Heck, yeah, I raced ... and it was awesome

Through a series of injuries and intense workload at the office the last year, I've had little time to train or race for a longer distance triathlon.

In fact, I should not have even raced Saturday.

But that sense of invincibility that plagues (er, benefits) us in our youth, reappeared and kept whispering to me, "Eh, it's just a two-mile run. How bad could it be?"

As it turns out, about as bad as I thought, but I'm getting ahead of the story.

At the last minute, I registered for the inaugural (there is no such thing as "first annual," folks) Giant Eagle Multisport Festival's Tri for the Cure at Alum Creek State Park in Columbus, Ohio. This park is the scene of my first triathlon just three short years ago, and holds a very dear place in my heart.

The distances would be very short, and I was ready to give it my all.

With a 250-yard open water swim, 77-degree water temperatures and the best time trial start to which I've been witness, I was down-right eager to get started and to push myself harder than before.

Harder than before ended up meaning just under eight minutes to finish the swim, but as I was recalling those waters three years ago, when I was backstroking and wearing noseplugs, wondering how on earth I'd ever make it to the end, eight minutes for me is standing ovation-worthy.

The seven-mile bike was a lovely course winding us through a perky, well-to-do residential neighborhood and I felt pretty strong most of the ride. I even passed a couple people going up the one and only hill at the end. I told my husband and photographer, Gary, before the race, "I should be done in about 30 minutes." With 29:48 on my HRM coming up on T2, I was spot-on with my prediction.

My legs were heavy, of course, having just come from the bike, so I took it a little easy starting out on the run. Luckily, that feeling was sustained only briefly and I was able to increase my pace.

I was, however, dismayed to see that midway through, part of the run would take place in the grass.

You see, my latest injury has involved my feet and I knew that the rocking on the uneven ground would likely produce pain greater than I had gambled on.

The truth is, after an x-ray revealed no bones were broken, I had been taking it easy - even wearing running shoes to a business casual work environment - as I had been saving up my physical health capital for this race in case I decided to participate at the last minute ... which I clearly did.

So, I was prepared to expend a little of that capital, but that grass run emptied out the bank account slightly more than I'd anticipated.

My main goal for participating in this race trumped my concerns about my feet in the hopes that it would yield a capital gain of another sort: my mental health capital.

Because it's been a year since I've competed in a triathlon - I did manage to squeeze out my first half marathon in October 2010 and run the Flying Pig Half Mary this May - with each passing day I was watching the 2011 tri season pass me by.

Friends were posting race reports online, showing race-day pictures and sharing personal bests. All while I sat on my rear and ate hamburgers and cookies. This is not usually an issue when I'm training, but those calories certainly add up when I'm not.

Frankly, it was depressing.

I needed to get in to the game - albeit briefly - to feel like my old, slow triathlon self again.

However much I may have hurt physically, I more than doubled in feeling good again. It was well worth the trade-off.

Just look at this last photo! This girl couldn't have had a better day ... and my feet are feeling better now, too. All truly is well.

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I came in 86/168 overall with a time of 58:08, ranked 142/168 on the 250-yard swim with a time of 7:54, ranked 77/168 on the seven-mile bike with a time of 29:48 and ranked 74/168 on the two-mile run with a time of 17:01.

Just under 600 isn't too shabby

You win some, you lose some. In my case, the scales tip toward the losing side when it comes to racing.

However, they easily tip toward the winning side when it comes to stepping out the front door, trying something new and roughing it out in a new challenge.

I ran my first half marathon Sunday, a challenge I assumed I would undertake someday as I've crept into the welcoming world of triathlons and endurance running. I had no idea that it would would be so much fun, though!

I had two goals: 1) to finish the race and 2) to come in around 2:45. I met my first goal and came in at 2:48 so I consider goal #2 met.

I placed 7360/7944 overall and came in 695/752 in my age group. I placed above 584 people, but we all still won over those who never started. Great job, fellow half-marathoners!

I got there 1.5 hours early, taking a 15-minute nap before walking the eight blocks to the start line. Where I parked put me right by the finish line. I figured it would be easier to walk eight blocks before the race than after the race. I was actually able to reserve a parking spot online the night before so that was a very nice option to have.

