London Race Report

This is going to be a very, very long race report with lots of random pictures and since this is my blog and it's about my first triathlon, there will be lots of pictures of me! (just realized that before posting but yeah:D) You may want to come back when you have a few minutes or get your cup of coffee and settle in. Here goes my first race report :D


THE DAY BEFORE THE RACE:
Friday morning, my good friend Lara and I met and traveled together on the tube (underground metro) and train to Windsor's Holiday Inn. I thought we'd never get there! Traveling to Windsor from East London (with Tosin's rockin' bike and our luggage) was quite an ordeal! You should have seen the two of us! We were definitely in our own world!

Can I just say NO THANKS to living in London!? Underground, trains, buses, on foot.....Even with a car, no thanks.

Although I like big city, this was a little much, even for my standards. We actually asked 18 people for directions once we arrived in Windsor before we finally found the hotel!


Bad directions, no maps, things spread out quite a bit more than I expected, and two tired girls made for a long journey -- almost 3 hours. But you know, Lara and I hardly even noticed! We had our treasured $6 grande Starbucks (something not found in Eastern Europe), lots of time to catch up and we were good!

Quick history: Lara and I were roommates in Los Angeles for six months and became great friends, roomed together for lots of national college conferences, had lots of heart to hearts, made lots of great memories and inside jokes over the years. The last time I saw Lara was two years ago in Latvia when I joined her at her Straight Up Beautiful conference for girls. So this vacation together was long overdue!

After checking into the hotel, my plan was to bike over to Downey Lake at Eton College just to give myself a feel for the event site. But I looked outside our hotel window and it was pouring rain outside. I decided I wasn't going to worry about seeing and getting to the event site the night before and would just trust God to work it all out for me.

Later in the lobby, we met three British women who were also doing the Triathlon and gave me a map on how to get there. That was actually a God-send and I was thankful for the help. With their help, I realized it would be too far to ride over in the morning so at the front desk we ordered a morning taxi that could fit the bike. The British girls were really encouraging when they found out it was my first Tri. These ladies were doing the relay distances together. After talking with them for awhile, we were both hungry for dinner. Since we were in what looked like the ghetto of Windsor/Slough, we ate a light chicken and salad dinner in the hotel and then found a little store where we bought some chocolate and water. I had been telling Lara about the Magnum Ice Cream bars! We took our goodies back to the hotel room where I started to get organized for race day.

I pulled out all the bike gear in Tosin's bike bag and we had a few laughs as I was wondering what everything was for! I'm such a novice. I figured out how to adjust the seat! Then, I was being goofy and showing Lara what I would do in transitions!











I almost fell over on the bike! We had a lot of fun!





I started to get a little nervous, but those thoughts passed quickly as I thought of why I was doing this and how thankful I was to God for His strength and for this opportunity to even have a healthy body to use in an event like this. So many people don't have their health in life and I was reminded of this. I felt excitement as I thought of friends and family and all their encouragement the past year. Soon those nervous feelings passed. That night we stayed up talking, talking, talking. I think I fell asleep while Lara was still talking.....oops. Slept great though and woke with lots of energy and excitement.

RACE DAY: EARLY MORNING

Breakfast was at 7:30 am and man what a spread! We had an incredible breakfast in the hotel. I went back for seconds! I fueled up because my race time wasn't until the afternoon. After breakfast I realized I still hadn't actually given the bike a spin so I went to the parking lot and tried it out -- a few laps around the hotel to get used to the gears and pedaling. Tosin's bike ROCKS! Our taxi was late, but we finally made it to the event with plenty of time to spare.

It was a great feeling to walk around the site with thousands of people excited about Triathlon. They actually had another event before the Women's Tri so lots of kids were on the track as we arrived. Both Lara and I commented on how awesome it was to be at this one which was so family friendly and to see the men in these women's lives supporting and encouraging them. There were husbands, fathers caring for little kids while mom did the tri, boyfriends, brothers and sons. So inspiring to see that!

Lara watched the bike as I figured everything out with registration. Can I just say that everyone needs a support system like Lara? She was amazing and we had so much fun together! So thankful for this friend!! I got my packet, my t-shirt, free goodie bag from Timex and my timing chip. Then we had to wait in a line (a cue as the Brits call it) until the transition area opened for my wave.


It finally opened up and I got everything ready in transition. I still had literally three hours to go but it was actually good since this was my first race. I could watch how things were done and what to expect! I could figure out where the swim, bike and run exits in and out were and where I was positioned and imagine how it would go.....

