good rhythm for the swim.  Everytime I tried to breathe in/out of the water, I just ended up swallowing water or getting it up my nose.  So I swam about 2/3 of the swim with my head out of the water, which is very inefficient.  Finally, I got into a rhythm and finished the swim and headed up the beach and boardwalk to the YMCA.

Exiting the water...I'm the one in the black/pink/white tri suit.

I really did not enjoy the 1/2 mile jaunt back to the YMCA.  I ended up just going barefoot because I knew that would be faster than trying to jog in flip flops.  The worst part about this is that it really sucked up a lot of my energy.  Once I got to the transition area I quickly put on my cycling shoes, helmet, and sunglasses and shoved an energy gel into my tri suit.  I grabbed my bike and out I went onto the course.

I was nervous about bike riding only because I didn't want to get a penalty for anything.  But as it turns out, there weren't as many people "policing" the course as I expected and they seemed to be a little more leinient than the rules had suggested.  The bike portion went well.  I didn't have the speed I would have like to have, but I felt good because I passed more people than who passed me (does that make sense?).  As expected, the bike portion of the race was by far my favorite.

Coming back to the YMCA after the bike portion.

I racked my bike, switched my shoes, and was off for the run.

Heading out on the run.

I'm not sure why, but the run felt like the longest 3.1 miles of my whole life.  Maybe it had to do with the course, or maybe it had to do with all my energy being zapped up earlier, but it was not enjoyable.  I had to stop and walk a few times because I had a cramp in my side and I was just running really slow.  I definitely did not enjoy the run and just wanted it to be over.  The worst part was that at the very end, there was a huge hill you had to run up to get back to the YMCA.  Who designed the course like that?  I don't think that's very smart!

Despite not enjoying the run, I pushed myself and did end up finishing the race.  It was such a cool feeling to hear them call out my name as I crossed the finish line and there were so many people cheering.

Here's I fared compared to the others in my age group...

I didn't do quite as  well as I had hoped, but I was happy to at least not come in last!  The swim time includes the 1/2 mile jaunt back to the YMCA.  I was out of the water in about 12-13 minutes despite not swimming as well as I wanted to.  I wish my bike time had been a little bit faster, but it was a wee bit windy.  And the run....just ugly.  Let's not talk about that.  ;)

Anywho, that's really it for the race report.  I am so happy and proud to have finished the race in one piece.  I definitely want to do another sprint triathlon this fall.  My goal is to find one without a weird 1/2 mile run to the transition area after the swim!