On Sunday I raced in my third triathlon of the year, which was also my 10th race I've participated in pregnant!
We were up at 3:30 am and out the door before 4:30 am so we could drive up to Richmond and be there in plenty of time to set up our transition area and be ready for a 7 am start time.
I'm still able to squeeze myself into these same tri shorts, probably because they sit below my belly. I had Sean write on my stomach "Baby's 3rd Tri 24 Weeks".
We were lucky that at this race the transition area was in alphabetical order so we were next to each other and our friend Brian was also on our rack.
Got to show off the belly one more time.I had a few people comment to me before the race started asking how many tris the baby was going to do before being born and encouraging me to have a good race. It helped psych me up to start the race.
Swim:
Distance: 500 meters
Time: 13:41
Pace: 2:44/100 meters (or 2:17/100 meters if it was 600 meters)
(Sean's Time: 12:57)
The swim was a 500 meter river swim in the James River, although rumor has it the swim was a little long, maybe closer to 600 meters, I think this is more accurate when looking at my per 100/meter rate. With water temperatures 86 or 87 degrees it was like swimming in a bath tub. Sean started in the second wave and I started in the fourth wave, 10 minutes behind him.
I decided to start at the back of my wave. I didn't want to get trampled since I know I'm not a strong swimmer and I figured I would just take it easy. The swim felt nice and easy and I stayed close to the buoys. It was amazing to see that I didn't stray far away and I was always about one person away from the buoy.
This was only our second open water swim triathlon and I definitely prefer this over the pool swim. I ended up passing a ton of people in the water, even at my slow pace. It made me feel awesome even though I wasn't out to race and I was just taking it easy.
Sean hasn't always been the stronger swimmer between the two of us, but once he got the hang of his breathing he always seems to be much faster than me.
Getting out of the water wasn't too bad, but we had to go up a steep staircase. I made sure to walk up it and take it easy. I had to remember, I wasn't out to race, just to complete and have fun.
T1:
Time: 3:21
(Sean's time: 1:04)
I took my time in the transition area. I drank water, opened up my Gel Chomps so I could enjoy them on the bike ride, put my HR monitor on, race belt (so I wouldn't have to worry about putting this on for the run), shirt, helmet, sunglasses, socks and sneakers. This was the first tri that I've done where I had to actually tie my shoes. Previously I've either had my bike shoes or my racing flats with my Yankz. I meant to bring a 5-gallon bucket to sit on to change my shoes, but ended up doing just fine without the bucket.
My transition was VERY slow. But I felt great and that was what I was trying to achieve.
Bike:
Distance: 18.8 miles (Garmin had 18.86)
Time: 1:27:17
Avg Speed: 13 mph
Avg HR: 142 bpm
Max HR: 173 bpm
(Sean's time: 53:34, yes he beat me by 34 minutes!)
I left the transition area and got on my bike. The bike was an 18.8 mile ride. I was told the first half was a bit hilly, with a fairly large hill at the turnaround but than the second half was mostly downhill. I used this to get through the ride. I felt good, but slow until about mile 8 and than I started to get round ligament pain in my lower right ab area. I tried talking to the baby and telling the baby to move. Sometimes I wonder if it's just the baby "hanging out" in this area of my body that makes the pain.
I got to the big hill and a ton of people were walking up it. I rode half way up the hill and than decided to walk it as well, no reason to try and pedal slower than 4 mph. Walking was probably the best thing I could do because once I got back on the bike my RLP was gone.
The first part of the ride back was down the big hill, I didn't want to ride too fast but looking at my Garmin I got up to 33.1 mph. I ended up braking most of the way down, I didn't want to lose control and risk falling.
The rest of the ride went well and I even ended up passing a few people on the ride back. There was some shade during the ride and even at my average 13 mph speed there was a little breeze so I never got too hot.
I also had my special "racing" shirt on so I had a ton of people complementing me on exercising, telling me they liked my shirt, and saying "Go Mama!" It really helped me through the ride.
Because I love looking at the stats on my Garmin I figured I'd share my stats below, on bike mode I have the Garmin set to Lap every 2 miles.
