Dirty Little Secret *may not be suitable for all readers :)

Well...it is over.  I am saving my "I Did It" post for later this week.  I have something else to address first.

One of my favorite parts of participating in these events is the ability to break the rules.  Two of my favorites is littering and running red lights.  When you come up to a water station sometimes there just isn't a volunteer with a garbage bag in sight, so you get to drink your water, crush the cup and throw it on the ground!  It might sound a little silly right now, but when you are running and desperate for a distraction...littering is a treat!

Same thing with running red lights....it is fun enough to run thru an intersection when cars are being held back by the helpful police officers, but it is like a triple word score when you get to run thru the intersection AND the stoplight is red!  Such rebels we are!

This is all widely accepted in running culture.  But since I have "officially" become a triathlete I have learned that I can take the rule breaking to whole different level.

For me it all started at Copper Creek.  Standing in the water, in my wetsuit, just minutes from the start of my wave I realized I had to pee.  Well, I certainly couldn't get out of the water, find a port-a-potty, take my wetsuit off, go potty, put the wetsuit back on and get back to the water in time.  What's a girl to do?

I had been briefed by my fellow triathletes that if you have to go in your wetsuit....you just go...that's right IN YOUR WETSUIT.  But could I actually do it?

Let's be honest here....I was in a dirty lake...as much as we wish we could pretend we were swimming in a clean, clear, chlorinated pool, we all know it isn't and there are far worse things lurking in that water.

I will also have you know that not only do triathletes pee in there wetsuits, but in the case of longer tri's peeing also happens ON THE BIKE and WHILE RUNNING!  Talk about commitment!

Back to Copper Creek...in the water, wetsuit, waiting for the gun....what to do...what to do....well, I am happy (?) to say that I did it!  And I am glad that I did.  I felt great for the whole rest of the race...no pit stops necessary.

So, at Hy-Vee on Sunday I was a little concerned because it was a run in start, so I wouldn't have those precious moments in the water to find relief if necessary.  And very soon it became VERY necessary.  In case you hadn't guessed, wetsuits are very tight.  As we were waiting for the start I swear I was watching my bladder fill by the second.  By the time I ran into the water I was in PAIN (it hurts just thinking about it again).  As I started swimming I realized that as much as I was trying I couldn't "go" while I was swimming.  I tried swimming slowly, I tried stopping and treading water, but it just wasn't happening.  I was swimming pretty slowly for the first 150 meters or so, but finally I gave up and just started swimming.  But the pain wasn't going away.  As I am swimming I am trying to come up with a plan B.  I really didn't want to stop and use a P-a-P before going out onto the bike course.

As I ran out of the water and thru transition I knew I had to do something QUICKLY.

There are typically 5 timed areas in a tri....swim portion, T1, bike, T2 and run.  The "T's" are your transition times...the amount of time it takes to get out of the water and on your bike (T1) and then again to get off your bike and out on the run (T2).  Transitions are important because if you're not careful they can really eat up time.  It is important to be focused and quick!

My T1 time was over 4 minutes.  That is because for probably 2 minutes of that time I was standing in my wetsuit trying to do as much as I could with the wetsuit on because I was peeing.  That's right, I said it.  It HAD to be done.  I am sure I looked like an idiot.  Standing with my wetsuit half off, putting on my helmet, taking a drink of water.  I wonder if anyone was watching and thinking "She know she needs to take that thing off, right?".  Unfortunately my transition time suffered,  but I was able to bike and run comfortably (in that respect, at least), so I know I saved myself time in the long run.

Please try not to judge.  As much as you may think you could never do that....well, you just never know!

Pep Talk

I am nervous. 

Not only am I nervous, but thanks to those folks at Hy-Vee spending the big bucks in the marketing department...I can't get away from they Hy-Vee Triathlon hoopla!  It is everywhere!  I go to the Channel 13 News website to check the radar and a bike rider comes zooming across the screen talking about the Tri.  Every time I turn to Channel 13 (which is apparently more than I would have guessed) I see a commercial.  I shop at Hy-Vee...so obviously I see it there....I even bring it home in their special Tri plastic bags and little inserts!  GAH! 

