Mermaid Fremont 2009 Race Report

Well, as I've been hooked, I like to pass on torch, so this year I got two newbies into multisport. Andrea and I to do the Mermaid Sprint Triathlon, and Sarah the Duathlon. Woo hoo! My first tri in two years. Glad to get back on the horse :) Here's the report.

Pre-race routine...get up very early. 5 something am. Too early. Check to see if I'm feeling ok, very long story, but had a severe allergic reaction so something, and wasn't sure if I would be able to race. Symptoms were down, so the race was a go! Andrea arrives, we swing by to pick up Sarah and we're off.

We trundled into transition, very early. The old tri bag got some good use hauling the immense amount of gear one needs for multisport.
Got a good photo of the three of us, then Sarah had to get started on her first run!I started last of the three of us, so I got to see everyone start. Here's Sarah taking off!I even got to see her start the bike course! Check out her awesome folding bike!Then I got to hang with Andrea while she got pumped up for the swim. Finally, got myself warmed up in the water...it actually didn't feel that cold, and I joined my pink caps waiting to start.The swim felt really hard this year. I felt super sleepy...probably the antihistamines I was taking. The women in front of me felt like they were going just too slow for me, but to fast for me to actually pass. I'd forgotten how frustrating it feels to swim in a pack of people. Just cant seem to get going. By the time I got past the first buoy, people had spread out, and I got in my rhythm. I swam mostly freestyle, so that was good. But I felt like lead as I got out the water. Wes said I looked horrible. Again, not at my best with the allergic reaction and all, in fact, I honestly felt like I could just stop and take a nap. But I was running up a hill to transition, and I'd been wanting to do this for a long time, so I talked myself into it ;) I told myself, I can make up time on the bike. I'm good on the bike. And off I went.

I felt pretty fast on the bike actually...average of 16mph, not my best for the course, but good I think, given I was sick. I was faster than Wes expected, actually, that when I passed by him on my first loop he was surprised. Every time I do a race, Wes is bummed out that he didn't procure a cow bell to ring, but this year he got one. But I came up on him so quickly from the bike that he didn't have time to ring the bell. Here's me and my 'More Cowbell!!' look. :)
So the bike went pretty well, did still feel like napping would be nice of course. I wasn't sure how the run would go, since my shins and calves are unpredictable. I'd only been doing bike/elliptical bricks as training, so I wasn't very prepped for the bike/run transition. My calves cramped up, but I took a swig of tonic water (quinine is good for cramping), and hoped it would kick in. I had to stop and stretch a bit, but they seemed to calm down. My legs felt heavy, and after the first mile, I was aghast it had only been a mile. But I kept on running. I ran the whole way, and I really wasn't sure I'd be able to do that...so that was good. It was probably the longest 2.5 miles ever, but after awhile, again rhythm was found. I hit the sand for the finish and ran up the hill to meet my buddies!

Yay we were triumphant!This was my third...no wait...fourth Mermaid. Third at Fremont. It was my second best time. My best time was when I had just finished an olympic, so I was at the peak of my game. But this wasn't too far behind that one. I could have gone faster on the swim I think....sans antihistamines...and I think if I had trained just a bit more, bike and run would have been faster too. But overall, it felt great to be doing a triathlon again. It's so cool to feel what your body can do.