Spring Fever Triathlon, Claremore, OK-April 20, 2008

Well, as most of you know this was my first tri. What a fun time I had and this was definitely a great reward for training!
Time: 1:19:23
50th Women
9th Division

Pre-Race: Arrived in Claremore on Saturday. Rode about 5mi. of the bike course and realized it was more hilly than I had initially expected. Thought I better tack on 8-10 min. to my time due to that. Walked the run course after dinner so I would know where I was going. Morning of the race I had nerves, but they didn't really set in until I was the fifth one in line for the swim start.

Swim: Start was super funky and I got a terrible start. Finally got in my rhythm about the fifth/sixth lap and as a guy was passing another guy in the lane next to me, he almost hit me head on. Had to basically come to a stop to avoid collision, which pissed me off...kept going and didn't get back into rhythm until about lap eight or nine. Came out of the water feeling great, but disappointed in my time. Almost a minute off! Argh! T1 took forever to get to!

Bike: Got off to a slow start with the first monster hill from hell, but again, got on pace about mile 4 or so. Heading out of town was a great ride. Coming back in caught some head wind which wasn't fun, but thanks to TT training on Tuesday, I was definitely prepared! Came in faster than I had expected from what I rode on Sat. so I was pleased with that.

Run: After leaving T2 (which I need to improve my time on) checked my watch and was right on pace. Legs felt good, not tired. Climbing the first small incline though my right calf started cramping bad. Thought maybe I should stop and stretch it out, but just didn't want to waste time. Slowed a bit to see if it would release. It didn't...cramped the entire run. But I made it to the finish line and I was happy.


Overall I had a wonderful time and I am hooked. Can't wait til my next event! Will be working on Bricks the next few weeks to work out those cramps! I still haven't figured out yet how people can eat pizza and drink beer after a race...just looking at it made me want to throw up...all I wanted was some water/gatorade! So glad I can say I AM A TRIATHLETE!