Sunday, October 25, 2009

Swim. Bike. Run.

I finished my first (possibly not last) sprint triathlon!! It was EGGSELENT!!!! I loved it and I am so happy I did it...and that it's done! The last couple of days were "rest" days, storing up on glycogen and preparing my muscles for the big day. I was so nervous the day before, it wasn't even funny. We got up at 6:30am and left at 7:30 to get there at 8:30 for my race at 9:30 (fun sentence). It was so chaotic -- there were hundreds and hundreds of people there. There were about 450 men that raced and 160 women (also, Veterans, Juniors, and Teams).

On to the race. I set up all my stuff in the transition area and headed to the water. We had heard that this was one of the worst dams to swim in because it was so filthy and they weren't lying!



In the pictures it looks kind of pretty with all the plants floating on the water...but up close, it was so gross. It was like seaweed. It tasted like fish and mold. EW! I hope I don't get a disease....oh well. If I die, at least I'll have done a triathlon:)




Anyway, women went first and then men started 15 minutes after us. The gun went off and we started the scramble! I made sure to stay on the outside far away from the big crowd, but it was still quite crazy in the beginning. Lots of splashing and kicking and chaos, but after about 5 minutes, it started to taper out and I found a good pocket to swim in and wasn't kicked the rest of the time (except for around the buoys).


I knew that swimming in open water would be different than in the lap pool, but I still had no idea that it would be that different! It was so weird. You could only swim about 5 strokes before you had to switch to breaststroke just to straighten out and see where you were going.
(arrows for your convenience)


On the way back:



I felt awesome until I got to the shore and stood up, then I suddenly feel my fatigue. I got really dizzy and felt exhausted. But push on I did as we all ran to the transition area to get ready for the bike!





The bike was surprisingly the best and funnest part of the whole race! (Thanks to the awesome road bike I had). I took off and went at a really good and fast pace the whole 20km (12.6 miles). It was an awesome route. It did have a lot of small ups and downs, but it was nice because I could coast and drink water on the downs and push it on the hills. The road bike rocked because I would SMOKE anyone who was on a mountain bike on the hills, even though we were pushing the same. It was amazing! I felt SO incredibly good the whole time.




Off with the helmet and gloves and on with the run. I knew it would be the worst part for me and it really was. The only thing I was hoping and praying for was that I didn't get my stitch and IT CAME! It was really bad the ENTIRE run. I was focusing hard on breathing deep and with my diaphragm....but to no avail. The run was kind of hilly and all in the sun which was tough because it was SO hot.

(P.S. A side stitch is an intense stabbing pain, usually on the right side, under the ribcage. It is said to be a "muscle spasm" of the diaphragm. It can occur because of the movement of the internal organs as they jounce up and down while running, thus pulling down and straining the diaphragm as it moves up while exhaling. But who knows. I've tried everything).

I'm glad Ben took a picture of this guy because when I passed him, I thought, "What is he thinking!??"




Almost done!!! Fighting the evil evil stitch:


My goal was just to finish under 1h 45m and I finished in 1:42:33!!

Anyway--I'm done! And it felt so good. Wow. I loved it. Ben was a great cheerleader and took some AWESOME pictures. His ankle is feeling a little better and we'll see how he feels this week for his olympic tri this next weekend.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW!!! you are super AWESOME!!! i would not beable to do that! and i live here!! haha, But well done! i'm sure you are super glad its over! X

Whittney Clark said...

You are so good girl! I can't imagine swimming in that damn! Gross! And I would have to agree that the run would be the hardest part. We just need to stick with our swimming skills! :) Good work! So proud of you!

Wendi said...

how exciting! looks like so much fun! and you look so good doing it! and how awesome that you met your goal, must feel great! congrats- when's the next one?

hilary said...

good job, camille!! that just looked like so much fun and i loved reading about it! (except for the gross water...) i want to do a triathlon someday. i hope that ben's ankle gets better in time for his, too!

and ok, i was totally freaking out reading about all the scary stuff that happens in johannesburg! i'm so glad you didn't get to the church just minutes earlier and that you are ok!!

Rachel said...

how fun! You're awesome Camille!

Steve and Jenna said...

Way to go, Camille! This is Steve by the way typing. What is a stitch? Is that a South African word?

If this means any compliment to you, I think you would have finished the same time as me if we were on the same course.

Ankle sprains are totally a bummer and I hope Ben can give it a go next week. That said, it's probably good he was not on the same course as you, to spare any embarrassment ... or at least so there were not two men dressed like that weird guy!

Congratulations!

Unknown said...

Way to go! I have no desire to do what you just did bc I am way to intimidated. Way to be brave!!

The Imperfect Pie said...

way to go you super hot lady. so so so proud of you. you deserve to celebrate.

Rachel said...

congrats on beating the time you set for yourself...doesn't it feel so good to have accomplished it
!? you are awesome...now take a deserved break :)

Kendell's Crusaders said...

Great job, you are a ROCK STAR!

Stefanie said...

Congratulations! You look awesome in all of your pictures! You inspire me to do a tri.

Carly said...

you are awesome! way to go!

The Taylor Family said...

nice job. that really is so awesome. and looks so hard. great time. i never would have finished that. you look so put together after swimming my hair would have been a nappy snarly mess.

Chelsie said...

camille!! i am so uber impressed with you. that is awesome, and an awesome time! sorry the water was gross, and you had a stitch (i'm guessing you mean side ache) the whole time, that's so frustrating. i love the pic of the man in the crazy outfit....talk about thighs chaffing...haha tmi?

erin said...

righteous... you are the woman! i will be praying you don't get schistosomiasis from whatever you were swimming in. :)