Tri Indy Race Report

We drove down to Indianapolis Saturday afternoon. Ryan and I met up with 2 of my old college roommates (yay University of Dayton!). I haven't seen them in over a year, so that made me really happy. Poor Ryan had to sit there and listen as we reminisced about the old days and told embarrassing stories.

We headed downtown for lunch and to check out the canal I would be swimming in (yes... a CANAL).

The canal is a decent size and about 4 feet deep. It's a little murky, but I didn't see too many weeds or fish.




Saturday evening, Ryan and I went out to dinner with my parents.



My pasta was delicious, but my stomach was being angry. It always gets that way before a big race (and staying in a different city doesn't help either).

My nerves kept me up all Saturday night. I got MAYBE 3 hours of sleep (is this an issue for other people??). I couldn't get my mind to settle. Even when I DID sleep, I was dreaming about the race and what could go wrong.

Sunday morning came quickly.

Good morning, Indianapolis!



Transition, ready.



Me and Dad, ready.



Maggie, ready to cheer.



The canal was an extremely unique place to swim. It allows race-viewers to walk along the swimmers and cheer them along the entire way.

There are a bunch of pedestrian bridges you can stand on that provide a great view.



Around 8:45, my heat was ready to go. They were sending us off by estimated swimming speed, fastest to slowest.

I'm the one in the middle grinning like a fool...



I was a little nervous, but the water was calm, my heat was small (about 30 people), and the canal was shallow.


My Dad's heat was about 10 minutes behind mine (he's below in the purple cap).

We were counted down and OFF we went!

The canal made it's intentions very clear...



To be honest, I've never had a race swim so good. I started strong, I stayed strong, I ended strong. It was 99% freestyle, .5% breaststroke, and .5% "did I just smack that girl in the face?".



My cheer squad walked along the canal and followed my progress. They said I passed a bunch of people and ended up at the front of my heat.



500 meters later, I was done.



Transition 1 was a little slow. I put my shoes on before my shorts (woops).



The bike went surprisingly well. I pushed it harder than ever before. Any time I got below 15 mph, I said "NO!" and made myself go faster. Yeah, it hurt. But I finished with my fastest race bike pace ever.



Before too long, it was time for the run (groan).



It was aweful. The crappiness of the run completely made up for the awesomeness of the swim and bike. It was almost 90 degrees outside, and there was zero shade. I shuffled along for 3 painful miles and runner after runner whizzed by me. I fought the urge to walk by imagining my head in a freezer, or my body in an ice bath.

36 LONG minutes later, I finally neared the finish line.



FINALLY!



After I finished, my body debated between collapsing and crying. Where is water when you need it?!

Overall place: 349/463
Age Group: 21/25
Swim: 13:47 (246)
T1: 2:50 (232)
Bike: 48:12 (274)
T2: 2:35 (351)
Run: 37:12 (372)
TOTAL: 1:44:38

Well, my goal time was 1:38, and I might have made it if I didn't totally bomb the run (but come on... 90 DEGREES?!). But besides that, I'm happy. Because I totally rocked the swim and the bike.

So I know what you're ALL wondering. WHO WON?



Well, once again, I'm sad to report that my Dad beat me (by FOUR minutes!). Man, I'm pathetic. How did it happen? He ran his 5K FOUR minutes faster than me. Sigh. Maybe next year.

Here is my final picture. It's my college roommates and I. Even though it wasn't their original plan, they decided to come and cheer me on this morning. They powered through the heat and stayed til the very end. Yay, friends.