Jingle Bell 5K Race Report

We arrived at the park around 1:40pm for a 2:00pm race start. I was cursing the organizers of this event, because their website had zero information. It didn't say what time you were supposed to arrive in order to check in. It didn't say whether it was a road or cross country race.

It didn't say anything. It just said the race started at 2.

Of course, my luck... I arrive, and they don't have a bib for me. I'm on the list... but no bib. That's odd.

So they handed me a spare bib, 2 jingle bells, and my bag of goodies, and I was ready to go.


I attached the bells to my shoelaces so I could "jingle all way" to the finish line.


The race was relatively small... about 150 people. So I had no problem getting up near the front for the start of the race.


I mentally prepared myself and got my Ipod ready on my "5K" playlist.


My efforts were fruitless, because my battery ran out about 3 quarters of a mile into the race.

Gurrr...


The following photo doesn't show anything. It's just funny because it looks like I have to go to the bathroom (click to enlarge)...


In reality, I was just anxious and a little chilly. Chalk it up to bad photo timing I guess.

A few minutes after 2pm, and "Ready, Set, Go"... we were off!


Maggie was there, and she cheered me on as I ran past...


The first mile and a half were interesting. I don't like racing and not knowing where I'm going (stupid useless website). We ran up a hill, then around a neighborhood, then headed back the way we came.

Around the 2 mile mark, we ran back down the hill and passed the spectators again.


At this point, I was doing good (under 10 minute miles), but my lungs were hurting pretty bad. I definitely did not train enough for this race.

The last mile was a little bit like "is this over yet?". I felt like I was getting passed by a lot of people. I knew I was slowing down. I knew I wouldn't PR (although, didn't plan on it anyway... but it would have been a nice surprise).


I pushed to the finish...


And came in around 29:35 (I forgot to stop my Garmin).


Overall, it was a good race, but a little hilly for my tastes.

Next time, I'll make sure my IPod is fully charged. That was my own stupidity.

You know what else was stupid? Not staying for the awards ceremony. Remember my last triathlon... where I got 3rd place but didn't know it?

D'oh. I did it again.

According to the results website, I got third place in my age group! I tried to send an email asking where I can pick up my medal, but I'm not sure if I sent it to the right person (seriously... what a stupid website).

So, it wasn't a PR, but it was a great race nonetheless. Only 2 weeks and 2 days until my "A" race (at least where 5Ks are concerned). As soon as this soreness in my legs goes away, I'll get right back to training!

Fishers Area Sprint Triathlon Race Report

I don't think I've ever been so excited to write a race report.

Let's just say... I totally rocked this one. I PRed the bike and the run, and beat my "A" goal time by 3 minutes! (If you click on that link, you'll see my post from Friday where I mocked the impossibility of last year's 8:56 pace. Well... I beat that this year with a 8:53 pace!)

Just like last year, I won 3rd place in my age group. The difference being that last year, there were only 3 people in my age group. This year there were 14!

I have never placed in my age group without it being by default. I'm really excited about that.

The sad news? I never in a million years thought I would place... so Ryan and I didn't even wait around for the awards ceremony. So I missed my chance to collect my medal and stand on the 3-tiered podium.

I can just picture it now. They're calling my name, people are clapping, all while Ryan and I are down the street stuffing our faces with Wendy's.

Oh well. Apparently I need to not underestimate myself at my next race.

Now on to the photos!

The Fishers race is rather small. Transition was small, but there was plenty of room... only about 7 or 8 bikes per rack.


It was a pool swim, so they send the swimmers off from fastest to slowest. Ryan and I sat in the bleachers and waited my turn.


It was 10 lanes in a 50 meter pool, so the swimmers snaked up and down each lane to total 500 meters.


Waiting in line for my turn...



They sent the swimmers off with 3 seconds in between each. I'm next...


And I'm off...



The swim was decent. I passed a few people, and a few people passed me. One problem I had this year that I didn't experience last year was crowding. It's often hard to pass someone in only 50 meters, so swimmers seemed to collect in bunches at the end of each lane, trying to fight for position.

Once, I was in the process of passing someone, when a girl came up from behind and passed between us. She crowded me so much that I had to slow down and let her go. That's just plain rude!

Soon, the swim was over, and I was out of the pool...


Transition was close (maybe 40 meters between the pool entrance and my bike rack).


I should have dried my feet off better, but I was trying to transition as quickly as possible. I recall my socks being extremely squishy during the bike.





Here we go...




Off on the bike...


5 miles later, I looped past transition...


It's rare to get a photo of myself actually biking instead of just braking...



The bike went really well. It was cool and the wind was calm. The course is extremely flat and easy. There are lots of beginners at this race, so I passed a lot of people.

As I passed one man, I hollered, "on your left!"

He responded, "yeah, story of my day. When do I get to say that?!"

That made me laugh. I remember when I first started triathlons and feeling that exact same way.

A short 10 miles later, and I was done with the bike.




Back into transition...



Aiming for another quick transition, I went off on the run with my race belt and Garmin in hand. I need to practice putting this stuff on while I run, because I struggled a little...


All set and ready for my run...


The run was great. Yes, that's a rare word to describe a run. The course is a slight uphill for the first half, followed by a slight downhill for the second half. I was keeping a close eye on my Garmin, and I was thrilled with my speedy pace.

I was tired, but I kept telling myself, "this is a race. You're meant to be tired!"

3 miles later, I was nearing the finish line...





Done!



I didn't know my official time yet, but I was pretty sure I had beat last year's time. I was thrilled with how I did.


Swim 11:05
T1 1:55
Bike 32:26 (18.5 mph)
T2 1:50
Run 26:40 (8:53 pace)
Total 1:13:58

Hands down, my best race ever. It was a great way to end the 2010 triathlon season. I am completely shocked with how fast my run was. I would say it's a new 5K PR for me, but I'm pretty sure the run course was short the final .1 mile.

Thanks everyone for your support. I'll be back later this week with an update on my weight loss. And next week... Ryan and I are headed to Florida! Yay!