Weekend of Racing!!

Before I post my own race report, I simply *MUST* give a SHOUT OUT to both my sister Heather and my friend Nancy for their OUTSTANDING RACE RESULTS this weekend!

Heather took 3rd place Woman OVERALL this weekend at the 2007 BROADWAY at the BEACH 5K in a time of 23:51!!!!

Nancy set a new PR in her 5th 1/2 Marathon of the year with a time of 2:19:28 at the Bridge to Bridge Half Marathon!!

WAY TO ROCK AND INSPIRE LADIES!!!
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Now onto my weekend results:

Race: Kinetic Sprint
Date: Sunday, April 22, 2007
Location: Spotsylvania, VA
Race Type: Triathlon - Sprint

Time: 2:23:10
Overall Place: 157 / 166
ATHENA Group Place: 8 / 9

Comment: Executive Summary: Beautiful Day for an Early Season TRI!

SWIM (750m): 24:38
T1: 4:11
BIKE (18 miles): 1:11:58
T2:1:51
RUN(5k): 40:35

The rest of the story:

We drove down to Lake Anna on Saturday evening and met with my friend Keri to pick-up packets and meet her friends for dinner. We had excellent Italian meals and returned to the hotel to relax. The race was scheduled to start at 10AM, giving us time to wake up at our leisure and get down to Lake Anna for around 830AM.

We arrived at the Lake and were stunned to see that the first parking lot was already full. I imagine many athletes from the DC area simply drove in from town (a quick 1 hour drive). We parked our cars and were unloading bikes when Debi B. (TRI-DRS & TRI-RATS fame) pulled in the parking lot! She wasn't even out of her car but I walked up to her open window and said
"We saved you a parking spot!" It was great getting to see her again.

Keri and I headed over to transition to drop off our bikes and gear and get settled. The time flew quickly and soon enough it was time to wiggle my way into my full sleeve wetsuit rental. Just about 9:45, they did the National Anthem and then the race director gave some quick notes before the waves started. During the notes, I listened as I stood in chilly Lake Anna (56F) trying to acclimate to the water temperature. I did a few stokes and got my face in the water so that the start would not be shocking. I left the warm-up session confident that *this* was going to be the first of many good swims this season.

As we awaited the wave start, a tall, friendly blonde asked Keri if she could help her zip her wetsuit. Keri was happy to help and we talked about the water temps and suggested she take a little dip, that it doesn't seem as bad after that first plunge. She said she planned to do just that and then wished up luck and asked our names. When I said "Holly", her response
was "Holly who?" LOL That is the moment that Marie P., a fellow TRI-RAT, and I met in person! Upon recognizing each others names we gave each other a big hug and then off she went to the water!

SWIM (750m): 24:38

I chose to race Athena for this race and our wave was mixed with the 30-34 females in the 4th wave. Our wave started and I was right their in the thick of it with all the hot pink caps right up until the moment that I had to put my face in the water and then it happened. Again, as in the last 2 races of the 2004 season. I went into full panic mode on the swim, in
spite of having plenty of gear (full wetsuit, neoprene cap, ear plugs and wet suit socks). I also spent 10 minutes in the water warming up so it wasn't about the water temps. I really need to open water swim weekly, I think, to get over this issue. It is obviously mental because physically, I am covering 3x this distance 2 times a week and not having any issues keeping my face in the water. I almost gave up but when I got to the first turn buoy, I just kept moving forward in the most pathetic front crawl/doggy paddle...

T1: 4:11

Transition went well. I was happy to be out of the water and getting out of the wetsuit is always easier for me!! As far as my swim, I was able to let it go. It helped that my boyfriend Jim was right there to tell me "Let the swim go and remember to have fun and enjoy the rest of the race." That is exactly what I did.

BIKE (18 miles): 1:11:58

I had a fantastic bike! I really love this course. It is a beautiful rolling course that I excelled at when I raced here in 2005 and I was secretly hoping, in spite of the addition of an extra 40 pounds, that I would do a great job on this course again. I kept my eyes on the road and focused on my cadence and tried not to look at the bike computer at all. At one point I looked at my watch and thought that it must have stopped because I had less than 3 miles to go and my watch said 1:04. I was so upset that I had screwed up my split but I just let it go and focused on how I felt. When I pulled into transition, I shocked my boyfriend Jim with my arrival. As I left T2 I told him that I thought that I had a fantastic ride and he confirmed that "Yes, you just rode in 1:12, Good Job HONEY!"

T1: 1:51

Hmmmpp... 50 seconds wasted in the first T2 of the season, room for improvement!

RUN(5k): 40:35

Run felt good, I took it easy and did 5 run/1 walk. I felt like I was comfortable and could have run further. I didn't try to run faster cause my focus was *FUN* and remembering what it felt like to be out there since this was my first "post cancer" triathlon. The course was rolling and very exposed. I briefly worried about whether my sunscreen has lasted through
the swim and bike (it did!) and then just spent my run cheering other people on and getting lots of cheers from fellow triathletes.

FINAL: 2:23:10

Quite a few people would look at these times, especially the swim and run and never imagine how that could be a good race. But I had only one goal for this race. "TO HAVE FUN" and even after the swim, that is exactly what I did.

Overall, I had fun and I felt I was definitely Living STRONG while I did it! So begins my 2007 TRI Season and it looks like I need to find *allot* more open water to swim in over the next 8 weeks!

Happy Tuesday to you all! Live STRONG!