Proof that I finished!

No pictures of the swim, but that's okay, no one needs to see the muffin top caused by my tri shorts.

Cleavage!

Way too excited for this point in the race.

Flanhoodles across the finish line.

Bad asses,

Beverages I Drank Yesterday

Subtitle: Wine Hangovers are the Worst

• Sobe Lifewater
• Diet Pepsi
• Water
• Coconut Water
• Water
• Diet Orange Crush
• Kombucha
• Water
• Water
• Water

Triathlon By The Numbers

Subtitle: I heart tracking data.

Weeks of training: 15

Number of (swim, bike, run) workouts: 62

Total number of minutes spent swimming: 641

Total number of minutes spent biking: 1,974

Total number of minutes spent running: 481

(Hmmm...I wonder which one I like to do the most...)

Number of cross training workouts: 5 (2 yoga classes, 2 weight lifting sessions, 1 stand up paddle boarding session)

Pre-Training Weight: 150

Post-Triathlon Weight: 156

Pounds gained/lost: +6

Pounds of fat gained vs. pounds of muscle gained, judged by the way my jeans fit after putting them on for the first time in 2 months: 2 pounds muscle, 4 pounds fat

Total calories burned due to triathlon workouts (according to Daily Mile): 33,962

Number of beers to equal 33,962 calories (150 cal/beer): 226.4 Beers

Ounces of Brie to equal 33,962 calories (95 cal/oz): 357.5 oz of Brie

Pints of Ben & Jerry's Half Baked equal to 33,962 cal (1,080 cal/pint): 31.4 pints of Half Baked

Longest Run: 4 miles

Longest Swim: 1 mile

Longest Ride: 25 miles

Total Miles Ran: 46 miles

Total Miles Swam: 13 miles

Total Miles Ridden: 303 miles

Total Miles: 362 miles

Worth it?: Every Second!

Iron Girl Lake Tahoe Race Report

Katie and I, one week before Race Day!

So I didn't really take any pictures...oops! But here goes the race report!

Pre-Race

Katie and I arrived at the Harvey's parking lot, at 6 am, definitely more early than we needed to be there, as transition didn't close until 7 am, and the first swim wave at 7:30. But we got everything set up, and had plenty of time to chill. (Literally, as it was pretty cold in the dark morning. My toes were definitely regretting my choice to wear flip flops.)

Katie and I had made the decision not to wear wetsuits at the end of August, as we had been swimming in the lake all summer in swimsuits, and didn't want to deal with the hassle of renting, practicing with them, etc. I started getting nervous about this decision when it appeared that we were literally the only ones not wearing wetsuits. Ummm....

As the group moved from the parking lot transition area to the beach where we would be swimming, we kept reassuring ourselves that we'd be fine without wetsuits- we'd only be in the water for ~10 minutes, the water was 65 degrees, we'd been in the lake since June in our bathing suits, etc. Luckily, as the start got closer, we started noticing other women only in swimsuits, or the sports bra/tri shorts combo I was wearing. They had been there all along, just hiding under their sweats, like I was.

I set up my flip flops in the "shoe transition" outside of the beach. There was a fairly long jog back to the bike transition area on asphalt, so they had a little area we could leave our shoes so we didn't have to do it barefoot. After what felt like an eternity of standing on cold, wet sand, the first wave was off!

The Swim

Katie and my leg was the last to be sent off for the 400 m swim. With the wave starts, there were about ~80 women in my wave, so the swim wasn't too crowded. I started towards the middle of the pack on the outside, and angled in toward the first buoy. There wasn't too much jostling and I didn't get kicked at all. Yay!

Katie and I planned to stick together for the race, but that proved pretty difficult in the swim leg, especially once we rounded the second buoy and the sun was in my eyes. The swim went really well. I'm glad I did so much open water swimming this summer. It definitely helped! Also, I totally didn't need a wetsuit. The water felt great!

Swim 400 m: 10:41- 166/494

T1

Katie was out of the water pretty soon after me, so I waited by our shoes and we jogged up to transition together. She had put her down jacket back on, and I was just in a sports bra and my tri shorts, so the announcer made a funny comment about that. I took my time, put on my bike jersey, socks, shoes, helmet, sunglasses, etc. and ate some Cliff Blocks (which tasted like candy!)

and headed out on the road.

T1: 10:01

Bike

The race had closed down the two middle lanes of Hwy 50 for us to ride on which was beyond awesome! I had thought that we were going to have to ride on the shoulder. The ride definitely had some tough hills, but I had the local advantage of riding the route all summer so I knew it really well. Being in the last swim wave gave the advantage of having lots of people to pass. I would just focus on someone's back and pick them off, then move on to the next person. I definitely passed more people than I got passed by, but I know I could have pushed harder on the bike. This is my only disappointment in the race.