They had us separated into four separate corrals based on time. I was in corral three. It took five minutes to reach the timing mat after the gun went off.

What a fun start. I was surrounded by not a few dozen people like in a triathlon, but by 15 thousand people. There existed both an energy and a solace that I found in that moment.

I had been concerned about a pulled muscle behind my knee that's been giving me pause the last couple weeks, a strain in the ball of my feet and about my hamstrings and glutes really cramping up toward the end.

I never suffered the first two and my hamstrings and glutes didn't wait until the end to start hurting. I would say that happened around mile 2! Mile 2! They did get a little worse toward the middle of the race, then the pain stabilized for several miles, only escalating the last couple miles.

I figured I could run slowly with the pain or quicken my pace and allow the music to help with that. I chose the latter...and it was fun starting to pass people.

I had to stop and stretch at least 10 times to help with the soreness, though. I would say that added a good five minutes to my time.

I was very proud that I didn't walk hardly at all. The only times I walked were when I was grabbing a drink from my Fuel Belt and I did walk two to three minutes of mile 11 as my legs started hurting more and as I prepared to quicken back up for miles 12 and 13.

They didn't have markers at every mile and I'm so glad of that, or at least none that I could see. It would have been depressing if I had. (Yes, I'm the girl on the treadmill who covers the clock with her towel.) I was just a little more than an hour into it and, given my pace up to that point, figured I'd be coming up on mile 6 soon. The next mile marker read "Mile 5". Mile 5? Are you kidding me? I was excited about being almost halfway there. That sucked.

However, later on I figured I was coming up on mile 8 and the next mile marker read "Mile 9" so it balanced out.

As I finished mile 11 and embarked upon mile 12, that officially became the longest run of my life. I'd only gone 11 miles in training and it had only been once.

I flipped through my iPod to find some fast songs to help get me through the last bit. I couldn't believe that in a few minutes I was going to have completed a half marathon!

There had been live bands stationed all throughout the race and hundreds of spectators stood by to cheer us on. I didn't know any of them. It didn't matter.

When I got to that last say quarter or half mile, there must have been thousands of people along that finish section. That was super, super energizing. I picked up my pace and starting passing people, realizing that each of those people just a few steps in front of me would turn into numbers in the final results that I'd rather see behind not in front of me.

I crossed the finish line and I officially became a half-marathoner. There were several individuals handing out the finishers' medals. I chose the guy wearing military clothing to hand me my medal, just so I could thank him for his service.

The run is usually my best in a triathlon, so I'm a little disappointed that I was a complete BOPer, but I've slowed down with my pace quite a bit this year for some reason.

However, as a friend reminded me, there are fewer triathletes in the world than runners, so I'm choosing to take that to the bank. Thanks for those words, Alice.

Also, I just finished a half marathon and ran the entire thing. I'm going to give myself a break.

What a production! That event was a massive, massive undertaking and these guys were on the ball. I can't wait for next year! I'd had a question about packet pickup about a week before race day. I e-mailed the coordinator and the RD actually e-mailed me back...within a couple hours. Very impressive.

I suppose I can stick that 13.1 sticker on the back of my truck now. In the meantime, I'll just stick it here.

A Montana sky over a Buckeye lake

They say a Montana sky can change at the drop of a hat...but I live in Ohio!

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The tiny ripples in the water glistened underneath the rising sun. An easy breeze blew off the sandy shore.

It was Sunday morning and the day of the inaugural TREK Women's Triathlon in Ohio at Buckeye Lake.

It would be a day that would go down in history as my favorite open water swim in a triathlon. The water temperature was perfect (80), there was no chop and - a smart, smart move on the RD's part - there were several minutes spaced between waves, giving those of us who are slower less of a chance to have to fight off more people as they caught up with us.

Though it had started out sunny and beautiful, it began becoming somewhat overcast by the time I had gotten to mile seven or eight on the bike... and then I felt it. A wet drop on the skin of my arm. "Please, Lord, hold off on that rain. Please, please!"

I didn't mind racing in the rain, but I was very worried about my bags in Transition that contained my cell phone and camera getting soaked through and frying my digital livelihood.

