Gold Nugget Triathlon 2013

Back in March, a couple of my Army wife friends here in AK talked me into signing up for a triathlon! The Gold Nugget Triathlon. It's a sprint triathlon (I think that's what they call it). The events and distances were a 500m swim, a 12 mile bike ride, and a 4.1 mile run. Each event seemed fairly doable on its own, but I wasn't sure what the cumulative effect would be and if I'd even be able to run by the time I got to that portion of the race. But, we signed up and the training began.

I've come to realize that I pretty much have to sign up for an event/race to get my butt in gear and get moving. It's amazing how I find time and schedule work outs when I have a deadline and a training schedule to follow. Without them, I'm terrible about working out. TERRIBLE.

So, I trained here and in SC, thanks to BeBe and her beach cruiser bike. Ha! If I can ride 10 miles on that thing, I could definitely do it on Brian's mountain bike with actual options when it comes to gears. I trained and I made a couple of goals.
Number 1: Finish the race! Do NOT QUIT!
Number 2: Run the whole run section. 

And that was it. Not too crazy. I just wanted to do the race and finish. So, the day of the race drew near and we were getting excited and nervous. And wouldn't you know it, on the day before the race, we had a late season snow storm. It snowed 5 inches the day before the race and the temps were supposed to stay low overnight, so we weren't sure if the trail would be frozen in spots or if the race coordinators would allow us to bike if there was some ice on the trial. But, we prepared as if the race would go on as planned. We dropped off our bikes the afternoon before the race. Thanks to B-man for letting me use his bike! By the time we dropped off our bikes, the ground was already drying up, so we were hopeful. And when we woke up on Race Day, everything was a go! The race was on! It was sunny and dry, but definitely COLD! Colder than normal for race day.

Before I go on, I have to stop and tell you about something Boo said to me during the training process. He knew I had been training and getting ready for "the race". So, one day he said, "Mama, I hope you win the race." And I smiled, and explained to him that I wasn't going to win the race, but that I was going to work very hard to get ready for the race and that I was going to do my best during the race. You see, it was important for me to relay to him that working hard towards something is a good thing to do and that hard work can be rewarding. He has a tendency to give up on things the moment it becomes difficult. And by give up, I mean melt down and sob and act like it's the end of the world. So, I was hoping to show him that we can do things, even when they're hard! And he just looked at me and said, "Mom, you don't know you're not going to win. You haven't even done the race yet." And what else could I say, but "You're right, son. I don't know. Maybe I will win." :) 

The race went really well for me. I took a long time at the transitions, but my actual event times were right on target with my expectations of how I would do, and a little better in some cases.

The best part was that B-man and the little ones met me at several spots along the race and at the finish. They were troopers too. My start time was supposed to be 10 a.m. but I didn't actually start until closer to noon. But they were already on the trails before 10 getting a good spot. It was awesome to see their smiling faces and here the shouts of, "Go, Mama, Go!" as I went by on the bike.

Here are some pics from the race!

Bike Drop Off. Day before the race.
 My designated spot for my bike at transition area 1.
Please note, I'm back in a winter coat and snow boots.

My friend S, who encouraged me to sign up and throughout the training process!
I had an earlier start time than she did, but she came early with me to walk me through everything since it was my first time and to cheer me on!

I was so nervous about the swim. I don't know why, I'm a fairly good swimmer.
I mean, I can't do the breast or butterfly, but I've been known to win my share of "races" at the Oaks Country Club Pool growing up, you know from one side of the pool to the other. And I've had a few people tell me at the pool here that I have really nice form, whatever that means. I think I was mostly nervous about sharing the lane with 2 other ladies. I didn't want to mess them up. But, once I started swimming, the nerves went away. I did swim faster than I had at any training session, by a minute. And I did feel it later in the race, but I was so happy with my time.
11min and 29 seconds.

Up next was the bike.
 You run out of the pool/gym in your bare feet and swim clothes and get to your bike and add clothes/layers for the rest of the race.
I spent a large amt of time doing that. 8 minutes!
Anyway, I finally started riding and just 2 miles into the ride, my cheering crew was waiting for me!
They were so cute and it really boosted my morale to see them.

The snow storm the day before made for a beautiful view while riding. Just days before this, there was no snow on those mountains.

About 3-4 miles left of the bike ride.
B-man was quick to get to this spot! I didn't expect to see them there.

Finish!

Thanks so much to B-man for encouraging me and letting me borrow his bike and watch, etc. And for getting everyone together to meet me along the course. It meant a lot!
Thanks to my Army wife pals too for all of their support! I'm sad to say that 90% of the people I know here in AK are moving this summer. Sniff.

MY RESULTS:
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 9 minutes
SWIM: 11 minutes and 29 seconds
T1: (transition b/w swim and bike): 8 minutes and 30 seconds
BIKE: 1 hour and 54 seconds
T2: (transition b/w bike and run): 4 minutes and 14 seconds
RUN: 43 minutes and 56 seconds


I hope to do it again next year and definitely shave some time off of T1!