When I got about a mile from the finish, I started to freak out that I would forget to clip out. I don't know why I panicked about that, but I did. When I got close to transition, I clipped out, but I probably did so waaaaaay before I needed to.

Bike 24 k: 54:16- 215/494

T2

Staying together on the bike leg proved too difficult, and I got ahead of Katie somewhere around mile 2 or 3, so I hung around in transition so we could start the run together, also, because I promised to yell at her to remember to clip out, as she'd only learned to ride in clipless shoes the week before. I changed into my running shoes, and gulped some Gatorade, as I didn't drink at all during the ride. Ooops!

T2- 7:15

Fun fact: This was the Third Slowest Overall T2!

Run

This was by far the leg I was most proud of. I am not a runner. I don't especially love running. I am slow. I had only done about 75% of my training runs this summer. But the run went so well! Katie and I started off pretty slow, chatting about the beer and cheese we would be eating shortly, and how usually we were just now waking up for bagels and coffee at this point on a Sunday. I slowly kicked it into higher gear, and kept picking off and passing people ahead of me. The course was two loops, so it was slightly demoralizing to see the "2 miles" sign and realize that I'd only run about a mile. At one point, we saw our friend Reina, who was on her second lap and bounding like a gazelle. The course was pretty flat, with only one hill (that we had to do twice, argh) and was mostly shaded, which was nice.

Finally, I came around the corner (for the second time) where the first lap people split off from the finish line people. I ran a little farther and saw the "3 mile" sign and kicked it into higher gear. I came around the corner and sprinted towards the finish line. I heard the announcer say, "...Lynn B., from South Lake Tahoe, and she signed up for this triathlon after drinking 6 beers!" Apparently, (after drinking the aforementioned beers) that is what I put as my "interesting fact" when I signed up! Ha!

Run 5 k: 31:22- 166/494

This is totally awesome because I usually run at about a 10 m/mi pace, so it was amazing to see I'd run that fast at the end of a triathlon! I guess now I'm going to have to speed up my runs!

Overall

The Iron Girl Lake Tahoe was a great experience, and extremely well run. I haven't done any of their other events, but I would assume that they are similar. Highly recommend!

1:53:38 253/494 (I think that 7 minute T2 really pulled me down in the overall, ha!)

While I didn't really get any pictures at the race, here is a picture of Katie and my post race beverages.

Katie went with a Bloody Mary, while I went with the drink that got me into the deal- Beer!

Also, I still can't get my race number scrubbed off my arms.

Iron Girl Lake Tahoe Tomorrow!

Fourteen hours from now, I'll be starting the swim!

AAAAAAAAAAH!

Triathlon Training - Week 15

It's so soon! Next Sunday.

Here's how triathlon training went for the week:

Monday:

Goal: Rest/Drive 14 hours

Accomplished: Katie, her HLP Jessica and I did the 14 hour drive from Seattle to Lake Taco in one shot. It was a long drive

Tuesday:

Goal: Swim 18, Bike 37

Accomplished: Bike 105. I know I'm supposed to be cutting back before the triathlon, but with the epic road trip, I only got in one workout the previous week, and I was feeling antsy for a nice long ride. I rode Powerline Trail, and like usual, I spent the first half mile cursing myself for picking it due to the deep sand and short but steep uphills, but then things smoothed out and I cruised past the spot where I usually turn around and found out that the trail gets even better! Then I cursed myself for not riding the whole thing all summer.

Wednesday:

Goal: 50 minute bike, 18 minute run

Accomplished: 27 minute run, 25 minute open water swim. I had a bike/run brick on the schedule, but when Katie and Reina wanted to go for an open water swim, I changed my plans. I love open water swimming, but going by myself is always a little nerve wracking, due to the dudebros on jet skis and Tahoe Tessie (Nessie's cousin). I even managed to get in a run before I met Katie and Reina for our swim!

Thursday:

Goal: 31 minute swim swim

Accomplished: 25 minute open water swim, 45 minute bike. Katie and I met up for another open water swim, and I made it into a brick with a 9 ish mile bike ride afterward. I practiced swimming and biking in my tri shorts, and I love them! Still need to try running though.

Friday:

Goal: 62 minute bike

Accomplished: 20 minute run. With a Deadwinter Carpenters show on Friday at my favorite bar and a beer/bluegrass/camping wedding on Saturday, I knew there was a pretty good chance I wouldn't get any workouts in this weekend, so I squeezed in a run while my laundry was going at the laundromat. I need to multi-task like this more often.

Saturday:

Goal: Rest Day

Accomplished: Rode my bike to get bagels, ate bagels, ate Cheeze-its, attended an awesome wedding, danced, partied until 7 am

Sunday:

Goal: 31 minute run

Accomplished: Ha ha. Watched football, watched the True Blood finale, ate greasy Chinese food, ate more Cheeze-its