When I got to Transition 2, I just re-situated my belongings, threw an already wet towel over top it all, continued to pray and started my run.

The Lord was clearly answering my prayers with a no. The rain was absolutely not letting up. Acquiescing to the reality that I had done all I could do under the circumstances to protect my electronics, I made the decision to let it go.

I was, at this point, completely soaked, my clothes and ball cap utterly saturated with what had been falling from the sky. So instead of avoiding the water puddles on my route, I jumped in them! What an opportunity to have some extra fun!

I finished my race, passing several women at the very end and was so proud I'd finished another triathlon.

I grabbed my belongings, ate a couple peanut butter sandwiches under a tent and walked the one mile trek back to my truck - in the pouring rain.

Ten minutes later, as I was driving west, the rain suddenly stopped and the blue sky reappeared.

Of course it did.

Miami University Student Foundation Sprint Triathlon - 4/18/09

PRE-RACE
Packet pick-up started at 6:00 a.m. I was there at 5:30, just to make sure that I'd have time to 1) find the place, 2) get a good parking space by the Transition Area and 3) have extra time in general. (That's me at the table in the white ballcap on the left.)

I went to pick-up my packet and only had to wait 5 minutes. The only race number they were giving out was a wrist band to wear for all three events. I thought this was unusual, but I was grateful that I didn't have to pin anything to my tri top.

I set-up in Transition, getting the spot closest to the aisle. The early bird gets the worm. I found a couple friends from the tri club and hung out with them for a few minutes.

I put on my swim cap and goggles, took off my shoes and all clothes but my trisuit and bolted for the rec center entrance. It was in the upper thirties and my feet were freezing against the sidewalk underneath them.

I then spotted the folks from Beginner Triathlete (BT) poolside, and we all chatted until numbers started getting called. (That's me in the gray swim cap on the left below.)

THE SWIM
COURSE
This was a 50 meter indoor pool. You started at one end, swam that lane to the end, touched the wall, swam under the lane rope into the next lane and repeated this seven times. The lanes were very wide.

COMMENTS
This was my first indoor pool swim. This was also my first tri without noseclips, and I'm proud to say not having them caused me no problems.

When I first got in, I had a shock because the water was so cold. After a few seconds I adjusted and got in my groove. During the second set of 50, doubt started creeping in, though it was just for one second, as I started to imagine how "far" away the end was.

I immediately told myself, "Oh, good grief, Lora. You swim this distance ALL the time in practice. SHUT UP!" That seemed to work.

There wasn't a lot of backlog at the lanes and I managed to swim underneath the ropes with no problems. Almost at the end, I was right behind two breaststrokers who were (unintentionally) bottle-necking the lane, and I was dying to pass them. Luckily, I was able to do that at the last 50 and made up for some lost time then.

I can't decide if I'm disappointed with my time or not. I typically do this distance in 10 or 11 minutes. However, when you consider that I was swimming with other people, had to slow down at times for them and that I had difficulty climbing out of the pool, I guess it's OK.

However, this was by far my best time/pace in the swim portion of a tri. Yeah. I'm going to choose to rejoice.

RESULTS
437 yards in 12 minutes, 58 seconds.

THE BIKE
COURSE
The beginning few miles were a little graded and had some rolling hills, but were decent. There were two huge mountains on the course and many people walked them. After and in between the mountains were some long, medium grade areas that were really tough. The ending 2 miles were flat.

COMMENTS
I had been warned about a very big hill on the course, but when I saw it, I kept on telling myself to wake-up because surely I must've been in the middle of a nightmare. I never woke up.

I was able to bike about one-third of it, but had to resign myself and join the rest of the folks (everybody) who were walking it.

At the bottom of yet another giant hill, there was a volunteer and a law enforcement guy. The volunteer shouted, "On the outside of the cones." I thought, "OK," and I did stay on the outside...but apparently for only one set of cones. I passed the law enforcement guy and he kindly said, "Oops, you didn't go on the outside of THESE cones."
Having now lost any momentum to help me initially up the hill, I slowed down to look at him. He said, "Oh, that's OK. Don't worry about it." I thought to myself: "Grr. NOW you tell me."

