And now my race report!

Lorraine:

I had so much fun! I think it was a perfect first triathlon. I enjoyed the entire thing, felt happy the entire time, and would definitely do one again. By that sentence you can tell I wasn't exactly out there to win or make any impressive time, but because I had fun and want to do it again, I met my goal! I also kept going the entire time (no walking or doggy paddling) - another goal!
My event was 800 meters swim in open water - a big lake. Lots of women wore wetsuits but I didn't, and it seemed fine. I wasn't too cold, although I've heard they make you swim better as you're much more buoyant. The only bad part of the entire triathlon was the first 3 minutes, when I thought I may not be cut out for this. I started near the front of my pack but still got beat left and write by other women for the first few minutes, plus there were some serious waves, and the SEAWEED. I had a full turban of seaweed including full seaweed goggles. I had to pull it off my goggles several times, which makes swimming more challenging! Then I got into my groove and enjoyed the rest of the swim. I was surprised to find that it's something many women really don't feel that comfortable with, so many women were doing sidestroke, breakstroke, etc. The triathlon (Danskin) is great and diverse and perfect for someone trying the first one. (800k, 16:32)

Then I had a 20k bike ride (38:21) and a 5k run (29:28). I was actually a bit surprised to look after the race and see my bike time - sure I really enjoyed it, but it was by far my worst performance comparatively. I'm now wondering if I need a real bike rather than an extremely heavy clunker!! I really only jogged for the run but I was still totally pleased with it, and the best part - as I came around the curve to turn into the finish, there were Mary, Amelia, and Oliver cheering for me! It was a great moment. I now proudly have my finisher's medal and hope to do another one when I can.



Thanks Hannah!

My Race Report

Hannah:
Swim- my swim was meant to be 400m (16 lengths of pool) pool swim. My lane counter mis-counted my lengths so I swam an extra 50m (2 lengths). I was expecting a 7min swim time but it was closer to 8mins.

Bike- the advertised 20km (12miles) was actually 14miles...those extra 2 miles were a little more than my legs could cope with. The bike was an out and back- cycle out 7miles, turn round and head home! I fell off my bike twice... and for the same reason each time. I had a little mechanical failure with my gears as they kept jamming. Both times I came off going up hill which was a little embarrassing. I then had to put the chain back on and sort the gears out each time. Oh well! There was a head wind going out, this was hard work but it made the journey back much quicker!

Run- I had a great run. The run was along a river side/ forest footpath. It was quite muddy but very scenic. I really enjoyed the run. I was met by Sophie 100yards from the finish and she 'helped' me to finish!

Thank you, Lorraine. You have been a great training partner and I am really proud of you for training so hard and doing so well today.

Check List

Hannah:

Googles- yep

Swim hat- pick up on race day

Tri-top and shorts- yep

Transition towel- yep

Bike- oh yes, tyres pumped up, gears oiled, race wheels on.

Bike shoes- yep

Helmet- yep

Sun glasses- yep

Number belt- oooo, where is it?

Run shoes- yes (do they still fit?)

Water bottle- not yet

Fitness- ooops, I had to forget something!

Supporters- yep x 2

Race info and directions- all read and digested

Early night- doubtful!

The de-forestation begins!

Hannah:
2 days to go! arghhhh, 2 days to go!

This morning I began the seemingly impossible task of de-foresting the legs. I need every last bit of wind resistance cut!

I have made a list of everything I need to pack, the race details are printed, the start time is memorised (10.10am) and the instructions have been read.

All I need now is some fitness!

Urp

Lorraine:

Hmm, really is close now! Okay, so yesterday (Wed) I actually managed to get up and went swimming. I swam laps for 20 minutes. In a stroke of luck, the pool was quite cloudy (hmmm) so I couldn't do flip turns - making it more like a "real" swim I suppose, except for how it was nice and toasty warm. I'm definitely continuing to be nervous about the water temperature!! Whenever I mention to someone over here that I'm not using a wetsuit, they raise their eyebrows and say "Hmmm." Ah well.

Yesterday's bike to and from the bus was quite brief - just 10 minutes each way. Today I did 10 mins in the morning but on the way home I'll do the longer 30 minute ride, complete with two massive hills at the end. I didn't actually get up to go running this morning, because I was thinking 30 mins run and 30 mins ride might be a bit much a few days before the race. Or maybe (more likely) I was just being lazy!

