Howdy y'all,
The 2010 Austin Texas Trek Womans Sprint Triathlon is complete!!!
That's the good news. I finished the course. I crossed that last timing mat. I collected my water bottle & medal. Even now that chunk of metal, strung on UT burnt orange ribbon, rests around my neck! I earned the darned thing the hard way with aching collarbone & gasping lungs.
Here's the bad news. I still panicked in the swim.... Not as bad as before, but yeah.. Hyperventilating with breast(my worst), back & dogpaddle strokes. Had to swim on back & pry inhaler out of cleavage. Somewhere around 40 minutes for the swim :-(. Ohh & cut my foot on a rock. ROCKS! Rocks everywhere. A boulder field for your bare swim feet.
After a mini T1 into run shoes, I gamely trotted up the incline 1/3 mile to T1b. Out of run shoes into bike shoes. The exits were narrow. There was a bike jam at the mount up spot. Let the hills begin! My computer, which worked yesterday on a 4 mile test run opted out for the day. Then my chain came off. Once. Then again. Then 2 more times! In between coming off it was slipping & regrabbing. I didn't know what I could do aside from continuing to put it back on. There was no water or aid on the bike portion. Between the chain & asthma rearing it's ugly self, the race turned into an exspensive training mission.
Finally back in for T2. I slugged down water. Slipped on my Bug Clinic Cap. Wedged into soaking wet run shoes for the second time. Trotted off down the hill & up the hill. Hit the inhaler probably more times than I should(it wasn't keeping up with the constricting slimy cough in my throat). Walked. Trotted. Didn't step on the crawling tarantula I passed. Walked. Gasped. Trotted. Wondered Why I thought this sounded like a good thing to do.
Hit that spot when you are suddenly pissed off. I had trained for a Race not a mobile asthma attack. Felt tears pricking my eyes. Didn't cry. That would have made me more slimy than I already was. Huffed. Coughed. Hacked. Spit slime out of my throat.
Made it to the last downhill. Transitioned to off road again. Trotting. Supressing the coughs, I trotted through the shoot, across the last mat. I think I smiled for the camera...
Forgive the misspells, this is from my phone. I'll do a pro/con on this race setup & add pics later. 4 hour drive home....
Thanks for sending out good thoughts!!!
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6 comments:
Awesome effort in the face of adversity. Considering what you went through most others would have thrown in the towel. Inner grit, indeed. Head high, feel good, you won.
Not what you wanted for the day, but you were out there and you did it. When things go smoothly and we are winning, it is easy to keep on. When things keep going wrong, and we feel bad about them, that is when character and courage kick in.
Good job sticking it out. You've come a long way since last January. Successes are more fun, but struggles are far more useful. Do you know the trick for getting your chain back on your bike without getting off the bike?
http://www.ehow.com/how_2315387_fix-chain-falling-off-chainring.html
Obviously try it in a low-traffic open area until you get the hang of it, but it can save you a ton of time. Of course, if you slip your chain three or four times, then the problem lies elsewhere, but it's still a useful trick to know.
Congrats on finishing off the race and store the things you learned for your next challenge :)
Congratulations on finishing in true Sports person style,never giving up.
Did they not check the Course out for Rocks beforehand in the Water. It must have been very Shallow.
It looks like the Gears System needs to be Tuned up because of the Chain coming off so much. Sometimes when changing Gear if you absentmindedly back Pedal it can Jump the Chain off but this is happening too much and you are too Professional of a Cyclist to let that happen anyway. So you need to Tune up the Gear System Screws either yourself or your Bike Shop ,either way get the Bike Serviced.
Any time I got that problem with a Bike it needed to be serviced. One Bike I had once ,I just kept getting that with the Chain coming off it was a Cheapy Bike and the Gears kept slipping as well.
The next time you go on one of these Tri's you will do so much better.
I guess things were a little rougher than you let on... echoing everyone else... don;t under estimate the value of lessons learned and confidence in your own perseverance... I think you did great and I have a photo that proves you did smile at the end!
Jim
Thanks for the encouraging words!
TexasDevin, Ive looked at the swims.. They look pretty interesting. I also found this http://tinyurl.com/2e227ly If they do it again next year I will do this. Its a staged series for completing the distance of an ironman.
I talked w/ the PA at the ENT/Allergy/Asthma place & they are switching my inhaler.
Next up to talk to the bike shop tomorrow.
Jim,
I'd love to see a picture of me smiling as I came in! A smile of relief! Sharing dinner with your wife and you was really nice. I enjoyed your care for one another. Truly inspiring! Please give me a call if, yall are heading this way, or maybe I will see your wife at another race!
Dawn
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