There were several areas where the course had a long, steady, tough grade. I kept my head down so I couldn't see the end of the grade so I wouldn't get discouraged by how much longer it was. I just biked to get through each moment. That really helped.

Several people passed me, but I also did my fair share of passing. Though the hills slowed me down significantly, I did have my best time on a 20K bike in a tri.

RESULTS
12.75 miles in 56 minutes.

THE RUN
COURSE
A very, very flat run through campus with several turns.
COMMENTS
When I run at home, I train on hills. That's just the landscape the good Lord's put at my door. I'm sure nobody will believe me, but I'm slower on flats than I am on hills and this showed in my time.
Because I hadn't stretched before the race, I had to stop three times to stretch my calves, which, of course, added to my time.
I feel safe in saying that I'm disappointed with my run time. I also could have pushed much more towards the end, but I didn't. Definitely some lessons learned here.
As I took off for and came back from the run, I passed some members of my tri club and some members from BT. Both groups were cheering me on which was so very cool.

RESULTS
3.1 miles in 33 minutes and 36 seconds.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
The timing company the racing company recently hired lost several participants' splits. They got the overall times for everyone, but most people never knew how they did in each event. I was one of the lucky ones.
I did come in 498/588 overall and 49/57 in my age group with a time of 1:45:44. This is huge considering that in my first tri I came in 207/217 overall and 40/42 in my age group. At the next tri, I came in 195/197 overall and 23/23 in my age group.
I had debated whether or not I wanted to even do this tri. I'm really glad that I did. It was a great event to gauge how my training has (or hasn't) paid off during the off-season.

My 5K Report

There were approximately 400 competitors at my 5K yesterday. It was at the University of Dayton and a lot of the runners were college students and parents.

I assumed that parts of this course would be hilly because UD sits on top of a hill, but I was surprised by just how many were. There were very few, if any, flat areas.

All of my training on hills these past few months paid off yesterday. Besides stopping for a sip of water once, I did not have to stop and walk because it was too tough.

I finished it in 31:17. I wanted to come in under 30 minutes, but given how much the course was graded, I'm not disappointed.

I decide to stick around for the awards, something I didn't do in my 2 triathlons because I KNEW I was in the back of the pack. They were only announcing first place winners overall and within age groups, so I knew I wouldn't place first and, therefore, not get any award. But I was enjoying my Panera Bread cinnamon bagel and had nowhere else to be.

They got to my age group and announced the first place male. Then they announced the first place female and - it was ME!

My prize? I got a really nice red UD baseball cap and a sweet way to end my 2008 racing season.

The Toyota Challenge Triathlon

I completed my second triathlon Sunday, the 14th. What a day!

The Swim (.6 mile)

I was really nervous about the swim. Gary was with me on the shoreline and he noticed my unusual broodiness. He said, "Honey, if you're dreading this and it's not fun for you, don't do it. If it is fun, go out there and have fun." That advice would help me later on.

Waiting to start the swim.

It just seems to take me a few minutes to find a good groove. I was hoping that warming up beforehand would help but it didn't. I did the final and third wave of the Sprint race. It was an all female wave. By the time I just started to find my groove, the girls were many yards ahead of me.

A minute or so later, I heard splashing behind me and it was the men from the Mini (Olympic distance race) heading my way. "Crap!" I told myself. I knew there'd be no way I was going to swim fast enough to get out of their way without killing my groove and running completely out of breath, so I decided to just keep swimming and just kind of tread until they got out of my way.

My biggest, biggest fear about going into the swim was getting bumped and kicked to death - literally - but it wasn't that bad. (I may have bumped into someone once during my first tri.) I did get bumped a lot, but no one kicked or hit me hard. Now that I've endured that, I won't be as afraid of the swim next time.

Compared to my first race where I had the guidance of another competitor throughout the swim, I was completely on my own. That was really okay this time. I was ready for this. I wanted to be left alone.

I didn't even try to take the standard advice to "just swim to the next bouy." I was just enjoying the fact that I was swimming - really swimming - and that it was a pleasurable experience. I was just going to "have fun." Before I knew it, I was almost at the final turn before the turnback.

