Quad City Triathlon

Well, about a week and a half ago I completed the Quad City Triathlon. I think it went really well. I know how I want to improve next time, and I was able to beat my goals. I had a pretty awful T1 time, almost 5 mins! I was a little flustered and I have some ideas on how to cut that down. Someday, four or five years from now, I'd like to get a tri suit, I think that would help a bit. I do want to get a belt before my triathlon in Chicago. That is a really inexpensive thing I'm willing to spend some money on.
Jason drove out there with me early Saturday morning to West Lake. He helped me get set up as much as he could and then Mom, Dad, Katie and the kids + Isaac came down to cheer me on at different locations along the race. It was so great to have them there. I lined up at the back of the pack on the beach. I really wasn't trying to "race" anyone, just the one person in front of me whoever that was. (A trick I learned from a running friend on my RRR team.) We had timing chips on our ankles too, so what order you entered the water didn't matter. I like that at this triathlon they had you enter the water 2 by 2 every three seconds. There wasn't a big pack of people mauling each other in the water right away. I was a little freaked out about losing my way and need to practice spotting more in my swimming so I did the breast stroke a lot at the beginning. I saw a few people swimming perpendicular to the course and didn't want to end up like them. I got more and more confident the farther I got on the swim and started doing freestyle more towards the end. The biking portion went really well. It was a lot of fun. The running however.... phew! That was the worst time I've had on a 5K in a really long time, 31:34! It's no wonder though, I was exhausted by the time it rolled around. Overall, it was a great experience and I can't wait to do my next one. I just wish there weren't entry fees! :( and I wish there were more that weren't on Sundays.
I'm excited to continue to train and participate as much as I can in triathlons. Next thing on my mind right now though is the Bix. Gotta get going for that!

Lucky Duck!

I got an email a few hours ago from the Race Director at the Quad City Triathlon and he is looking for people on the waitlist to fill open spots! So I'm in! I completed my registration so it's official. I'm pretty nervous, I think that mostly comes from the fact that it will be my first. I thought that I would make it, I was trying to be optimistic I guess so when I signed up for the Chicago Fleet Feet Sprint I put in that it would be my second triathlon thinking I would make it into the Quad City Triathlon.
I'm really excited. The idea of an open water swim makes me nervous so it will be cool to do that in West Lake, where I grew up swimming! It's been pretty hard to get a good work out in the past week because of traveling. We've run and biked. The run was extremely hot, we'll try to do it a lot earlier tomorrow. The bike ride wasn't too bad at all. It was short, only about 3 miles, we were very short on time. The breeze from riding fast helped keep us cool. I also left Isaac's trailer snapped down in the back to add some extra drag since there weren't any hills.
Tomorrow, goal is to do a 13 mile bike ride. I'll do it with the parachute trailer for at least the first 6 miles, hopefully more, but depends on how things go.

Wait list

I went to sign up for the Quad City Triathlon and it was FULL! Arg! What was I thinking? I don't know why I put if off so long, okay I do... these races aren't free! So I went ahead and signed up for the Fleet Feet Chicago Triathlon. It's a two day event and the super short and kids triathlons are on Saturday and they cost a LOT less, so even though I wanted to sign up for the Sprint Triathlon, it's Sunday and costs a WHOLE lot more. So I figure, I'll do this one for now, potentially my first triathlon. Although I did get on the wait list for the Quad City Triathlon so now I'm just hoping that I make it!!! I would much rather do my first open water swim in West Lake. I grew up there, and it's not as cold or choppy as Lake Michigan.
Yesterday at Masters Class we had to share three lanes between the whole class, there were three people in my lane. We just did 5 second increments to give each other a chance to get out there. It was good though I think to also feel some drag from the people right next to me and in front of me. I'm spoiled having my own lane usually. I know that it will be totally different come race day.
Today Jason had an interview on Oak Park (which went VERY well!!!) so he needed the car and I biked to work. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure what the sidewalk situation was going to be like. I didn't want to ride on the road toeing Isaac behind me in our trailer on 55 mph roads. I'd rather stay on sidewalks. It turned out really well, there was only one small part and the speed limit is 45 mph there where there weren't any sidewalks. One piece of sidewalk was all gravel too, looks like they are putting it in, or so I hope they'll pave it eventually. I was able to cross the Kish River on a small bike trail part and make it very safely there. Well, not totally safely, I need to get a helmet! (and sunglasses to keep the bugs out of my eyes.) I'm looking forward to biking to work more often, it was nice. Isaac said "wee!" a couple of times to I know he liked it too.