6.28.2009

Warsaw Optimist Triathlon Race Report

(If you got here looking for official Warsaw Triathlon race photos, they can be found at this site. But you could hang out for a little while anyway!)

I had to do all my packing on Thursday night.



After work on Friday, Ryan and I drove to Warsaw, Indiana where we met my parents and grandparents.

Of course, we brought our dog along with. My parents hadn't met her yet.



Maggie absolutely loved the hotel room...



My Dad and I arrived at 7 am the next morning.



Transition was already pretty crowded.



Here is my Dad's stuff all ready to go...



He seemed pretty excited about the race.




The swim didn't look too bad from the shore. The water looked very calm.



I went down to the shore to feel the temperature. I hear some guy yelling. I turn around, and a man with "Referee" on his shirt was staring at me.

Man: "I SWEAR! I'm going to start taking numbers and handing out DQs!"
Me: "What??"
Man: "The lake is now CLOSED!"

Oh. Well sorrrrrrrry! Sorry that no one TOLD me it was closed. Sorry that there isn't a CLOCK anywhere around. SORRY! (jerk.)

So I didn't really get a good feel of the water temperature, but they announced later it was officially 84 degrees (yes... you heard me correctly!). So my Dad and I would be going without our wetsuits for the race.

The other problem with the lake was the seaweed. If you recall, I was voicing my concerns about seaweed earlier this week. So before the race began, they skimmed all this seaweed off the top of the water...



The pile was gross, but I was happy it was on shore and not floating around with me in the water.

So I made final race preperations...



My grandparents were all ready to watch us race.





The race officially began...



Half an hour later, my dad's heat was up. He's the one in the foreground looking to the side...




And they're off!




Four minutes later, it was my turn.



There's me in the black and white suit...




"Hi!"...



Ready...



Go!...



I started up front, but it didn't last long...



So remember all that seaweed they skimmed off? Totally POINTLESS. I mean... I didn't know it was possible for this much seaweed to exist in one place. I was hoping it would thin out as we got away from the shore, but that didn't happen.

Every time I pulled my hands through the water, I got handfuls of weeds. When I came up for a breath, I got a faceful of weeds. It was on my arms, in my toes, covering my goggles, etc. AWEFUL. It may just be the one thing that would prevent me from coming back to this race next year.

(Note: I'm not just a big baby. EVERY ONE was complaining about the weeds. It was a mess.)



So, the swim was pretty rough. I wanted to complete it in 10 minutes, but I kept getting tangled in the seaweed. I had a tough time catching my breath, and I did a good amount of breast stroke and sidestroke.

Fortunately, my Dad did NOT drown on the swim. But he did look exhausted when he came crawling out of the lake...






He made a smooth transition and headed out to bike...



I was THRILLED to be done with the swim portion. Notice the HUGE smile on my face below (I'm second from the right)...




Also note the seaweed on my legs...




I did a nice jog into transition...



Got a quick drink...




Helmet on...



And I'm off...





13.5 miles later, my Dad returned with a SWEET flying dismount...




My bike was decent. It was a pretty flat out-and-back course. I got passed by quite a few bikers, which didn't surprise me, because biking isn't my strong point. But (you'll all be so proud) I DID shift my gears going up and down the hills. I noticed a pretty significant different, so thanks to everyone for the tips!

A while later, I returned and headed back into transition...




The run was hot and tiring (isn't it always?). It was 3.5 miles instead of a 5K, so it seemed a little long. Plus, it ended with a very long uphill and then a very steep downhill.

My Dad finished in good time. He said he walked a little (mainly that uphill at the end), but still did great overall.




And just like that, he completed his first triathlon ever!



A few minutes later, I came running in.




It was a total relief to cross the finish line. The crowd was very supportive.



So... I bet you're dying to know who got the better time!



Well, you may be shocked to hear that my Dad actually beat my time by about 2 1/2 minutes.

Me... 1:47:10 overall

11:30 Swim
2:06 T1
54:04 Bike
:53 T2
38:39 Run

6/7 in Athena division
122/168 for women

My Dad... 1:44:32 overall

12:03 Swim
2:22 T1
52:54 Bike
:53 T2
36:22 Run

20/24 in Clydesdale Masters division
338/378 for men

He did a great job, and it was an EXTREMELY close race. He said it was by far one of the hardest things he's ever done in his life. Despite that, he seems extremely interested in completing another triathlon.

Thoughts on my race? I definitely didn't train enough. Stupid Kelly. It was apparent in my swim and in my run. But considering that, I'm proud of myself for finishing in one piece and not walking during the last leg.

I feel like I had a million things that I wanted to write about yesterday, but they seemed to have all been forgotten overnight. Oh well. So, I'll leave you with 2 random photos...

When I got home, I found all this seaweed stuck to my skin. BLEH...



Check out my sweet battle-wound...

15 comments:

That Pink Girl said...

Awesome race report! You look really strong in all the pics - and so much like your dad! What a great thing for y'all to do together. Congratulations on a great race!!!

jeanne said...

Congratulations! great race report and a great first triathlon! so, is your dad married?? :)

You look HAWT!

JojaJogger said...

Congrats to you both! I loved all the pictures. Will this be the first of many battles to come?

Anonymous said...

It was a great time doing this with you and I look forward to another one. I have already been thinking about how I can improve. Thanks for the great report.
Dad.

jeanne said...

p.s. your lake has LANE MARKERS??! cool!

and ewww on the weeds. ugh. i think i'll take the potomac.

and sorry the official yelled at you. boo.

Mike said...

Awesome job to you both!!! Glad to hear it went well and that you used your gears! lol

gmgizmo9 said...

Way to go, Kelly! It looks like you and your dad had fun-how cool to do that with him. I hope you guys have a rematch! Great race report and pics...loved the seaweed particles. Ugh!

Leslie M. said...

I did this race for the first time, not my first tri, and I completely agree with you as to how disgusting the seaweed was. I too found multiple pieces tucked away in my top once I got home to shower. EEWWW!! And I have never seen race officials so strict about giving penalties. Congrats on a great job.

Marci said...

Why did you let your dad beat you? Oh well... congrats on an awesome race :)

The Boring Runner said...

Nice work on the race! Too bad your dad won, but it looks like you both had a great time.

The Lazy Triathlete said...

Great job both of you. I love the photo of your toe. That cracked me up.

Rainmaker said...

Awesome job to both you and your dad. Though, I have to give it to your Dad for his delivery of the Smackdown! ;)

Congrats again though to you both!

Anonymous said...

Great weekend!!!great race!!!!Congratulations on just finishing, that was atough hill near the finish. Great apartment!!!Sure enjoyed it all. You and Ryan took good care of us. Opa

peter said...

Cool race report. You go, Dad! You rock too, Kelly.

Diana said...

Sounds like you both had a pretty decent day! Great report and love all the pics! All that seaweed...ewww and people wonder why I swim with my head out of the water!
Congrats to your Dad for his first ever-that's awesome!

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