(I came in 197/197 on the swim).

Me on the left approaching the last bouy.

Coming out of the water.

THE BIKE (12 miles)

Leaving Transition Area to bike.

The headwind on the bike was a beast. It was easily 20-30 mph. Later on that night, pretty much the whole state of Ohio's electricity would be out because of winds from Hurricane Ike up to 70 mph. Mother Nature was giving us a taste of what was to come that morning. Thanks for the preview, Mother Nature!

Once I changed directions and the headwind was gone, I went much faster. I kept on getting passed by people doing the Half Ironman. I saw no one from the Sprint. Why should I? I was the last one out of the swim and everyone else was probably done with the bike. Unlike my last race, I passed no one - no one! Three people that passed me told me I was looking good and to keep up the good work, or something along those lines. That was really cool.

(I came in 186/197 on the bike.)

Finishing up the bike.

THE RUN (3.1 miles)

Leaving Transition Area to run.

I'm pretty pleased with my run time against the others. This was my best event as I came in 141 out of 197. I thought I was moving much slower, but my pace was pretty consistent with my training. I was very pleased that the swim and bike didn't wear me out enough to mess with my running pace.

As I was approaching the finish line, there were two guys in front of me who crossed it pretty much the same time. The announcer called their names. I was excited that that would happen for me. Throughout this whole race, you're just a number, a face in the crowd. To be called by name, above all places at the finish line, really helps personalize your accomplishment.

(I came in 141/197 on the run.)

AFTERTHOUGHTS

Me and my finisher's medal.

So, how'd I do? 197 people started the race. Two dropped out after the swim, so technically I came in 195/197! :) This just makes me laugh. For not coming from any of these sports, I'm very pleased. Plus, this is one of the most competitive races of the year from what I hear. I also came in under my goal of 2.5 hours at 2:25:58.

So, while coming in pretty much dead last makes me laugh - for now - I am a competitive person and I'm training today to move up in those rankings!

My First Triathlon

Caution: This video has audio, so adjust your volume.


PRE-EVENT
Gary and I left the house at exactly 3:00 AM. I was one of the first 5 competitors there at 5:00. I'm really glad I got there early because people were still picking up registration packets close to 6:30, when the Transition area closes. This gave me time to get settled in and prepared. I was able to get my race number (number 1, by the way) on my helmet, bike and bike/run shirt. I was one of the first to get body-marked. (They mark your race number on both arms and write your age on the back of your right calf.) I got my timing chip secured and was ready to go. (They velcro a timing chip to your right ankle. As you enter and leave each event, you cross a big mat which records your times from your chip. It's really cool.)

About 6:45 AM, they played the National Anthem. Next, they said a prayer. I couldn't believe it. Good for them.

The wind was blowing quite a bit and I thought for sure the water would be freezing. It actually was not bad at all. This would be the least of my worries...

THE SWIM (.25 mile) (27 minutes)
Numbers 1-30 were the first to go in, so that was me. I got about a minute into it and, despite telling myself not to for months, I panicked. I could not get my breath. I said, "I can't do this, I can't do this." A sweet and confident voice close by replied, "Sure you can, honey. You can swim with me. I'm a slow swimmer. C'mon. You can do this." This older-than-me lady, #22, was a God-send. She was with me and a few others the entire way, letting us know if we were going out too far or in too close.

About halfway through, others were shouting, "We're almost done!" My heart sank because I was thinking, "Shouldn't we BE there NOW?" This was taking forever! I prayed for the Lord to get me through.

Look, I knew I wasn't going to drown. My legs were surprisingly only a little tired and I knew if I just relaxed and took my time I'd get through this. I should have bought some anti-fog stuff for my goggles because they were fogging toward the end, which just added to the helplessness I felt.

As we got close to shore, about 25 minutes later, #22 grabbed my hand and we came out of the water together. Thank God for her! I don't know if I were in her position if I would have been so willing to go so beyond a few words of encouragement and really look after and guide my competitors. I will never, ever, ever forget her kindness. Her selflessness has humbled me beyond words.

