Daybreak Triathlon is my 3rd time doing this race. It’s in my backyard and the bike and run are routes I frequently train on. I was so excited because FINALLY it would be a warm race day and so many of the Salt Lake Tri Club members were racing, how fun would that be!
Pre-Race
I woke up at 5:30 to eat and be over to transition by 6 am. However, I was having a stupidly hard time pumping my front tire. Why, I have no idea. I had to wake my hubby to come help me. Half asleep, he pumped it first try and went back to bed. I was like, please don’t let this be a sign of my day to come.
I biked over transition and racked my bike. So fun to have so many tri friends there. So much fun to chat, hug, and goof around. It calms my nerves before a race for sure.
I couldn’t believe how hot it was already. I had wished I had brought an extra water bottle with me for that morning.
The Salt Lake Tri Club gathered for group photos. It has been SO much fun joining this amazing group of people! These are my peeps!
Swim
We walked out to the swim start and hung out waiting to start by the dock. Right before the swim my hubby came out to wish me well. I was happy to see him. His kisses give me a boost before any race.
I jumped right in and the water was warm. I got into a groove early and it was the first time this season an open water swim felt good. When I got out of the water and saw my time, I knew it was faster than last year but still not as fast I was hoping. I did swim and extra 162 yards. haha!
Transition 1
My transitions have been smoking since Nate’s clinic earlier this year. I am loving the extra time I save being so fast.
Bike
There was a long cobble road out of transition before the mount line. I debated whether to run in my shoes or hold them. I decided to run in my shoes. Which I was so glad I did, there was a traffic jam people trying to put on their shoes at the mount line that I didn’t have to worry about.
I got on my bike and felt awesome. Focusing on my heart rate and cadence has really been a fantastic strategy for me this season. It’s allowed me to push and be faster on the bike than I ever have watching my speed. I don’t even put my speed on the screen because I don’t want it impacting my mental game. I can control my heart rate and cadence.
It was awesome passing so many people on the bike. I feel so strong. On Strava, I PR’d SO many of the segments it was awesome!
Transition 2
That was my fastest transition EVER – only 38 seconds. I racked my bike and ran out.
Run
I saw my cute hubby right out of the gate. My coach was on his second lap and came up behind me. Great to see him too. Great boosts before the run. I did start out a little faster than I should, so I backed down and got into a rhythm. It was really getting hot. I knew I had until the other end of the lake before the water station, so I pushed hard until then and was going to give myself a quick walk to get a drink of water.
I saw lots of friends cheering me on along the course. Such a huge motivator!
I just kept pushing. It’s so awesome how far my run has come. I am not fast at running, but in the last year, it has improved so much.
Coming in the finish line was a great feeling. I had a BLAST and honestly, that’s all that matters on these sprints. Looking at my time I knew I had PR on the course and a smile on my face the whole way. I didn’t matter where I ranked. It was a fantastic race for me!
As results came up, Mary and I went and looked at the times. WHAT?! Second place, WHOOHOOOO! I was THRILLED! I thought the age group 35-39 was competitive, these 40-44 women are badass! I really have to bring my A game each race.
It was also awesome to see I took 9th place overall women. It’s exciting when all your training comes together for an incredible race.
My PR over last year was 8 minutes and 9 secs. That’s a big PR for a sprint race.
I have learned an incredible lesson this race season. Focus on what I can control and HAVE FUN! I do so much better when I am focused on how much fun I am having instead of what my pace, place or time is.