This morning the commercial came on and I must have made an involuntary comment of nervousness and Kaity picked up on it.  This was the extend of the conversation that followed:

Me:
Kaity: What?
Me: The Tri commercial!  It is making me nervous
Kaity: Why?
Me: Because I am scared!
Kaity: You should be scared for ME...not for YOU
Me:  I am not scared for you honey...I know you can do it...you're gonna do awesome
Kaity: My Triathlon is going to be done before I know it...and yours will too....YOU CAN DO IT!
Me: I know I can DO it, but I am still nervous
Kaity: What are you nervous about?
Me: The swim...Kaity, I won't even be able to touch when I am swimming....
Kaity: But you know how to swim....(in that Silly Rabbit tone)
Me:

DUH...of course I can swim...why do I keep freaking myself out?  I've had the "I'm nervous" conversation probably over a dozen times with a dozen people in the last week...but this one really hit home!

Thank you baby girl!!  For making your momma feel better....for helping me get out of my head and out of my way so I can see the POSSIBLE that is right in front of me.  Instead of the impossible that never even existed.

I know that I will still be nervous, but before I think I was looking at it as a tall and wide wall...an obstacle to overcome before I even step a toe in the water....now I see that nervousness is nothing more than a fog...a mist to be cleared away.......

Triathlon: Take 2

After my Indianola Tri "adventures" I decided that maybe the Copper Creek Triathlon would be a wise idea after all.  Originally I was planning on doing Dam to Dam, which was Saturday so I figured I'd be out of commission for a tri the very next day.  With my knee troubles I decided to pull out of Dam to Dam weeks ago.

So, last week I registered for Copper Creek.  750m swim, 20k bike ride, 5k run (everything is half of they Hy-Vee distances).  The swim was in the Copper Creek lake, so I was excited to get a little experience in open water before Hy-Vee.  Leading up to the tri my biggest concern was wondering if the race will be "wetsuit legal".  I am fully confident in my swimming abilities in a wetsuit...it helps keep you "afloat", so I wouldn't be expending all my energy in the swim.

Sunday morning I was excited...not nervous at all!  I got to the race nice and early, with plenty of time to set up my transition area, chat with aTc and TNT team members and get my wet suit on (which could be a whole blog post)!

I was in the 6th wave to start the swim and was really happy to see I was in the same wave as my fav tri partner Nicole H!  So, we get into the water and we hang with the back of the pack,  I have no intentions of getting in someone's way with my pokey little self!  Gun goes off and it is GO time!

I get started and am feeling pretty good.  One of my newly found swimming weaknesses is my inability to swim in a straight line in open water.  No biggie, I just have to look up every once in a while to make sure I am still on course.  Most the time I was pretty close to the group, a couple times I was WAY off!  Apparently there is a "scenic" route in water too...let's just say, I was quite the scenic swimmer!  Anytime I started feeling anxious I just turned over on my back and did a couple of back strokes...made me feel much better.  My biggest problem with the swim was that my goggles kept fogging up, so I had to stop twice to clear them.

I made it thru the swim and ran up the ramp, peeling of my wetsuit like a pro (technically the "pros" probably weren't wearing wetsuits..but I was pretending that I looked like a pro)!

3 minutes and 25 seconds later I was headin' out on the bike~Yeah, I know what you're thinking...I probably need to speed that up a little, give me a break...I was happy to have survived the swim!  Anyway, back to the bike...the bike route was challenging...with some pretty tough hills that had me wheezing at the top..but I recovered quickly after each hill and felt great!  Needless to say, I was able to stay on the right course this time!  Headin' back into the bike transition and was lifted by all the people cheering the participants on...it was awesome!

Second transition was faster, 1 minute and 51 seconds later I was headin' out to the run course.  I was taking it easy because I knew there were some hills coming up and I wanted to keep my knee feeling good as long as I could.  I felt GREAT!  I am happy to report that I was able to run the entire course!  Only 3 miles, but for as wonky as my knee has been, I really was shocked!

I crossed the finish line feeling better than I EVER have after ANY event I've ever competed in.  It was AWESOME!!  I finished in 1:44:36.  Breakdowns as follows:  Swim~20:32  Bike~45:45 (16.4 mph ave) Run: 33:03 (10:40 pace). 

Now I am excited for Hy-Vee....but VERY nervous about the swim...please PRAY that the water stays below 84 degrees so I can wear my wetsuit!