Sudbury Sprint Race Report!

I think the big news here is that I raced! Aside from swim meets, the last time I raced was well, last week--that 10k.  But I haven't raced in a triathlon since last August.

I wouldn't have raced on Sunday if it hadn't been for Jordan. Jordan raced the Sudbury Sprint last year, and she really wanted to race again, and she wanted me to race, too. It's not great modeling to say, Gee, Jordan, I'm not in great shape right now, and I really don't want to place any lower than top three, so I think I should just bail. 

Right. Not good modeling.

And in truth, I'm glad I didn't have the opportunity to skip. I had fun! I really did have fun. In fact, I had more fun racing than I have in a long while. I think this is because it mattered, but it also didn't. I didn't have a lot at stake. I hadn't poured hours and hours into my preparation. I could relax. I would work as hard as I could, and get as much out of my body as possible, but the result would not be a reflection of my work over the winter. It would just beeeeeee.....
There was a certain release in that.

Jordan and I arrived on the late side, and by the time we were ready to warm up it was close to go time. We swam about 300 yards together, and then found our place in the long line of competitors. At Sudbury you snake up and down the pool one at a time. They determine the order of athletes in the pool by seed time. Because Jordan and I are both swimmers we were seeded closer to the front. That was nice. It meant we could race hard and finish early--and then watch other competitors finish.

There's not much to report about my swim. I had to pass two people, which is a pain. MAN I wish people would seed themselves correctly! Jordan was luckier; she didn't have to pass anyone, and she also didn't get passed. We both had decent swims. I finished up in about 5:30 (for a 400--plus the zig-zagging) and Jordan finished up in about 6:00 minutes. Neither of us took the swim very hard. We had talked about this. I didn't think it was worth it to go 10 seconds faster and deplete myself going into the bike. I have been on the bike (and I'm not lying here) a total of 2.5 hours in the last 2 months. Jordan hadn't been on the bike since cross season! So we thought it best to save it for the bike...

This was smart, at least for me. I got on the bike and for a moment thought... wow. Do I remember how to ride a bike FAST? But it came back to me. I rode as hard as I could. I had on my Garmin, so I know my average wattage was about what I have done in the past for a half ironman (and this was a 7 mile bike leg... cough cough.) But oh well. I just put my head down and allowed myself to suck wind. I smiled for the camera and tried to relax!  Jordan was a bit more leisurely about the whole thing. She focused primarily on staying upright and not forgetting to unclip. Still, she finished up the 7+ miles in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a kid who basically doesn't ride bikes! I finished in a little over 21 minutes. This is more than a minute slower than I have biked that leg in the past. Oh well. It still felt good to be out there!

The run on the other hand? OUCH.
I have been running a bit, so I thought the run wouldn't be so bad. But yes, if you never BIKE than the run will be bad! ha! It took me about 1.5 miles to actually feel decent, and by that time I had only .7 miles until the finish. Jordan, on the other hand, had a stellar run. She has been training for track, and she didn't take the bike hard at all, so she was ready to rock it. She finished up the run in a little over 17 minutes.  (18 minutes including her transition.) Not bad for 2.3 miles off the bike! I was impressed. That's about a 7:25 pace!

Okay, so all told we both placed well. We were both 2nd in our respective age groups. I was 4th woman overall. Here are our fabulous podium shots.  I'm on the 1st place step b/c they gave me first since one of the top 3 women was 40-44. (But I was really second, of course.)  The 1st place 0-19 girl was missing. I wish she had been there, because then you could see that Jord's competition were girls much larger and older than she is!

So, what else.
For those of you curious, I made my blog private because I am applying for a few teaching jobs right now. This doesn't mean I will go back to teaching--but I will go back if I find and get the right job! Most jobs I am looking at are part time, and if I do take one, I hope to still spend time coaching for TriMoxie.

Here is a picture of my vet's dog:
Isn't he awesome?

I spend a lot of time at the vet, as you know, so I feel like this guy is now my buddy.
I'd get a puppy like him, except, well, I have five dogs already.
;)

Retrospect

I've been reading old posts on this blog.

I'll be honest, there is a reason for this.
I've been reading through posts culling them for unsavory bits--swearing, moments of being crass. This is not because I'm reformed in the swearing and being slightly crass department.
No.
This is because I hope to go back to teaching.
soon.
Maybe not today.
Maybe not even next fall, although there is a position I would really like to try if given the chance.

For now, I'm just culling.
But if I started teaching again, well. I'll have to just take the blog down. or privatize it. If I did privatize it, please know that if you have any interest in continuing to read, I would certainly invite you to do so!

But access to the internet is ubiquitous--of course. It occurred to me just after submitting an application last week that this blog says it all! Any prospective employer could just google my name, and voila! You have the last 6 years of my uncensored blather. If you are a prospective employer reading this, welcome. And know that of course I would not keep a public blog if I were hired. Just saying.

Yes?

Onto other things.
Like Training.

Or wait, I can't really talk about that because I haven't been doing any.

I did go for a nice 8 mile run the other day in the warm sunshine. That was lovely.
And I attended Masters yesterday, and lamented how I am an athlete who can't hold her speed and power in the water unless I'm swimming a great deal. But I still enjoyed practice. I just had to go last in my lane.

My daughter, Jordan, is running track this spring. I love her track coach. He's taken an interest in her and believes in her. I can tell.
He has decided she is more likely an 800/mile type of runner, and not true sprinter. I knew this already, but it was nice to have him confirm it. She did the mile last week, and finished in the middle of the pack of girls who did it, finishing in 6:35. When she finished I wondered whether I could run a 6:35 right now. It truly is a question.
Yesterday she did the 800 in 2:58, which qualifies her for the middle school Invitational/State Meet at the end of the season. She is one of only a few sixth graders who has qualified for the meet at this point.  I'm a super proud mama. I love to watch her run.

Back to my blog.
One thing that culling through it has allowed me is a chance to witness how my perspective and insights have evolved over the last few years. Reading it has been informative and interesting, and actually also made me a bit sad. We are never done journeying, of course. Having a blog, or a journal-- it is a bit like leaving bread crumbs along the paths you have taken. Although, didn't the birds eat Hansel's crumbs? So that is likely not a good analogy.  I mean only that we grow older each day, but we only have clear insight into the paths we have chosen in retrospect.  This blog charts a difficult and somewhat tumultuous last few years of my life. It may not appear tumultuous to an outside eye--I don't know. But it has been, and it's interesting to see how I handled the movement through this period of middle-age.

I found the piece below interesting. It is only tangentially related to what I am saying here. But the feeling it conjures when you go through it captures how it felt to read through the last years of my life, on this blog.

Sisters, one picture a year for 36 years... photos by Nicholas Nixon