I am a triathlete! I love this sport. I love everything about it and I am really starting to enjoy racing. When I started this journey to IRONMAN last year, I had a full schedule of racing including 2 marathons, 4 Olympics and 1 Half IRONMAN to get me to IRONMAN. I just did the last race on that list and am now staring down the barrel of my A Race. I AM SO EXCITED. I made it through the Summer, I made it through all my pre races.............its time!!! BUT......
First let me tell you about the Lifetime Tempe Tri Olympic. I think I have decided that the Olympic distance is the perfect distance to keep your nerves in check and to be a little more bold in your speed strategy. Coach let me fly on this one and told me to run it how I felt. I went into the race ready to go fast. Now.....my fast is much slower these days due to heavy endurance training, but it was really fun to feel like I didn't need to hold back.
The Lifetime TRI Tempe is notoriously hot. So many people were worried about the heat. I will have to say....that was last on my list. Heat doesn't phase me anymore. Its all about how you handle it. I got all set up, racked my bike and then got ready to race!
There is nothing more awesome than racing with friends. Rosario and Christina are two amazing triathletes and it was a blast to have a dance party with them and a few others while we waited for our wave to start.
The swim was great. Tempe Town Lake is not awesome.........its a man made lake in Arizona, but I easily managed the crowd while staying right on course with a steady pace. I popped out of the water right around 42 minutes and headed to transition.
I must say that there is nothing more life giving and motivating than seeing my children throughout the race. Lily and Evie were right out by the bike start and before I even got on my bike I just had to stop for some kisses. They won't really get to do that much come IRONMAN day with all the security and safety so it was fun to pause and get some love. I do this for me.....I do this for them.
The bike course was fun and challenging because it had many turns and was done in 2 loops. You had to be paying attention all the time! I simply had a blast on the bike course and could not help but smile every time I saw a camera. Plus, I looked pretty Bad Ass in my aero helmet. I didn't put my race wheels on for this race, but come IRONMAN I am gonna look pretty cool :)
Meanwhile, my support crew did what they do best, CHEERED.....and played. They are the best cheerleaders and love being out in the race environment. Once they got their balloon clappers they were set for the whole morning. I am so grateful for these 3. This journey wouldn't be possible without them and wouldn't be worth doing without them being a part.
I got off the bike having left some time out there. I still don't know how much to push on the bike and I don't ever want to crash the run. I did it right because I came off the bike flying on the run. I finished the entire 6 miles running 8-minute miles the whole time. I felt great, had fueled right and flew across the finish line feeling on cloud 9. Yes, I was ready to be done, but I felt great!
I walked to the team tent with this weird surreal thought. "The next time I cross a finish line I will be an IRONMAN." WOWZA. Tempe TRI was amazing and a perfect way to cap off my pre IRONMAN race schedule. The final push to IM is upon me and I am all in!
No comments:
Post a Comment