On Saturday my Mom and I participated
in the Quaboag Plantation Sprint Triathlon in West
Brookfield. Neither of us had ever been out there before and we were
both pleasantly surprised. I found this race by accident and only
signed up because it worked with my schedule and was low cost ($50)
for a Tri.
If you care to remember, this race
occurred during an awful heat wave that had me, the one who can’t
get enough of the outdoors and sunshine, glued to the coach under a
fan. Yes, it was that hot. Or maybe I just need to move further
North?
Anyways, the water was approaching 80
degrees by 8 am and we knew we were in for a tough race. My thoughts
at the start line were “who cares about racing, I want to finish
without walking” and “as long as I get in for 1:21 I’m good.”
Yep – just a little confusion.
Swim ¼ mile in 10:35: The swim
start was from a narrow entry point and they split the women up into
two waves, under/over 40 years old. I learned right off the bat that
the participants in this race were mostly strong swimmers and I fell
back pretty quickly. I did maintain pace with one woman throughout
the whole swim and we ran up to transition together, so it was good
to not feel alone out there. My least favorite part of a tri is when
you can’t find the shore due to the sun’s glare….how do you
sight without a landmark?! Definitely one of my weaker swims and I
was a little disappointed by my time.
T1 1 min 35 sec : I think I
actually started to get excited during this point because this is the
first transition where I dropped things and had difficulty tying my
shoes. I was so excited to get on my bike and catch up to the others
in my group!
Bike 12 miles in 41:41: Oh, the
scenery was so lovely out here! I wish I had a camera because this
bike was just beautiful. I recall the course as rolling hills with
lots of trees and sunlight streaming through, but I might be glossing
over the tough parts. There was definitely one hill that I had to
stand up for, I saw the traffic jam of racers before I knew what was
coming on that one. I passed 4 or 5 women here and about 9 miles in
the men over 40 started to catch up with me. I can proudly say that I
was the only one doing the passing for women under 40 – new for me
on the bike! My pace averaged out to 17 mph which I guess is pretty
good? I’m gaining confidence and taking advantage of the downhills
& the drop handlebars. Considering my not-so-fun past with
cycling & injuries, this is a HUGE step for me. OH – and I used
some new energy snacks that I had gotten for free at the co-op awhile
ago, they were some jelly bean type deal. They were SO good and
worked SO well – I was pleasantly surprised. Ate these around mile
10 of the bike, easy to pop in and chew.
T2 58 sec : Quick, easy
transition…other than more difficulties with tying my shoes.
Apparently I came into T2 at the same time as the first finisher
crossed. That excitement didn’t even phase me as I was ready to
RUN!
Run 3 miles in 24:45: Did I
mention it was a hot day? I mean….I have never been so hot while
swimming in my life. I came out of the water with a red hot face,
that’s how hot it was. The first part of the run was uphill with
full sun exposure – ah! Luckily I just had some sugar &
caffeine so my energy was high despite my tired legs. I splashed some
water on myself and prepared for the run. I felt that I had a good
pace and was not as tired as at my last Tri, that’s a win in my
book! The run is always funny because my position in the pack just
shuffles. I always pass around 10 people and feel awesome, then a 65
year old woman will sprint past me followed by 9 more. Every. Time.
It’s interesting and exciting, there’s always more camaraderie on
the run in a tri than anywhere else. Since running is you know, what
I do, I feel that my big smile contributes to that. I depleted my
water and homemade energy drink stores on this run and felt strong
and hydrated throughout. The finish was downhill and at the end of a
dirt path so it was easy to end on a great, fast note. Rather than
try to calculate what 84 minus 5 equals and what that meant in regard
to my 1 hr 21 min goal I just ran as hard as possible. Math just
slows me down.
Imagine my surprise when I finished in
1:19:35! Only 35 seconds sooner and I would have been 4th
in my age group, but I got 5/10 for F 20-29 and 63/121 overall. Most
importantly – I crushed my goal time once again! I based my goal on
my pacing for the last tri so I was proud to see improvement in only
a month. The course was beautiful and I will gladly do this race
again next summer (if I’m in MA!). If only I could do a triathlon
every weekend……
PS Did I mention the awesome hats? QPT
in the front and Swim Bike Run / West Brookfield, MA on the back.
Sweet!
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