I slept pretty well but woke up about 3:30- ready to go. I packed up and drank a protein smoothie on my way. Arrival and parking were easy, the volunteers were super, and I was happy to chat with a few other girls (we were all racked together which was kind of fun) who were also doing their first Olympic and/or first ocean swim. I also met up with a 68-year-old who had run this race 15 times. We walked together to the start, which may have been the hardest part of the day- full of anxiety, pacing out the exact distance that we would swim as we walked down the sand. One mile south, so we swam back one mile north.
The current was with us, and I was feeling pretty confident since I was able to wear a wetsuit. Trouble was, the moment that my face hit the water, my goggles were full and I swam the 1.5 K with salt water in my eyes (they still sting.) It was blinding, and I am already bad at siting my route. I was swimming way out to sea every time I finally could see a buoy. And then I would spend some time making it back. I am not sure how much it slowed me down, but I am sure it impacted me. I finished the swim in about 32 minutes, 14th out of 18 in my class. I felt okay, but really saved my legs by using my arms almost exclusively, and that was certainly another reason I was so slow. I was 340th out of 400.
The transition run is a long one as you make your way up the beach. I felt good and set off on the bike. The 41k was pretty uneventful. There was definitely a head wind in the first half and I was slow as I pushed through that. My knee hurt and my quads were angry and I was afraid to push it. Fortunately, we had a tail wind in the latter part of the ride, which helped me speed up and kept me motivated. My finish time was about 1:32. That placed me 335th. My average speed was only 16.4.
A quicker transition led to the run. My shins were almost debilitating in the first mile, so I decided I’d walk through water stops. A gu helped, too, and I loosened up. I was feeling tight and tired and began a mental mantra. My rhythm became: I.worked.hard.for.this.I.trained.hard.for.this.I.can.do.this, as I paced my steps. The turn around came and my spirits lifted, just to be on the home stretch. There were also signs along the way declaring the “wishes” of the kids we were running for: “I want to go to the Grand Canyon, I want to meet Cinderella, I want a man cave” and something like that keeps everything in perspective. I began to pass people and that was amazingly motivating. I increased my stride after the final water stop and finished strong in about 1 hour, 1 minute (230th). My pace averaged at 9:51.
Overall, I had hoped to finish in 3:00, and my final time was 3:12. I hadn’t added in transitions when I calculated my goal time, so once I subtract those 7 minutes, I was pretty close to where I wanted to be. I am not sure that I’ll ever be satisfied with my time unless I’m in the top 50%, and today I was well below that. I was 81st out of 122 women. I was 10th out of 13 in my division- BUT that means there were 5 DNF’s- so at least I am among the finishers. I’m better prepared for another one- and mentally more prepared for the Eagleman next year. It’s all about building confidence.
