Barron Lake Recap

Barron Lake is quite possibly one of my most favorite triathlon's that I have done! I did it last year and loved it and really debated dropping it this year. But I'm so happy I didn't drop it and went through with it! I had so much fun!

I got there first thing in the morning, earlier than necessary, but race nerves may have helped me drive a bit faster than necessary to get there! I went and picked up my packet, got marked and then set up my transition. I felt like I was missing something and set it up a couple different times but thankfully I wasn't missing anything! 

                                           

My friend and most of her whole family did the race together. It was so fun to see them all doing it together, last year was her first year and first tri and this year she brought her mom, dad, brother and sister to do it! We stood huddled together like nervous ducklings as the race director gave their informational talk. We said a quick prayer together and the OLY racers started lining up to enter the swim. 

My friends Kelly and Kati came to cheer us on! Neither of them were able to race due to not being 100% healthy so they said they would come to cheer! I told them if they came I wanted signs!! And being the BEST cheerleaders, team mates, and friends I could ask for, they came through!! Loved it!

And then it was our turn to get out in the water. It's an in water start, but it's so shallow we could walk all the way out between the second and third buoys!  I felt my nerves coming up more and more as the waves went off one by one ahead of us. I kept reminding myself that this is 200m, I can do much longer than 200m, I just need to get in and do it. 

And I did!

I felt like transition took forever, but the bike was good!  I didn't remember there being that many hills, and I haven't been on my bike since June and it showed... BIG TIME!! But I'm happy I was able to do as well as I did with zero training! 

see! I was going so fast I was a blur! 

The lack of biking showed on the run. Big time. My calves were cramping like woah. Woah woah woah! And even though it was a short and sweet run I could hardly keep moving forward!!!  But I came across the finish line with a respectable time and on my own two feet! 

And that was it! 

Comparing the last two years you can certainly see improvement, but I also see a lot of room for improvement! My friend Kim (in the jacket) took second!! in her age group, I am so proud of her! 

And just for fun... Me and Mabrey last year after Barraon Lake, and this year after Barron Lake!

Steelhead 70.3

Yesterday was Ironman Steelhead 70.3  It's a local race for us so a lot of my friends do the race.

I wanted to do it so badly this year and all through my pregnancy I trained for it. But then having Pubic Symphysis Disfunction I wasn't able to get back into biking or running as quickly as I thought I would so I ended up not registering for it this year.  So next year is my year!

Anyway, every year for the last 5 years I have worked in the medical tent during the race. I make sure I'm off every year because I love it. I love the energy and the inspiration I receive at the race each year!

 My coworker and friend Lynette and I worked together all last year and kind of teamed up to go out to any athletes in need and then we spent a large portion of our time at the finish line catching.

It was awesome. So we of course teamed up again this year to provide medical support and be cheerleaders for all our friends and coworkers who were racing!

The lake was perfect and the swimmers did awesome. I looked at that course thinking "nope..no way...nope, nope, nope, NOPE!" 1.2 miles is a long.freaking.way.

We headed up to the transition point from the swim chute to the bikes to cheer.

And cheer we did! My throat was sore from all the screaming! Some swimmers looked like they'd just taken a quick dip, others were puking looking like they wanted to die. I could totally feel their pain.

As the bikers came in we tried to catch all of our friends coming in but sadly we missed a few since we actually had to work and take care of some sick athletes! But we saw a huge portion come in and that was awesome!

By the time runners were coming across the finish line I was so ready for registration to open for 2016 so I could register!  I stood there watching athletes push themselves to the limits just so they could cross that finish line with their arms in the air and the biggest smiles you could have ever dreamed of having! I tried to snap pictures of all our friends as they finished, which made being there at the finish line all the more awesome!