Lap 1
Avg Speed: 12.8 mph
Avg HR: 148 bpm
Lap 2
Avg Speed: 11.5 mph
Avg HR: 143 bpm
Lap 3
Avg Speed: 13.0 mph
Avg HR: 135 bpm
Lap 4
Avg Speed: 12.3 mph
Avg HR: 136 bpm
Lap 5
Avg Speed: 9.1 mph (this included the portion where I walked up the hill, but ironically also included the downhill, with the max of 33.1 and it's still super slow)
Avg HR: 139 bpm
Lap 6
Avg Speed: 17.1 mph
Avg HR: 139 bpm
Lap 7
Avg Speed: 14.8 mph
Avg HR: 143 bpm
Lap 8
Avg Speed: 14.8 mph
Avg HR: 141 bpm
Lap 9
Avg Speed: 13.5 mph
Avg HR: 151 bpm
Lap 10
Avg Speed: 19.0 mph (this was the last .8 miles of the ride so I think I was glad to be done)
Avg HR: 148 bpm
T2:
Time: 1:01
(Sean's Time: 1:09)
Yeah I actually beat Sean at one part of the tri, wahoo!!! The only reason I beat him was because I already had my race belt on, I put it on during T1, and I didn't have to change my shoes since I was wearing the same shoes on the run that I biked with, but I still had 7 seconds on him.
Distance: 500 meters
Time: 13:41
Pace: 2:44/100 meters (or 2:17/100 meters if it was 600 meters)
(Sean's Time: 12:57)
The swim was a 500 meter river swim in the James River, although rumor has it the swim was a little long, maybe closer to 600 meters, I think this is more accurate when looking at my per 100/meter rate. With water temperatures 86 or 87 degrees it was like swimming in a bath tub. Sean started in the second wave and I started in the fourth wave, 10 minutes behind him.
I decided to start at the back of my wave. I didn't want to get trampled since I know I'm not a strong swimmer and I figured I would just take it easy. The swim felt nice and easy and I stayed close to the buoys. It was amazing to see that I didn't stray far away and I was always about one person away from the buoy.
This was only our second open water swim triathlon and I definitely prefer this over the pool swim. I ended up passing a ton of people in the water, even at my slow pace. It made me feel awesome even though I wasn't out to race and I was just taking it easy.
Sean hasn't always been the stronger swimmer between the two of us, but once he got the hang of his breathing he always seems to be much faster than me.
Getting out of the water wasn't too bad, but we had to go up a steep staircase. I made sure to walk up it and take it easy. I had to remember, I wasn't out to race, just to complete and have fun.
T1:
Time: 3:21
(Sean's time: 1:04)
I took my time in the transition area. I drank water, opened up my Gel Chomps so I could enjoy them on the bike ride, put my HR monitor on, race belt (so I wouldn't have to worry about putting this on for the run), shirt, helmet, sunglasses, socks and sneakers. This was the first tri that I've done where I had to actually tie my shoes. Previously I've either had my bike shoes or my racing flats with my Yankz. I meant to bring a 5-gallon bucket to sit on to change my shoes, but ended up doing just fine without the bucket.
My transition was VERY slow. But I felt great and that was what I was trying to achieve.
Bike:
Distance: 18.8 miles (Garmin had 18.86)
Time: 1:27:17
Avg Speed: 13 mph
Avg HR: 142 bpm
Max HR: 173 bpm
(Sean's time: 53:34, yes he beat me by 34 minutes!)
I left the transition area and got on my bike. The bike was an 18.8 mile ride. I was told the first half was a bit hilly, with a fairly large hill at the turnaround but than the second half was mostly downhill. I used this to get through the ride. I felt good, but slow until about mile 8 and than I started to get round ligament pain in my lower right ab area. I tried talking to the baby and telling the baby to move. Sometimes I wonder if it's just the baby "hanging out" in this area of my body that makes the pain.
I got to the big hill and a ton of people were walking up it. I rode half way up the hill and than decided to walk it as well, no reason to try and pedal slower than 4 mph. Walking was probably the best thing I could do because once I got back on the bike my RLP was gone.
The first part of the ride back was down the big hill, I didn't want to ride too fast but looking at my Garmin I got up to 33.1 mph. I ended up braking most of the way down, I didn't want to lose control and risk falling.
The rest of the ride went well and I even ended up passing a few people on the ride back. There was some shade during the ride and even at my average 13 mph speed there was a little breeze so I never got too hot.
I also had my special "racing" shirt on so I had a ton of people complementing me on exercising, telling me they liked my shirt, and saying "Go Mama!" It really helped me through the ride.
Because I love looking at the stats on my Garmin I figured I'd share my stats below, on bike mode I have the Garmin set to Lap every 2 miles.