Tomorrow I do plan to do one easy run and then be done with exercise until Sunday.

Countdown time...

I really can't believe it's so soon!!!

Okay, as I said when camping I did no exercise at all, and in fact ate many marshmallows. Mmm. Sunday I tried to get in a bit of a workout - I did a spinning class (45 mins) and then ran 2.75 miles on the treadmill. I wanted to go the entire 5K, but I was pushing my time limit as I had to get the kids to a ferry. Yesterday I did nothing! Slept in and then took the kids to gymnastics at night. This morning I meant to go swimming but got to bed late- and I'm trying to get 6+ hours of sleep this week before the race. On the plus side, I'm riding to and from work and/or to and from a bus the rest of this week, so I'm getting some outdoor bike time. It's great to make sure I'm comfortable with my clipless pedals again and all that. This morning's ride was only about 15 minutes but this afternoon will be more like 30 as I'll get off the bus earlier. Same thing tomorrow and the next day. My plan is to go swimming tomorrow morning and maybe run (easy) on Thursday and Friday, then nothing on Saturday. Does that sound good?

OMG- less than a week to go!

Hannah:
This time next week the race will be over, our muscles will be aching but our finishers medals will be hanging proudly from the shelf!

There really hasn't been much time to train in the last week, though I did get a run in on Friday. It felt good. This week I have a friend staying so I'm not sure when I'll next get some training in. Sophie has a swim lesson on Thursday so I'll swim then.

Wow, 6 days to go!

Le longer-than-weekend

I'm so far behind in documenting, I worry I may have forgotten everything....

After my swim last Monday, on Tuesday I think I did a 3 mile run inside, since it was really cold. Wednesday I did the usual weights thing, which I should probably shake up a bit since I'm not getting sore at all anymore! Thursday I did nothing. Friday I did a 45-minute spin class and then ran a mile afterwards. Saturday and Sunday I did nothing except for some very minimal walking around since I was off camping with the kiddos. Plus plenty of marshmallow-eating :)

This Monday (yesterday) I ran for about 3.5 miles on the treadmill - pretty slow speed since I was tired after camping, but it felt quite easy and I could have gone a lot longer. This morning I went swimming and did the usual workout.

The more exciting plan is TOMORROW, when I'm cycling to work and back!! This is a pretty long effort, so I'll update tomorrow on how it goes. Plus I'll be on a REAL bike.

Horrifyingly I actually went to the race site today and saw that the water is approx 65 degrees which sounds freezing AND even more shocking the swim length is 800m when I'm pretty sure it was "supposed" to be 600m. In any event I've been swimming 600m (and then doing the pull buoy and kickboard after that). Oops.

Plus I'm entirely unclear on where I take my bike and all that. I can't believe it's coming up so soon!!!

More camping this Thurs-Sat, so probably no workout, but I'll try to do something good on Sunday.

Le Weekend

Hannah:
I managed a run on Saturday morning...yay! It didn't feel too bad and I quite enjoyed it. We were going to go bike riding on Sunday along the canal towpath but it rained all day so we didn't get to go. I must try and get out on bike this week...just to check it wont fall apart when I sit on it. Today (Monday) I will swim as Sophie has a swimming lesson. As long as I get 400m covered then I will be pleased!

Added- I swam today. I managed to get 400m in before being called over to watch Sophie. Her teacher was very excited by Sophie's progress so kept asking me to watch her. I swam sets of 2 lengths so that I could cheer Sophie on- she was doing a badge today. In my 2 lengths, I swam the first one fast and the second length very fast! It was a good swim...not quite as good as Sophie's swim, she got her badge!

Nothing...absolutely nothing!

Hannah:
It is now Friday and this week I haven't done any training at all. It doesn't help that I feel a bit flu-ey and I haven't slept properly since returning from holiday. I swam on Monday. Tuesday time was very limited- DH was working early and late and then on Wednesday I started to feel ill and spent most of the afternoon on the sofa. Today I just feel wiped out. I would like to run tomorrow as I need to....plus there is only 2 weeks left until the race. I need an energy boost, the motivation is there but the body is not willing.