So, I was LOVING the fact we were there so early to take it all in.


Lara and I walked around some of the booths. I felt prepared except for one thing. I was still trying to figure out, since I didn't have a wetsuit, if I should pin my number on my tri suit and swim with it (which I was very apprehensive about) or pin it on in transition (which would take up lots of time.) At that point, I started noticing most people have the belt thing. And I really wanted a number belt thing.

We came to one booth called "Trilife" and met Liz, talking to her about how this was my first tri and right now I was just worried about my number, wishing I had a tri belt. And she said, "Oh, I've got one. I'll let you use mine if you bring it back after the race." I was SOO excited! And definitely realized I'm getting one of these for future races. We also saw the ladies from the hotel. Apparently, the swim didn't go as well for them, but the bike and run were great. One of the ladies offered me a new gel she just got and said I should take it during the bike or run, that it's light like jello. I knew my legs would be feeling like jello, but OK. That was awesome! People were so helpful, so great.


As the time drew closer for me, the weather was getting windier and colder. It was FREEZING!!! I stayed bundled the entire time......But I kept telling myself, I could do this. How many times had I trained in windy or rainy conditions in Budapest? I just told myself, "No complaints". I must admit I was really cold but I would survive. I did ask God for sunshine though and was hoping the winds would die down. Sure enough, the sun started breaking through the clouds and the wind didn't seem as strong.

There was a handicapped woman competing with us too and she was such an inspiration to me! She had no use of her legs and feet. She competed in all three events and while biking and running, her hands worked overtime using a contraption they built for her to pedal and run with her hands. Wow! The power of the human will to overcome adversity. No complaints. And then the time finally came to do this thing! No more watching and wondering. It was my time!



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THE SWIM

Although I was the only one without a wetsuit, it definitely had it's benefits when I came out of the water. I must admit though, Downey Lake was incredibly cold!! I think I only survived because I had practiced in Lake Balaton in April.

After some brief directions on the three events, the whistle blew and we were off. I found myself in the middle of the group and tried to stay there the entire time. I kept thinking about how the swim was going to set me up for the bike and the run. I had to swim on my side for some of it and I kept finding myself out of sync with the group because of the strong windy current. Luckily the sun was beaming and I felt that on my back....Ah, it's the little things in life. I came out of the swim time in the middle.

THE BIKE
I ran to the bike, gaining my land legs somewhere along the way. I quickly slipped off swim cap and goggles, put on helmet and glasses, powdered/rolled socks and shoes, my number, took a gu gel, downed some water, grabbed the bike and I was off. No wet suit to bother with, which was definitely a benefit.

My bike was positioned almost directly next to the bike out area, so it was great to get a head start on that. As I started the bike, I pushed myself and realized the winds weren't that bad but it was a little windy.


I noticed others finishing up their last laps from previous waves of competitors. Something came over me and I got excited for them and started yelling "Come on, you can do it!" I couldn't believe how excited I was getting even for them. I definitely found out that I LOVE to encourage those around me. There were a few people struggling as I passed, so I would shout out a word of encouragement to keep going. It actually made my legs go faster too.....OMG! Awesome!

As I did the last lap, I kept telling myself, "OK, Jen. This is it. When you start the run it is going to feel like jello legs for a minute. Just push through it. You're gaining energy now on the bike and you're going to do great." I kept thanking God for a seemingly great bike ride and asked for strength for the next event. Four laps seemed to end just in time and as I jumped off and parked the bike, I had a ways to run through transition before starting the run time at the opposite end.


THE RUN

Initially, there was some confusion as to where to start running but I found it fairly quickly and I was off. I started to feel a bit of a side ache come on but this happened a few times in training, and I knew I had to focus on breathing and just keep going. It worked itself out in my body and I started to gain strength. Once again, I found myself encouraging others and people really appreciated it actually. I got lots of smiles and "OK, lets do it" which helped.

It felt so great to finally finish! And my final time was better than I expected!

I want to THANK everyone who has continually encouraged me that I could do it-- all my supporters out there (seriously=:D) for your constant love and help to a novice like me.

Well, I'm officially hooked. Hopefully I'll see some of you Tri-friends at Tri events in the states in years to come! Until then, we will keep on "try-in". Yes, that was cheese. But just go with it, OK? I live for inspiration and I'm easily inspired. :D