Lap 1
Avg Speed: 12.8 mph
Avg HR: 148 bpm
Lap 2
Avg Speed: 11.5 mph
Avg HR: 143 bpm
Lap 3
Avg Speed: 13.0 mph
Avg HR: 135 bpm
Lap 4
Avg Speed: 12.3 mph
Avg HR: 136 bpm
Lap 5
Avg Speed: 9.1 mph (this included the portion where I walked up the hill, but ironically also included the downhill, with the max of 33.1 and it's still super slow)
Avg HR: 139 bpm
Lap 6
Avg Speed: 17.1 mph
Avg HR: 139 bpm
Lap 7
Avg Speed: 14.8 mph
Avg HR: 143 bpm
Lap 8
Avg Speed: 14.8 mph
Avg HR: 141 bpm
Lap 9
Avg Speed: 13.5 mph
Avg HR: 151 bpm
Lap 10
Avg Speed: 19.0 mph (this was the last .8 miles of the ride so I think I was glad to be done)
Avg HR: 148 bpm
T2:
Time: 1:01
(Sean's Time: 1:09)
Yeah I actually beat Sean at one part of the tri, wahoo!!! The only reason I beat him was because I already had my race belt on, I put it on during T1, and I didn't have to change my shoes since I was wearing the same shoes on the run that I biked with, but I still had 7 seconds on him.
Sean finished the entire race before I had even finished the bike. This meant he got to be my personal photographer. He captures me here entering T2.
Grabbing my Garmin off the bike so I can put it on my wrist.
Staying hydrated! This was very important since the high for the day was 106. Not sure what the temp was at this time. It was still before 9 am so probably 90 degrees.I gave Sean a kiss and left T2 with one thing left I had to do, run a 5K!!
Run:
Time: 36:24
Run:
Time: 36:24
Pace: 11:45 min/mile
Avg HR: 161 bpm
Max HR: 179 bpm
(Sean's Time: 32:40, he would have been faster but he tripped on a branch and fell in the woods.)
The run was my absolute favorite. The majority of the run was nestled on the trails shaded in the woods. I felt good and they had 4 spots to get water so I stay hydrated. By the time I hit the trail there were a ton of people walking so I passed at least 10+ people. This was motivating especially since A. I'm pregnant, and B. I was jogging at a 12 min/mile pace.
I never realized you could actually jog this slow. I'm sure this is ignorant on my part, and even though I'm not an elite athlete I used to find it hard to believe that someone could run THIS slow. Now I have a lot more respect for those that get out and run regardless of their pace.
As I ran I felt better and better. I encouraged other runners as I ran and was able to jog the entire way. At each water stop I did walk to make sure I drank the entire cup of water and at least twice poured an additional cup on my head. It was hot and I wanted to make sure I didn't overheat.
I did have to pee, but not really really bad, which is interesting since I had been on the go for over 2 hours, and normally I pee every 20 minutes.
I didn't have any pain and my body felt strong. I kept an eye on my HR and it was higher than I like it to be. My exertion level is the more important thing to monitor, therefore I was making sure to talk to others to make sure that I wasn't short on breath and that I could maintain a conversation. I was able to do both and therefore I was fine where my HR was.
The run seemed to go by really quickly and soon enough I peaked out of the woods and had my own cheering squad at the finish cheering my name. I guess that's the good thing about finishing last. Everyone is there to cheer for you!
I passed Sean, held my hands up, smiled and than ran through to the finish.I was excited to see that I had negative splits on the run. According to my Garmin my splits were:
Mile 1:
Pace: 12:17 min/mile
Avg HR: 157 bpm
Mile 2:
Pace: 11:52 min/mile
Avg HR: 159 bpm
Mile 3:
Pace: 11:19 min/mile
Avg HR: 167 bpm
Last 0.10:
Pace: 9:31 min/mile
Avg HR: 177 (I know this is high, but it was only for 0.10 mile and I was excited to see everyone).
I finished feeling strong, and not even slightly short of breath. My official time was 2:21:42. Sean Finished with an official time of 1:41:22. I'm so proud of him!
Besides finishing feeling strong my other goal was to not finish last. I didn't think this would be a problem since there are seriously every level of athletes that participate in these type of races, there was even a 77 year old man that did this race, unfortunately for me he beat me by almost 30 minutes. I ended up beating one person in my age group (ok officially two, but one person didn't finish the race so I don't actually count them) and a total of 24 people in the race. Not too bad for being 24 weeks pregnant!
Good friends!
The best part of the triathlon, besides racing, is the friends you share the experience with. I'm so glad to have such a great group of friends that enjoy the sport that I love so much.
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