Preface: I wanted to write this race report while it was all still fresh, but with a four month old and my return to work, this post quickly dropped its priority status. Luckily, I jotted down some key memories immediately after the race to stimulate my writing later. Those anecdotes are included here!
***
Almost two weeks ago, I crossed the YWCA Women's Sprint Triathlon finish line for third year in a row. As I raised my hands in the air, the announcer cheered me on, "Molly of Minneapolis- This is her first triathlon post baby Misha! She just had a baby and triathlon!"This shot truly captures the thrill of the finish line. |
Posing for a post race mother-daughter team photo...with grandson/son Misha Man! Still in his pajamas... |
The morning of the tri, my whole family woke up in darkness- Mike, Misha, mom, dad, and me. Misha didn't really know what was going on and fell back asleep in the midst of the excitement. The rest of us ate bagels with peanut butter and bananas and I chugged a cup of coffee before hitting the road.
Misha waiting for his mom to cross the finish line. |
So, the race. As I gathered myself in the hour before my start, I selected specific inspiration for each leg. During the swim, I decided to picture my dad watching for me from the shore. The same guy who taught me to swim and yelled my name every time I took a breath during my swim team days. I also thought about river otters as they are, decidedly, one of my spirit animals. (What's the other one, you ask? Perhaps a reveal for the future, my friend.)
Swim: From a physical standpoint, I positioned myself to the right and front of my heat. I wanted to get out there fast so that I could avoid the swimmers who start fast but quickly peter out. I also wanted to be as close to the booeys as possible so to avoid adding distance to my swim. The first 100 yards were ridiculous- lots of flaying arms and legs. By the first turn, however, I was free from the pack and able to relax into a suitable pace. Looking around, there didn't seem to be many pink caps around (age group marker)- a good sign! By the second turn, I noticed that someone was drafting me- in a pink cap, no less! I tried my best to free myself but I have no open water training so I wasn't successful. The two of us ran out of the water and into the transition area.
Bike: During the bike, I thought about Misha. I often think about him when I am training. Sometimes, I picture him as a teenager, training for his own sports and encouraging me to keep up with him. The first mile was a bit of a mind game as I changed gears (rah rah) from swimming to biking. Once I got some gatorade and half a luna bar in my system, I felt reenergized and concentrated on passing people. I watched out for women in my age group (our ages were written on the back of our calves) and aimed to keep a fast but manageable pace. There was one age grouper that caught me around 7 miles and we switched back and forth until I out-biked her in the last mile. As I headed towards the transition area, I saw my mom heading out on her bike! She yelled my name in passing and I sent her good vibes!
Transition 2: Something ridiculous like 27 seconds. I was out of there!
Run: As for the run leg, I turned to two of my favorite mantras: "smooth and strong," and "I am here now" (from Another Mother Runner blog). I didn't have my garmin watch on so I didn't know what pace I was going. The thing about the bike to run transition is that it is hard to tell how fast I'm going because my legs just feel so weird. However, as I headed out of the transition area and onto the run course, I heard my dad say, "She's so fast." This gave me confidence. If I looked fast, I must be starting at a solid pace. During the first mile, I reminded myself "I am here now." Forget about the swim and the bike, and just be present in the moment, in this case a 3.1 mile run- a distance that I usually view as a warm up. I shook off the bike by the end of the first mile. With two miles left, I repeated "smooth and strong" in my head and looked to pass people. There were some girls who looked about my age less than a quarter mile ahead. When I approached, I realized that they were from an earlier heat (thus, not my age group) but it felt good to pass the youngsters anyway. Folks cheered me on as I headed towards the finish line. There weren't many racers around me but I still wasn't certain about my pace, time, or place. I was pretty tired as I headed into the finishing zone but I heard Mike and my dad once more. They told me to pick it up! So I did! (Even though I didn't want to!)
I was pretty excited when I saw these results:
It was hard for me to believe that I actually got second place in my age group, but there it was! I beat all of my times from two years ago except for the swim. Perhaps most exciting was my run time- 7:14 pace! My best 5k in college was 21:00 minutes and that was without swimming or biking before the race! This just goes to show that sometimes not knowing my pace can be a blessing. If I knew I was running a 7 minute pace in the first mile, I might have backed down. I will definitely do more runs/races by feel instead of by pace in the future.
With the first and third place winners AND OLYMPIAN MARATHONER- Carrie Tollefson! |
Awesome job Molly; way to go!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Nathalia!!!! I enjoy following your blog too!!!!
DeleteMolly, you are AMAZING!!!! From your smile, it's easy to tell that this is in your blood!!! Congratulations on a job well done -- and some great tales to tell Misha when he starts running -- as surely he will when he gets his Vasich legs!!Love
ReplyDeleteGreat Aunt K
Molly, that beam on your face in every picture says it all. The finish line photo is amazing! I am so, so proud of you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic finish photo! And an amazing race! I am inspired. Keep it up!
ReplyDelete