My toes were freezing. It was 40-something degrees and I was wearing flip-flops, standing outside listening to Aaron Shamy give the pre-race instructions and inspiration. I’d been up since 5:15am, a crazy early time for being awake on a Saturday morning, but I was stoked to be doing the Ice Breaker triathlon that morning – the second tri I’ve ever done.
After the pre-race meeting it was time to head to the pool. Thankfully I had a support person with me, so I was able to keep my warm clothes on until getting inside; I was not looking forward to running out to transition while wet. The pool was great; temperature perfect. I’d never swam in a 50 meter pool before. I did a little bit of warm-up swimming then lined up with the other group 4 swimmers. Watching the good swimmers was awesome. My turn came and in I jumped. I did get stuck behind some slower swimmers a couple times, but it didn’t slow me down all that much. Overall I was very happy with the swim.
Running outside to transition wasn’t too bad; the sun had come up and it was starting to get warmer. Quick towel dry, then put on my bike gear including a thin windbreaker jacket.
The bike course was pretty good. The first mile had a tough hill but after than it was pretty flat, then slightly downhill. The shoulders were nicely cleared, and the potholes and rough terrain were well-marked. There were volunteers at every intersection and police officers at every stoplight doing traffic control, they all did a great job. This was only the second time I had ridden my new bike on the road, and I felt pretty good.
The transition to run went smoothly. It was now warm enough that I took off the jacket and gloves, and I decided not to put socks on.
The run is my worst sport, and the first mile was really tough for me. I had forgotten to take a Gu on the bike, and I could tell that I was running out of energy. I walked much of the big hill. Once I got to the aid station I was feeling better – the Gu I grabbed during transition had kicked in, and I was able to run the rest of the way. I set a PR for the run, but was still the slowest person in my age group. I ran into the finish, got my finisher medal while someone took off my timing chip, then grabbed some food (from a nice selection).
Overall I finished 6th in my age group in a time of 1:28:36. I was very happy with my time and enjoyed the race. The weather couldn’t have been better, and the volunteers were great. I’ll be back!
By Jess Galaviz
[...] Way to Start Off the Race Season - Written by Amber Foster (Overall Female Champion) “I’ll Be Back!” – Written By Jess Galaviz A New COURSE RECORD was set this year by David Warden who took [...]