the luck of the... not Irish

Today I did the St. Patrick's Day Triathlon in Keller, TX (my first "real" triathlon- I say that because I don't really count the indoor in Dayton) and have much to report.

I felt incredibly nauseous before the race and had the constant urge to pee (pleasant, I know). Apparently my nerves do that. My stomach is still in knots (6 hours after finishing). I ate a granola bar and a banana for breakfast and had three shot bloks (1/2 pack) before the race and this seemed to work out well in terms of fueling.

Looking back, there are some things I accomplished and some things I need to work on. Let's end with the good.

To do:
- Get more comfortable with longer swim distances
- Stop being afraid of going fast on downhills - scaredy-cat braking slows you down
- Get better at taking tight turns on the bike
- Figure out how to effectively hydrate on the bike (whoops)
- Buy a watch that is waterproof so I can time myself

Things accomplished:
- Was able to relax after the first 25 meters of the swim; had people swim over me and kick me and it worked out ok
- DIDN'T FALL OFF THE BIKE! WOOO!
- Clip shoes, mounting, dismounting, not dying: check
- FAST transitions (T1: 2:05, T2: 1:16)
- PR'ed in the 5k. It feels like you're loping, when you're actually running really fast. Noted. However, still important to keep pushing.
- Won for the female 20-24 age group. Awesome.

Goals:
- RELAX
- Speed bike up to average 18 mph (granted the course was hilly, but...)
- Finish national and finish strong (run the whole 10 k)

In the end, I finished in 1 hr 23 min which is pretty good considering my goal was 80 min (without transitions).

I have learned a lot and am incredibly happy to have gotten this experience before I go race at collegiate nationals! That would've been crazy - this was crazy.

For now, I leave you with a post-tri picture:

Me and my snazzy medal post-race