Brineman Triathlon, September 10, 2016

I've been trying to get in one triathlon a month in preparation for Ironman Tempe 70.3 next month.  However, Echo, in July, ended up being my last race (until today).  I considered racing Jordanelle, in August, but I just didn't.  I think there are still some underlying negative emotions associated with that race (nothing against TriUtah, because I love that racing company, but here's the back story Jordanelle Olympic Tri August 2014), but my experience there 2 years ago needs a bit more mending before I can fully commit to it again. Interesting enough... I almost tried to talk myself out of Brineman.  It would be my last triathlon before Tempe, and an Olympic distance triathlon at that, so I really needed to get this race in. 

I wrote about my experience from Echo (can be found here: Echo Tri July 2016), and although I was okay with my decision that day, I think it took a bigger hit on my self-confidence than I actually realized.  I think that's partially also why I didn't run Jordanelle, and that I had some nerves going into this race.  With this realization, I found a purpose.  My friend, Chanda, has been hit hard with Life lately.  As a tribute to her still powering through all the obstacles she's facing, I dedicated this race to her, because this triathlon would only endure but a moment... her trials are still pending.  So I tucked in my shirt tails in, packed my gear, and headed up to Syracuse to get this race done and checked off.

Erin and I before the race. It was so cold!

With Mikayla. Sorry for the blurry pic!

The morning was cold... just like I remember the temperature being the morning of USTC 2 years ago.  It's a good thing I had an emergency jacket in the trunk of my vehicle.  I picked up my timing chip, and saw that my friend, Mikayla (who I met at Jordanelle last month) was volunteering again!  It was so nice to see her, and know she'd be around for the day!  I got my T2 area set up, and ran into Jen and Erin!  Yay!  More of our SLTC Bees were running the race than I realized!  Of course we took our pictures, including some with our new #SLTCTruck!  That thing is sweet (you rock, Adam)! 

Erin, Jon, and I with the SLTC Truck!

I think I ended up heading to the bathroom about three times before heading over to T1.  Thank goodness we had flushing toilets available to us!  It's a luxury compared to Port-O-Potties!  Once I got everything situated, and I made sure I had everything I needed for T1, I took my gear bag and made the walk over to the Stillwater Lakes.  A really nice guy offered to carry my bike up the part of the hill that wasn't paved.  That made my day!  I got set up, and then Amy and Mary joined me at the bike rack where I set up! Yay!  My bee babes joined me!

Amy, Me, Mary, Malia

Brian to the rescue!

As we were getting our transition areas prepped, and watching the Half Iron distance atheletes go off for their swim, we heard someone's tire pop.  It was one of the half iron athletes whose tire had popped.  One of our SLTC family members, without hesitation, jumped to the rescue and got that athlete's tire fixed before they came back, cutting into his own warm up time! 

This is just one of the many reasons I love this tri club and this community!  They're always willing to help and lend a hand!  Thank you, Brian, for being such a great example and helping [Brandon] out! 




Before I knew it, it was time to get in the water myself.  I got zipped into my wetsuit and headed down to the ramp.  There were only a handful of Olympic distance triathletes racing today.  There were more HIM and Sprint participants today.  We did a mass start, which was changed from a rolling start like originally planned.  The water was cool when you got in, but once you got going, it felt amazing!  Starting is the hardest part for me.  Once the gun went off, I had my anxiety kick in a bit.  I had to remind myself to take deep breaths and run my own race.  Part of my anxiety in the water is trying to keep up with other triathletes, when I know I'm a slow swimmer.  I had to stop and tell myself to imagine that I was swimming at Black Ridge Reservoir with Val, and enjoy the moment.  I also worked again on my form, and imagined what Erin would tell me to adjust.  Once I did that, I relaxed.  The water at the Stillwater Lake was a bit shallow around the banks and the islands we had to swim around.  It was a nice single loop around those islands, instead of two loops which I usually dread.  I told Mikayla before the race that she might need to save me (let me rest on her kayak), but surprisingly, I didn't need to! I got back to the boat ramp and was a little woozy feeling when I got out of the water.  But I headed up the ramp to T1. 

