The Season Wrap Up

And a week later I am getting around to finally recapping Half Full Triathlon, the last triathlon of the season. So, lets get to it!

I had participated in the Half Full Half Ironman distance triathlon last year, it was cold, rainy, cold, cold, rainy, cold, and did I mention cold? I was far from prepared for that race. I brought gloves, socks, and arm warmers to the race with me, but that was it. I think the high was actually 40 something that day! It was miserable. In my race out of transition, I neglected to put on socks or gloves that day. One of the worst mistakes I had ever made. So, naturally, I figured that this race could not even come close to as miserable, I had already punched the "Cry during race because you are so cold and wet and tired card". Wrong.
The high for the day was 52 ad 80% chance of rain. I remembered to bring all of my cold weather gear and knew I HAD to wear it. I definitely learned my lesson last year.

SWIM
The water was a brisk 67 degrees, however, given the air temperature, it felt like I was getting into the bathtub! Luckily though, the rain had not yet started. I got through the swim feeling wonderful. I had a small stitch toward the end, but for the most part I knew I was rockin it. I believe I came 3rd out of the water. I was setting myself up in an awesome position. I was on top of the world at this point.

I got into transition and was very confused. For some reason I was reading "1s" as if they were "7s" and passed my bike about 3 times before I realized I was in the right area. Oyvey. I also was strugglin' hard to get my wetsuit off. I don't really know what the issue was, but for some reason it would just not.come.off. I was really flustered in transition and ended up just sitting down to get dressed. Oh, and it had started raining at this point. After like 3.5 minutes in transition getting dressed (leggings, socks, arm warmers, and vest) I got myself up and out the gate.

BIKE
I was very cautious on the bike. The ground was very slippery and I was not looking for a crash. The bike was a 32 mile bike, so definitely not a distance for me. I knew I had to just move forward and not burn out too quickly. I ended up not drinking as much on the bike as I probably should have. My stomach was a little iffy and I didn't want to risk it. I continued to take sips of Gatorade when I thought about it and ended up taking a gel around mile 23.
When I finally got to the turn into transition, I said a quick thank you that I didn't crash my bike and that  I could do this run thang. So, as I am turning in, I lost my back wheel from underneath me. I am not sure what happened exactly, but I fishtailed like crazy but ended up keeping my balance. It was so close that I had actually gone over the tuck and roll I would be completing  in my head. As you can imagine, my adrenaline was through the roof!

T2 was MUCH smoother. Thank goodness.

RUN
So, the run. was. great. Honestly. It hurt, but I was so happy to be off the bike. I was so much warmer during the run. It was the craziest sensation switching to the run, it felt like I was still wearing my bike shoes. I felt like I had peg legs because I was so numb! It was a very uncomfortable feeling. However, I  did negative split my run by a fair amount. I was very happy with it.


The triathlon season definitely ended on a good note. I walked during my first race this year, I ran very fast off the bike for my last race. So much improvement and learning this season. I could never have done it without my supportive family, friends, and especially my coach! I am now very much enjoying some time off for a few weeks. Catching up/getting ahead on school work, sorority things, volunteer hours, working, and SLEEPING! lots and lots of sleeping!

Next on the agenda is the Richmond Half Marathon on November 10! It will be my second half marathon, with the exception of the half iron. I am very excited to see what I can do with it!

Off to do some homework. And again, thanks for your support/reading, it means the world to me :)