First race of 2019 is in the books!

Last Sunday was my first triathlon of 2019. As an endurance machine, going short + fast was SO HARD, but it was OH SO MUCH FUN!! This was my first opportunity to #explore and see what I was truly capable of in 2019!!

Negatives:
-Lots of time spent waiting…waiting for other athletes in my wave to finish, so we could go on to the next leg of the triathlon. Waiting for the people in the wave before us to finish the leg they were on so we could go on to the next one.
-Not being able to ride Mojo…those stationary bikes are NOT comfortable!! I really missed my gurl!!
-My race didn’t start until noon. In my opinion there was too much time to wait for the race start.

Positives:
-The triathlon was INDOORS in Iowa in January!! So much warmer than my Ironman Louisville experience in October.
-I got to sleep in my own bed and arrive to the race start right before it started because…small, local race.
-I needed less gear (no wetsuit, helmet, race belt, etc.)!!
-There was no contact during the swim because we split lanes with only one other athlete.
-There was music playing during the bike ride to keep us motivated and distracted from the “pain” we were inflicting on ourselves.
-There were only 10 people in my wave, so I didn’t have much traffic to dodge during the run.
-Part of my tribe was able to come out and cheer me on as I pushed my limits.
-Going short + fast means the “pain” ends much sooner than an all day Ironman event.

Notice there are so many more positives than negatives for this event! This may have to become an annual event on my calendar!!

Doesn’t everyone shovel snow to “warm up” before their triathlon?! Oh wait…this is actually the first triathlon I’ve ever done where I’ve WARMED UP with SNOW! We had to shovel out to get to the race…

Focus…Today is going to be tough, but I’M READY to push myself to new limits!

Goal swim was sub 8:30 for the 500 yards. Actual swim time was 8:06 (1:37/100 yards)…BOOM!!

This stationary bike was so not fit for me, but 8 miles…that’s all I had to tough it out for. I missed Mojo SO MUCH!! That gurl and I have a bond…she gets me!! Actual bike time was 25:55 (average speed = 18.5 mph)…BOOM!!

Onto the run…running 16 laps on an indoor track isn’t easy…hence the ugly grimace.

Finally…done and I can honestly say that was the toughest race I’ve had. I pushed myself into a state I’ve never been in before. Actual run time was 16:02 for 2 miles (average pace = 8:01 min/mile)…BOOM!!

Overall finish time was 50:03 for 2nd place in my age group!!

Podium finish is a great way to start 2019!!

A free massage post race was much needed!! #grateful

So grateful to have some of my tribe coming to cheer me on…even though it was snowing!!

Cheer squad!! #grateful

What a great way to start off my 2019 season!! Let’s keep this momentum going throughout 2019!!