Seeing the varying emotions as each athlete finished was awesome! Some were in tears, some were in pain, some weren't even aware that they were at the finish line, some crossed with their hands held high while others struggled to cross upright, most crossed on their own, but a few crossed with the help of others. It was so awesome to see Team RWB there with a blind athlete and her guide, myTeamTriumph was there with Captain Johnny who swam and biked with his Angel Christian, then was pushed on the run by his dad and then crossed the finish line on his own two feet with so much joy I was in tears! And then there was Fireman Rob who crossed the finish line in his full Fireman gear! I'm kicking myself for not grabbing a selfie with him! ;)

By the time our last friend was through the run I was ready to come home and go for a run! I was ready to get my training going for next year!  Looking forward to registering as soon as registration opens up for next year! And I'm super excited because Jorden has seriously talked about doing it with me!!! Talk about awesome!!

So who's doing it with me? You know you want to!!

Tri Goddess Tri

Earlier today I completed my first Triathlon of the 2015 season!!  8 Weeks ago I had just had a c-section and gone into respiratory arrest and look at me now!!

So my whole pregnancy I tried to stay super active so that jumping back into training after having Mabrey would be a cinch.  For the most part it's been alright.  My endurance is crap, but that's to be expected. My pubic bone still really hurts while I run so I have to take the run a lot slower and walk a lot more than I would like, but it's all good because I'm out there. I'm moving. I'm breathing.

The day started off great. I was so excited about the swim because in my pool training swims I'd done the distance in 20ish minutes depending on the day. I knew that this would probably be a bit slower than that but I was so ready! Last year I did the whole swim breaststroke so this year I wanted to do the whole thing freestyle.

About 1/2 way between the first two buoys I lost my vision. I couldn't see the water, I couldn't see other swimmers, nothing.  I started treading water as that familiar panicked feeling overtook me. I went into a full flashback, I could see the doctors and the nurses...but not the swimmers around me. Someone or a couple someones stopped and asked me if I was okay and I couldn't answer them. I could hardly breath. My heart was pounding out.of.control.  My goggles were filling with tears.

Slowly my vision started to return and I saw that a kayak had paddled close to me. I was so tempted to head over to it, but I knew that if that kayaker saw my face they would pull me because I was SO panicked.

I gave myself a pep talk.  "Pull it together Kristin. You can do this distance.  You can MAKE it around the buoy. Start swimming or they are going to pull you. Start moving forward. You're okay. Keep going."

So I slowly made my way toward the buoy. I told myself I could rest at the buoy.  At the turn I flipped to my back and slowed my breathing and slowly started to backstroke.  I went so slowly. Tears just flowing. Hiccuping from crying. I was a mess.

I was finally able to flip onto my belly and go but I couldn't put my face in the water. Something about the darkness and KNOWING I couldn't breath under the water set me into panic. So again, I breast stroked the whole dang thing.

I got out of the water and huffed my way up to transition. There I was able to drink some water and eat a couple bites of granola bar as I got ready to bike.

The bike went great. I was slower than I wanted but again I just kept reminding myself that I was alive. I was breathing. I needed to Celebrate Every Breath!!  I was disappointed when I found my average speed was 14.5 mph, I had felt like I pushed myself so much harder than that!!

Transition 2 was slower. I had tried to dry myself off a touch even though it was raining. I don't know why. Then my shoe came untied just as I was ready to head out so I stopped to retie.

The run was a run/walk. My pubic bone was on fire.  But I kept going. I didn't stop. I pushed through to get to the end. I knew I was way past my time from last year and I was closing in on that two hour mark. I was so mad that I was going so slow!

As I got closer to the finish the tears started again. So many tears were shed over this course. So many. It was a bit ridiculous.

I came into the parking lot where I saw friends who had already finished and were cheering for me. I pushed through but the tears kept flowing. As soon as I came across the finish line my group came over and I lost it. I was a mess. After I explained what happened I took a few minutes to collect myself.  Then I rejoined our group to cheer the last few in.

I left the race feeling deflated. Feeling Mad. But thankful. 8 weeks ago I nearly died. And while this may not have been my best performance, I did it.


As for the results:

Swim : 29:54 (Goal time 20 minutes)
T1: 1:49 (Goal time 1:30)
Bike: 42:12 (Goal time 38 minutes)
T2: 1:57 (Goal time 1:30)
Run: 35:25 (Goal time 30 minutes)

Total time: 1:51:19