Getting back in the game, Tri for Fun!

Back in the day, before little miss Emeline came along, this member of Team Zuber, Elaine that is, enjoyed doing triathlons. Now I've never really considered myself the athletic type, but my dear friend Rebecca's hobby of triathlons inspired me to challenge myself something new, and in June 2005 I did my first Sprint Triathlon. Since then I've done 4-5 sprint triathlons, 1 Olympic distance, and I think 3 bike events (100K, 50miles, and 40+miles). It has been a fun journey of seeing what this body God created can do.

I've taken quite the break since pregnancy and the birth of Emeline, about 2 years to be exact, and having enough sleep, energy, and time for training has been quite the challenge. So I was very excited to be able to get back into the game by doing a triathlon which was part of the Tri For Fun Series, held in Pleasanton, CA. Without further ado, here is my race report!

Pre-Race
Got up at 5, since I couldn't sleep anyway. Showered, coffee and some cereal. Then Elizabeth picked me up and off we went! Wes was going to bring Emeline a little later so they could get some more sleep. It was sad to have a tri without Wes helping me load up my gear and get all set up. I had some yogurt in the car, and we checked in just in the nick of time. We set up our transition area, and then headed down to the lake, where we listened to the pre-race announcements and warmed up by jumping up and down in the lake and swimming a bit. I looked for Wes and Emeline, but I couldn't see them yet. I ended up starting earlier than I thought, so I figured they would miss the start of the race. The water was warmer than I thought, and I'd been having some good swim workouts, so I felt confident about the swim.

Swim
The swim turned out to be much more rough than I thought. There were so many people, it was hard to get swimming, so I was barely getting a breast stroke. I was right in the middle of a pretty bad cold, and my lungs felt so tired that I could not breathe well. I had lots of asthma and I even had to back stroke a bit to catch my breath. I didn't actually start "swimming" until I could almost see the shore. I was disappointing at how the swim went, but I still got out of the water a couple seconds faster than the last time I did this race.

T1
As I came out of the water, I looked for Wes and Emeline, but no sign of them. Oh, well, I thought, maybe I'll see them when I come back from the bike. The first transition went ok, I was mostly trying to catch my breath from the swim. I almost forgot to put on my bike helmet.

Bike
Once I got on the bike, and up the hill out of transition, I felt like I was still trying to catch my breath from all the asthma during the swim. I also noticed my back tire was low, and I was afraid it was leaking. If Wes had been there he would have made sure my tires were freshly pumped, but I had forgotten. After about the half way mark, I knew the tire would be fine and I got more into a groove. I still was feeling sick, and desperately needed to blow my nose. I tried to just maintain a steady pace and a high RPM so I could conserve energy for the run.

T2
As I came in for the second transition, I was feeling pretty good, and hoped again to see Wes and Emeline, but no luck. The transition went smoothly, I put on my running shoes quickly, and dumped my helmet. Chugged some more tonic water to help prevent cramps on the run. I wish I had a bandana for my hair. Still no sign of Wes or Emeline as I started the run. Then I felt bad for making them come to watch me, when as it seemed, I didn't know if I would even see them at all.

Run
I felt really good in the first part of the run. I had taken it easy on the bike, so I felt like I had good energy, considering all the cold symptoms. Again, I took it easy since I wasn't feeling too well. I walked up the hills, and ran the rest. The hills were steep but short, and I ran more of the course than I expected. I thought the run course was only 2 or 2.5 miles, so I felt great at the beginning, but by the end I felt bad that it was taking me so long. Only after the fact did I realize it was actually a full 3.1 miles. Then I didn't feel so bad about my time. My knees and ankles were getting a bit sore by the end, but none of my usual calf cramping.

Finally as I was running down the home stretch, I saw Wes and Emeline! It was so cool to have my first moment of Emeline watching me in a triathlon. I felt proud! Here's a picture of me waving at them as I ran by.
I decided to push myself and sprint to the finish. I was surprised I had the energy to do so, I guess that means I could have pushed myself harder throughout the race. Elizabeth met the at the finish line (after finishing with an awesome time!), and we grabbed some fruit and muffins and waited for Wes and Emeline. Here's a picture of the two of us, triathlon complete!
I finished with a longer time than the last time I did the Tri for Fun back in 2006, but that was expected. So all in all, I enjoyed myself and I think I did well considering I training is much harder with a little one around, and I had a nasty cold. This member of Team Zuber feels very glad to feel back in the game!