Monday, November 17, 2008

That's What She Said

I know the suspense has been killing every one. . . .but finally here it is my version of the tri.
sorry this is long, I bolded pertinent information for skim readers.

Many of my readers are moms that know training with three small kids is challenging if not impossible. At least with this race I wasn't still nursing a baby. My swim training was 4 trips to the Carlsbad swim complex in October. Which is a beautiful pool with crystal clear water. My bike training consisted of 8 or so bike rides since the summer. Most were with the kids on their scooters and only 5 miles. Running training consisted of hikes with both boys in the double jogger in Calavera hills trails most Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

That bring us to race day eve. I put on my wet suit for the second time in my entire life. I again jumped into a clean pool and did a few lengths of the pool. It has been several months since i have been in the ocean (wet to my knees) and longer then that since I actually got really wet in the ocean. At this point I made a big realization, I had forgotten to pack my race shoes. Oops! So I searched everywhere on the island (about 9 different stores). The best I could find was men's shoes that were a full size to big. We had a yummy pasta dinner and tried to get a great nights sleep. That plan was foiled by Benson. He did not want to sleep in a hotel room with everyone else. He wanted to explore and party.

It was great that the race didn't start until 9:00 am.
  • One we had more wiggle room in our schedule to squeeze in actual sleep.
  • We could have slept in, minus the fact we have 3 kids, so that is never an option.
  • It gave us plenty of time to get breakfast, set up our transition zones and get in the zone.
  • it was ample time to get on my wet suit. for those of you that have not ever worn a wet suit. It is similar to removing a wet swimsuit but severely magnified because it it thick non pliable material and it covers your entire body.
  • Plenty of time to pack the stroller with everything Gma would need to keep all 3 crazies entertained during the race.
I met a very nice girl at my transition spot. She was just across the A-frame. She gave me lots of pointers and advice. Once I was all set up and had my wet suit on I went over to the beach to find Ben and await my heat. Ben started 3 minutes before me. I wished it was the other way around, because he would have lapped me and I would have probably felt a bit more calm in the water knowing he was behind me.

Well the whistle blew and Ben was off . . .I waved my last wave and blew kisses and lined up on the beach. My whistle blew . . . I jumped in the water and was off. Then I realized I never put my goggles on my eyes. So I stood back up and did that. I then got back in the heat of the race. It didn't take me long to realize I was not swimming a crystal clear, clean pool . I was quickly reminded of why I do not go in the ocean often.

  • I do not enjoy being surrounded by cold water.
  • I get really grossed out with the whole wild life thing, especially that you can't see them.
  • I am very uncomfortable with not being able to touch the ground or even a ledge.
  • I really, really do not like dirty water in my mouth.
  • I really do not like salt water in my mouth or hair.
On the bright side after swallowing a bunch of yucky water I flipped on my back and enjoyed the sun and the flags on the boats masts. Every time I bobbed my head up a race staffer on a kayak asked if I needed any help. "Swimmer are you Ok, do you need assistance"? If I got a dollar for every time I heard that it would have paid for the race entry. I never felt like I was going to drowned. I sure did realize, not that I didn't before, I really do not like swimming in the ocean. But, I did my 1/2 mile swim, and in 11 minutes quicker then my 4 times at the pool.

I had a great start to my transition. I had my cap, goggles and wet suit down to the hip before I got to the transition area. I was very disoriented and had no balance. So it ended being a long set. I tried to focus and get a ton of clean water in my system. I got both sets of socks and blister band-aids on, laced up my big shoes as tight as i could . . . and I was off for the bike 15K. It was allot smoother getting out of the water and on a bike then I thought it would be. The bike course was basically 3 loops, so My first 2 loops over lapped with Ben and we waved and called to each other. My last 2 over lapped with a friend from our ward that also did the Tri.

I think one of the most amazing things I have done, is not necessarily the race but that I opened a sealed gator aid bottle while keeping my pace on the bike race. I kept trying to squeeze out the juice and it wouldn't come. I took of the cap and tore of the paper seal. Replaced the cap and downed the liquid goodness. That I tell you is mom skills.

On the 3 loops it is 3 times going straight up hill then 3 going down and level road. The third up hill was hard because I was tired and I kept going into lower gears earlier and earlier. I coasted the entire way down to conserve energy for the run. My hair elastic broke as I took my helmet off, dang it! So I ran with my nasty salt water hair flopping every where. The kids and grandma were at this transition. It was so great to see them, they were all cheering for me. I gave everyone five as I ran past.

