Monday, September 15, 2008

Black Diamond Sprint triathlon.

.5 mile Swim. 12 mile Bike. 2.8 mile Run.

We hit the highway early on Sunday. 6am. The car was packed and the bikes were on top. I was nervous!

Oh the lake. All pretty and calm. Just looking at it made my stomach flop.



Buckey and Tyson, pre-race stretching:

I love that they mark your age on your calf. That way, when a 65 year-old woman is in front of you the entire time during the race, you feel good about yourself. Or something. At least for three more weeks I'm still in the same division as Tyson.




I was most nervous for the swim. Tyson's group started five minutes before mine and I watched him in the water as they counted down from ten; I became even more nervous. The first five minutes I couldn't get a rhythm and I think in general I was having some anxiety in the water. But once I rounded the first turn I think subconsciously I felt a sense of accomplishment and relaxed enough to get a stride going. In the end the swim was my favorite leg of the race.

During the bike I found that 65 year-old woman to follow - yes, I said follow - who challenged me. I would pass her, then she would pass me and all the while she pushed my limits. And as I left the transition area into the run I saw her in front of me. For :30. And she was gone. I checked her time last night and she beat me by two minutes overall. That's so incredible!

My race results:

Franzen, Andrea 29 F
1:28:27 finish time
0:18:54 swim time
4:49 swim to bike transition time (holy cow!, probably can cut that a bit)
0:38:52 bike time
1:42 bike to run transition time
0:24:09 run time

Tyson beat me by nine minutes. I was able to run with him for a little bit though and we both had a blast. It was great to do it with friends too. At one point during the swim I heard Buckley talking to a guy in the wave before us as she passed by him saying, "This sucks, doesn't it?" Hilarious. I definitely want to do another one. Olympic distance.

Buckley's mom brought sandwiches and cookies for all of us afterward. Thanks, Joanne.

4 comments:

tyson said...

so much fun and such a beautiful weekend

hales02 said...

you amazing athletic badass

Jamieofalltrades said...

Awesome work, girl! Did you know JLO did a triathlon this past weekend too? You had a better time :) Just thought you'd like to know. Way to go!

jesslover said...

I just happened upon your blog and I really enjoyed your report. Black Diamond is forever my favorite race.

Congrats on your finish!

-jess