Family Waves & High Fives

I raced my second Olympic Distance triathlon today, and feel good about the experience. The water/weather was (virtually) perfect, the bike and run course was flat and fast, and most importantly I had on a new cute tri outfit (that I got from a great local store for smoking cheap!:)

For the swim, I was fairly relaxed. Actually, it's the best I've ever felt in a race as I was able to swim the entire course w/out stopping to gain my breath or wits (that's big for me!). My final swim time doesn't show the mental strength I felt (34 min), but I'm okay with that.

On the bike, I felt REALLY good. Again, love my new tri bike and shoes. I was stronger with each loop (there were 6), attacked the hill each time & averaged 19 mph. I'm happy with that.

And my run was average. I started out okay, but I may have let the mental games get the best of me:

'I REALLY have to go to the bathroom... I can just stop here and go', or 'Heck, I feel good about how well I've done so far, I can just walk now and be happy right?'.

I didn't succumb to either of those thoughts, but I also didn't focus too much on my pace either. I tried to focus on my overall form and learn how to race this distance. It did sorta suck though when a fellow age grouper passed me in the last mile. I tried to stay with her thinking 'just watch...she'll be 3rd in our age group'. Well, she beat me by 20 seconds to take 3rd. hmph.

But ya know what? I'm really pleased with my over all race attitude. It was only 2 years ago when I would hardly glance at my family during a race, worried those few extra sec's would hurt my time. Today my #1 goal (well maybe number two, after trying to stay zen on the swim) was to acknowledge and appreciate racing with my kids and DH there to support me. I kissed them after the swim, waved to them on the bike, and gave high fives during the run.

So with out sounding too Polyannish, I really allowed myself to be present to how lucky I was to be racing on Treasure Island with my family (& friend!) in tote. I did fairly well overall, and now have 2 olympic tri's to gain experience from.

And I think I'm ready for one more Olympic tri this year. Maybe in late August, or early September. I want to put in the training to see how well I can do. Plus, I need at least one more occasion to wear my cute tri outfit again right? :)