Gary was right there on the beach taking my picture as I finished. What a sight for sore eyes. He had been really worried about me because I wasn't with my wave. He would tell me on the drive back that some people had to quit the swim early.

TRANSITION 1 (3 minutes/30 seconds)
This went pretty smoothly, though I'm surprised it took so long.

THE BIKE (12 miles) (1 hour/4 seconds)
Coming from that swim, I had never been more relieved to get on a bike. Very soon into it, I started getting passed. I knew this would happen, especially given that I'm a beginner, but what surprised me the most was that there were still that many people behind me from the swim. I know some started in later waves, but I went really slowly on that swim!

What's great about this sport is that there were women who were bigger than me, and there were women who were older than me passing me. Good for them. Halfway through I was in a position to pass this one lady. I told her, "Good job," etc. She said she was slowing down to wait on a friend. I thought, "Well, of course she is. The one person I'll end up passing is someone who was intentionally going slow!"

The bike training really paid off. I finished this up in just almost exactly an hour. There was a pretty strong head wind the last few miles. The last 3-5 miles, I started passing people who had passed me which was kind of nice. Good for me.

TRANSITION 2 (1 minutes/45 seconds)
This went faster than T1. It felt great to put on my running shoes and ballcap because this meant I'd soon be done.

THE RUN (2 miles) (24 minutes/56 seconds)
My legs were so heavy the first .5 mile, having come off the bike, but they did start to feel lighter eventually. The first and last parts of the run were on a sidewalk. The middle section was through a trail in the woods. There were some seriously big mud puddles I had no choice but to stop running and walk to get around.

Another competitor caught up to me and we walked the last quarter of the first mile. I remembered her from the bike. She was one who had passed me but who I ended up passing at the end. I do regret not running more because it really added a lot of time to my event, but it was nice to relax a few minutes.

When I reached the end of mile 1, I ran the whole second mile back. When I hit the sidewalk part of the run back, a volunteer was there saying, "Just four-tenths of a mile to go." Four-tenths of a mile? That's a snap!

As I was coming around the last bend, the announcer said, "And here comes Lora Abernathy" and some other words I couldn't make out. I was busy looking for Gary and I spotted him. He was standing a few feet in front of the finish line ready to take my pic.

I crossed the finish line and mat and a volunteer took off my timing chip and placed it in a box with the others. The box was pretty full already. :-)

POST-EVENT
Gary and I met on the other side of the finish line and hugged. He said, "I have never been more proud of you." I'm really glad he said that.

I went to the Transition area and just threw all of my stuff in my bag. Gary took my bike and put it in the SUV and I took my bag to check out the preliminary results. At that point, I had come in 39th out of my age group (30-34). Clearly, I hadn't placed in the top 3, so I wasn't going to stick around for the awards.

The final results on the website show that there were 217 competitors and I came in 207. There were 42 in my age group and I came in 40. I did the entire event, including Transition times, in one hour, 57 minutes and 15 seconds. I figured it would take me about 2 hours so I actually came in under my goal. Of course, my true goal was just to finish the thing.

GENERAL COMMENTS
They assigned numbers alphabetically, so that's how I got the number 1. So when people spotted my number they would say, "Hey, number 1" or "Hey, there's number 1. Yay." It was kind of like being an event celebrity. That was the only way that was going to happen unless I'd have been the girl who drowned that day. :-)

This event was extremely well-organized. They had plenty of volunteers stationed at different points on the routes cheering you on. Though the swim was first, this is what made the swim feel so lonely. Other than #22 and some others (I don't know if they were the same ones throughout) in my general area, no one from the event was close by. I couldn't even spot the lifeguards (though I wasn't really looking for them). Very lonely swim indeed.

The big question: Will I do this again? The answer is...uuummm...definitely! When I got home - after a long nap - I checked out some on my potential list spreadsheet I created back in January. There's one in Akron with a 250 yard swim (the one I just did was 440), a 7 mile bike and a 2 mile run. The second one I had planned on doing until today is in Mt. Sterling but it's a half-mile swim. As I sit here today, there is no way I would double the swim I just barely did today. Gary said I just need to train for the swim even harder over the next two months and do that one. He's probably right.