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!