I wasn't worried about the running, I know I can run. It was a beautiful run along the harbor and up the mountain to a look out point, back down into town again up to the highest point and then down hill a straight shot to the finish line. here was the test of my shoes. I wore some new shoes and got nasty blisters a week before the race. So I had been nursing blisters and still had open wounds on the backs of my heels. I put real sticky band-aid on my heels. So they would last through the swim. And I stuffed the toes of my big man shoes with cotton balls and wore both pairs of running socks. They worked like a charm. It is probably the most comfortable I have been while running.

I admit I walked up the last hill, but not until I was half way up. And I passed people even walking. It was a relief to turn the corner and see that a 1/2 mile away was the finish line. I could see the kids down near the end. Again they cheered me on and the announcers say your name as you cross the finish line. I have never had that happen.

So there you have it, I am officially a tri-athlete. I can not brag too much considering it was a sprint and I was pretty sore the next 2 days. I was so glad my shoes worked out. After the race we enjoyed fresh fruit and water, then checked out of our hotel and hit the pool and hot tub. link to see some sweet shots of the action. thanks for reading.


1
NO
FN LN SWIM
BIKE T2 RUN TIME
401 Kim Mcevoy 19:32
50:54 0:54 32:21 1:49:39

IF you are really interested in more results here is the link and this is a search able results page

A big thank you to grandma McEvoy, we couldn't have done it with out her help. She is so great to fly out her to be with us . . . to be our personal babysitter. The kids always love when grandma comes to town. Thanks Karen.

8 comments:

The blogging Bakers said...

Ok Kim-I love the commentary. If I ever wanted to do a triathalon which I don't think I did, I for sure don't want to now. I am totally like you with swimming in the ocean. I am very impressed with your sweet skills. Congrats!!!

Angie said...

Wow...that is great! Way to go... (and hi! found your blog through Annie)

Heather said...

you are my HERO! Kim, you are amazing! One day I aspire to be as cool as you and do a triathlon too. I am so nervous about the swim though, I don't think I could do it - especially in the ocean! That is scary. Good for you and Ben and how fun to be able to do it together. Love to you all!

Lizza said...

Dude, I'm so impressed. Are you sure we can still be friends? I'm no nearly that cool.

Matt and Sarah Joseph said...

There's nowhere else to post this comment, so I guess I'll post it here even though it has nothing to do with the Triathlon (good job on that, by the way).
BYU STINKS!!!!
In the future, please refrain from leaving anti-Ute or pro-Cougar comments on my blog. I won't tolerate it.

The Ellis Fam said...

way to go, both of you. that is so awesome. mark and i will watch the kids next year, that sounds too beautiful to be november. i'm way proud of you, i don't have the drive to do that sort of thing. the game is going on right now and i know there isn't much point in saying this, but GO BYU.

The McEvoy Girls said...

way to go guys! sounds great all that u have done i wish i could do that some day. love all the pics. hope to see u soon. love all of u guys

Matt and Sarah Joseph said...

Ok, I don't know who the BYU comment ninja is who keeps popping up, leaving BYU comments on my blog, then fading back into oblivion. I'm not sure if it's Ben or Kim. And being that you're slacking in leaving new posts, I'm once again forced to comment on the triathlon entry to reply to your anti-Ute rhetoric.
First, I didn't make the "Hitler reacts to BYU's loss" video. I wish I could claim that I was the genius behind it, but I'm not.
And second, you seem to keep bringing up the past two years, as if somehow that compensates for the dismal season the cougars had this year and the humiliation they suffered at the hands of the Utes. If memory serves me right, the four years preceding BYU's two lucky plays in the past two years were dominated by the Utes. It seems you have conveniently forgotten that. So, 5 out of the last 7 match-ups have been painful for the Cougar fans. I'll admit, the last two seasons hurt, but keep bringing them up hoping to re-inflict the pain that they caused only shows how deep the Utes cut you this year.
Hopefully, next year the Cougars can put together a decent team that will actually challenge the Utes. It's really quite boring to watch them get their butt's handed to them, so I hope they learned something this year and come back strong next year so they can actually make it a game worth watching.
That being said, I love you guys and hope all is well. What size are Benson, Jeddy and Madison? There are some nice Ute hoodies I'd like to send them for Christmas.