Notes
The run was actually the most disappointing part, which is not what I would have expected, but I'm not unhappy, it was a blast and a great first experience.
I hit the first mile in exactly 6:20, and i felt tired but great. Definitely tightness in the calves and the quads, but I was easily able to separate that from my form and pace and I was feeling good. A few men coming back from the turnaround actually said something to me. One said "you're flying", so I assumed I was doing something right. I saw three women coming back towards me in the first half of the run, who I learned later where the first, second, and I believe 4th place finishers on the day. I knew those three were out of reach, but those were the only women I saw headed the other direction. I focused on what Brenna had said, and all I was doing was hunting ponytails. I caught and passed two females in the first mile, both of the women who had passed me on the bike, and that felt good. Between there and the finish line I never saw another female ahead of me, but there were a ton of men to catch and pass, so that helped with my overall pace and spirits.
The first mile was great, but the second not so much. I got a massive side ache about 30 seconds in, and that prevented me from taking a full breath or using my full stride for pretty much all of mile two. Bummer. I didn't panic, I was still moving up through the field of men and didn't see any women ahead or behind me, but it definitely slowed me down a lot, and then I was just pissed, all I could think was "dang, this is supposed to be my leg of this race". My second mile was about 7 I'm guessing. Crap. Definitely slower than I would have liked and slower than I think I'm capable of, but oh well, I jut kept moving forward and passing as many people as I could. The second to last half mile was definitely the slowest, the side ache surged even more and I got more pissed. My legs felt fantastic but this knife being shoved into my ribs was slightly distracting. For Emma, demo, Brenna, and anyone else who has struggled with side aches, I have much more sympathy now than I have previously.
Partly because I didn't really want to know so stopped looking, and partly because I can't fully check online, I don't know what my last mile split was, but it couldn't have been pretty. Maybe 7:30ish pace? With the extra tenth tacked on after that? I think that's about right. Grrrrr. Still feeling slightly pissed about it, but it was a good day overall so I'm not dwelling. I know my legs could have gone faster, so for now I'll just be happy with that.
I managed to muster a decent close about the last 100 meters, so that felt good, only wish the previous 3200 also could have felt that way.
Crossed the line and my own running time said 1:17 exactly, so I'm almost positive that's what it was.
I won my age group, so that was fun. Got to go up on the little podium and and receive my trophy. But its a small event and my age group isn't very competitive, so I'm not letting it go to my head.
It looks like that is good for 9th overall. Which I am pleased with. My goal was top 10, and I accomplished that. (At the awards ceremony they announced my name in 5th, hah, lucky false promotion for me!)
I'm lucky the field wasn't more competitive in general, because my side ache and other weaknesses could have gotten me into trouble, but hey, I competed with who was there today and I met all but one of my goals for the individual legs. I had a blast and can't wait to do another. Looking forward to toeing the line again even more fit.
First tri, a success.
I have things to think about and write down to remember for next time, but for now my hands are tired and I have a good book calling my name.