What a difference a group of amazing princesses can make!

I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE LOOOOONG BLOG POST, BUT I REALLY WANT TO DO JUSTICE TO THIS JOURNEY!!!

Early this year, I found myself working out at the Pro Clubs in the morning doing my usual indoor cycling, group fitness weight training and treadmill/elliptical trainer work. I would always see this woman (Jessica) in the cycling classes. She would be coming from a swim in the pool, and discussing the treadmill work she’d be doing after the cycling class that day.

I was in complete awe of what she was doing, and never imagined that I would be joining her workouts, let alone calling her a great friend. Six months later I found myself running a half marathon with her, and one month after that (today), my first Triathlon.

Jessica would run outdoors on some mornings with another woman from the club (Nancy). One morning I got up the courage to ask them if they’d mind if I joined them on their run. I was scared! First, these women were dedicated… never had my workout partners stuck to more than 2 weeks of morning workouts, and I had already seen these women almost every morning for over a month. Second, I was really worried that I would not be able to keep pace with women that had clearly gotten into a consistent running routine. I had gained 15 lbs very quickly after joining Microsoft, and wasn’t in as good of shape as I had been a year before.

These women were so enthusiastic about having another running partner crazy enough to join them on a regular 5 am run! I think it was an added benefit, because if one of us could not make it, the others were not stuck running along on a treadmill. Regardless, my fitness improved and self confidence skyrocketed. I bought my first heart rate monitor, and quickly fell in love with running (which I would do in the past but never REALLY enjoyed). Jess had me excited about getting a new road bike (I had left my old Miele on the East coast), and thinking about a half marathon and triathlon.

About a year before I moved to the West coast, I had done a Duathlon and my first 10 km race back home. Never did I imagine that I could actually run a half marathon! Though swimming had been my first sport and one that I naturally fell into when I was a toddler (thanks to MY MOM), I did not think I would be competing in a Triathlon! After meeting Jess and Nancy, it quickly became not if, but how soon. J

My regular workouts soon included another beautifully inspiring woman, Regan, and her coach/Jess’ good friend, Danielle. My focus quickly moved away from losing weight and fitting into those skinny jeans, to fueling my body for the next big workout, and training for that next big race. What a relief, to finally enjoy food and exercise for the joy it brings to my life, rather than the inches it would take off my body. It really was like I was waiting to exhale, and these women allowed me to do just that.

So, the four of us, the tri princesses, found ourselves at the Danskin together today. Just as my blog post from yesterday predicted, we all kicked ass! Jess had a fantastic day, crushing her PR and finishing in the top 2% in her age group! Regan, who’s goal was to finish in under 2 hours, crushed that time with a 1:51 Danskin. As for me, this is how it went… and I’ll keep it short since I blogged so much about the history behind getting to today.

Before the race, I found myself alone at the start line with Danielle for a few minutes. I started to get nervous, and like the amazing coach that she is, she walked me through my entire day. It was invaluable, I found myself listening to her voice at each step of the way. I knew what to expect, and as a result make very few mistakes.

Overall
Goal – 1:30
Actual – 1:28:06
255/3965 overall = top 6%
34/268 in my age group = top 13%

Swim (0.75 km)
Goal – 15 minutes (I don’t know why I had such an aggressive goal, especially since I planned to swim without a wetsuit in much choppier water for the first time with 100 women in the pack).
Actual – 16:27
432/3965 = top 11%

I don’t know that I’ll do another triathlon, regardless of how short the swim is, without a wetsuit. Danielle had me start at the front of the pack because I am very comfortable in the swim. What an experience though, trying to get out in front of the pack with women grabbing onto your legs, and elbowing you in the ribs and head. The swim out to the first buoy was exhausting, and it was impossible to catch a breath. Once I got around the first buoy, I rolled onto my back and was able to get some good breath in my backstroke. This was a good strategy because I was fast and passed a number of women at this point. I was finally able to get back into freestyle and into my regular breathing pattern (every 3 strokes). There were areas that got very busy and choppy where I had to get in a breath every two strokes, but I found myself passing lots and lots of women into the first transition area.

T1
Goal – 2:30
Actual – 2:59

I was expecting to get a huge head rush and leg pain coming out of the water. But I felt better than ever, and ran past tons of women on my way to my bike. Similar to Jess, we were way at the back and I think this affected my transition time. I listened to Jess and Danielle’s advice in T1, and got all of my gear on very quickly.

Bike (20 km)
Goal – 45:00
Actual – 37:30 (Crushed my bike goal!)
Ave Velocity – 19.8 miles per hour!!!
190/3965 = top 5%

I had a GREAT bike today. I had two water bottles with me, one with Nuun to replenish my sodium and potassium (to prevent cramping) and another with plain water. A minute into the bike I picked up the water with Nuun, got a drink and dropped the bottle when I was putting it back in the cage. I yelled some obscenity but kept going. I didn’t want to stop, and I did have another bottle with plain water. The bike felt great, I had never been so comfortable in my aero bars. It all just came together today.

T2
Goal – 2:30
Actual – 1:57

T2 just felt right. I got in, racked my bike and replace my helmet with my hat. I got my shoes on quick, put on my race best with race number and picked up my Gu (for Mom, this is just a gel packet that gives you energy). I got the Gu down coming out of transition and ran towards the first water station on the run course to get the Gu down.

Run (5 km)
Goal – 30:00
Actual – 29:11
9:24 min/mile
874/3965 = top 22%

The run was the most crushing part of my day. Though I beat my goal, I really felt like I could have done much better because I had the fuel in the tank. I barely felt out of breath on the entire run, but couldn’t push through the pain in my calves, feet and Achilles. A part of this I would contribute to dropping the Nuun on the bike ride and not replenishing the sodium and potassium. I think the biggest part is that my bike shoes do not have orthotics, and my running shoes do. So when I move from the bike to put on the running shoes, the pressure in the arch of my foot throws everything out of wack. I have never felt such bad pain in my lower legs, not even when it was at my worst in soccer cleats pre-orthodics. I actually had to stop at the 1 and 2 mile markers to stretch, which was even more painful than just running. And the kicker, I had to walk up part of the hill… I normally push the hills, so this was completely heartbreaking.

That being said, I was determined to come in under 1:30 and just pushed through the last part down the shoot to the finish… and it felt amazing finally crossing. The first thing I heard as I came across was Jess yelling my name, she was RIGHT THERE. It meant so much to me, and I was thrilled by her amazing finish. It felt just perfect, because of all of my workout partners, I have worked out with Jess the most. She is the one that says, “oh no, it’s not that you can do it, it’s that you WILL do it BECAUSE you can do it”. And she was right, right with the half marathon, and right with this Triathlon. She also thinks that I can do the marathon in November, and the half iron man in June. And for me, there is no going back now. Bring it on!