I got my swim gear off, into my bag, and donned my bike gear.  I took a little bit to make sure to do so and stabilize myself before heading out.  Sparkle and I headed out of transition and got started on our 24 mile ride.  The road that headed out towards the neighborhoods was a little rough and bumpy.  Once we got to Antelope Drive, the ride was smoother, but then we ran into steel plates in the middle of the road.  A student driver ended up behind me, so when the other lane was clear, I waved the kid to go around me.  I hope he didn't get docked points for that, but we would have been there for awhile.  There was a head wind heading out to the Island.  Once we got on the Causeway and past the entry gate, the ride was so nice.  I love the landscape there at Antelope Island, which made it easy to take your mind off the task at hand.  I'm just glad I didn't run into a bison, like my friend Jill mentioned in one of her posts.  A few times, I felt my hamstrings get tight (I've been having issues with my right hamstring lately), so I adjusted and it would release.  I didn't push as hard as I could have, as I wanted to reserve some energy for the run.  At the turn around, I started to feel negative feelings creep in (Yes, that moment when your mind starts talking to you).  I started countering that negativity with my mental toughness training (it's a good thing I took Friday evening to prepare some of that, as I knew I'd need it at some point today).  I reminded myself how beautiful it was, how I needed to finish this so I was more mentally strong for Tempe next month, etc.  I thought about Chanda, and how she's powering not only through all those obstacles, but at the same time that day, she was making her way down Big Cottonwood Canyon at the marathon! I saw some of those beautiful wild sunflower-looking flowers along the side of the road, and it reminded me of all my beautiful friends and teammates who have helped uplift me along the way (Jennie, Val, Mary, SJ, Brook, Suzanne, Mary, Amy, Tamra, Michelle, Barb, Marisa, Janet and so many more of you)!!  Just thinking of all of you amazing friends of mine, who have been such inspirations to me, lifted my spirits and boosted my energy.  It was so nice to see Lynsey on the final turn on the bike, leading me back to T2!  She definitely put a smile on my face!

As I got back to T2, I looked at my Garmin, and realized that that's the fastest bike I've clocked!  Energy boost!

I headed out on my run... and though my legs weren't as heavy as they normally are, my lungs felt a little fatigued.  I did a little walk/run and tried to increase more of my running... but then I felt two Charlie Horses looming - one each in the inside of my quads.  I felt it relatively early in my run, so I decided to do a lot more walking than I wanted to have done.  It was getting a little warmer, but I kept moving forward.  It helped seeing so many of our Bees out on the course... it kept me going!  By the turnaround, I felt my stomach growling for food.  Thank goodness for one of the volunteers, who let me have a couple of her Triscuits!  That helped so much!  On the way back, Alicia and Bret caught up to me!  We chatted for a bit, and I did a little run/walk with them!  They went ahead, as I started the cramping starting up again.  But I kept moving, and kept putting one foot in front of the other.  Before I knew it, I looked down at my watch and saw I only had about 0.2 miles left!  I could see the finish line!  I picked it up a little more.  I caught Alicia and Bret again on their second loop, and they cheered me on, letting me know that I was pretty much there!  I ran it in through the finish line, and got my medal!  It felt so good to finish! 

I finished!

Lynsey, me, Erin

I couldn't have been more happy to have that medal placed around my neck!  It was a big victory for me!  I ended up with a PR (despite my very slow 6.2 mile run), and most importantly, I defeated that demon in my head that was telling me I wasn't good enough and that I'd never be ready for Tempe.  Chanda reminded me last night that, "The time and place where you finish does not define the person you are." It's so true... triathlon is so individual.  And it meant a lot to hear that, especially when there are many others who place a value on someone based on their finish time over more important things (no offense to any of you fast people because you all inspire me, and I think you all are amazing), but sometimes it's just about finishing... and knowing that you just accomplished something monumental!  This accomplishment was integral for me and my future success at Ironman Tempe.  I needed to prove to myself that I am ready, whether I really am or not.   I can endure the pain and the distance, whether I really am physically prepared or not, but if I'm not prepared mentally, it doesn't mean a thing.  What I do know, is that no matter what my time is and where I finish, I AM READY!  I'm grateful for all of you who got me through this race, whether you realized it or not.  I'm grateful to have such a great support system!  Here's to TriUtah and to Brineman! and to all my SLTC fam!  Here's yet another race I'll add to my favorite races to Run Again!