Kristin TRIs again

Aug 14, 2010

When I first started writing this I was writing about both Steve’s and my experience, but since, I have decided to let Steve tell his own story. So this blog is just about me. Hopefully Steve will follow up shortly.
(Warning: Dear reader, this post contains a lot of pictures of me. Yes, I probably am a little full of myself, but this was a major accomplishment. Please excuse my self-obession. It's temporary.)

This was my third and best triathlon experience. It’s true what they say, the third time really is the charm.

I have been preparing for this race all spring and summer. Just as I did last year, I have been swimming for the last several months at Marv Jensen’s masters swimming class with my fellow Club Hammers. Last year I was really re-learning how to swim and how to swim better. This year I have been able to focus on swimming faster and longer. Turns out, I really enjoy swimming and it is probably my best sport.

I have been attending a Triathlon class on Saturday mornings which I have really enjoyed, to prepare for the big day. I even broke out my wetsuit which I was fortunate enough to buy last January when Salt Lake Running Co. was blowing out all their rental suits for cheap.

I had a really great experience swimming in our little reservoir with some lady athletes from my Triathlon class a few Saturdays ago. Until then, I thought I was barely scraping by on swim skill. When I saw how I swam compared to them, I was shocked to learn that I was quite a bit faster than most of the group and kept pace with the leader.

I also swam with my regular crew on the Wednesday and Thursday before the race. Steve even joined us on Wednesday. It was literally his first experience swimming since he was a scout. Me, Missy, Angela, Jen and Josh all suited up.
Don’t we look like super hero’s in these suits! I wish I could wear it everyday.

I had some really great practice swims before the race and felt so good going into the Triathlon about what I could do on this swim.

So the day came and we started early. We woke up at 5 a.m. A victory in and of itself. We got our last minute gear ready and headed up in a caravan with Missy, Jen and Josh to set up transition one area. I had butterflies in my stomach or maybe it was the Chinese food I ate the night before at Café Trang. The day before the race was our 6th wedding anniversary and we celebrated by going out to dinner. Note to self, don’t eat Chinese on an empty nervous stomach it doesn’t sit well. Also, don't try a new restaurant the night before your year's biggest race.

It was dark when we arrived at T1, but it got noticablly lighter each minute.

Then we headed over to Transition 2 and dropped off our running gear. They also gave us our beautiful body markings. After that we headed back to the start line to nervously pace around for about 45 minutes and took pictures of ourselves.



We arranged and re-arranged our area and then as time drew closer we started to put our wetsuits on. My mom and dad magically appeared while we were suiting up. I was SO surprised! It is not like them to make an appearance as some place they are unfamiliar with. My dad came and found me.

(He recently had shoulder surgery, thus the rock star arm sling) I almost started to cry when they came, but I managed to keep it together.

The butterflies in my stomach started going crazy about 10 minutes before the race. I zipped my train of thought back in line using techniques from my Hypnobirthing days.

One more photo of Club HAM (Herriman Athletic Moms) and some spouses also Club HAM (Herriman Athletic Men)


One practice warm-up swim and then time to move over to the start line.

Before we knew it, the men were on the starting line about to take the water.
Then men took the water.
It was really something to see.
Here's Steve in the middle of the Men's swim. Can you pick him out?
He's the one with the blue goggles.

It was so crazy to realize this was going to be me in like 15 minutes. I have swam with lots of people in open water before, but never during a race. I was a little nervous.

If we look really serious, or scared to death, it’s because we were.

Heather my BFF came to document this race as a special favor to me. She got some great photos of me and my gal pals spectating the men during the swim.

Before I knew it, I was standing at the front of all the women taking my mark. I decided to be aggressive and get in the front because I thought I’d probably swim a little faster than most of the women there. I knew this would be my best event of the day so I wanted to make the most of it.

I heard them begin and ran into the water.
For the first few seconds I was okay, then I got majorly spooked. All the women around me….Hands and feet in my face….I was inhaling other swimmers splash…I started to panic, and I was only half way to the first buoy.

My instinct was to slow down and try to get out of the pack, but I knew I was at the very front and that if I slowed down, I’d be in the middle of even more chaos. I again paused, calmed self down and decided to get my face in the water and just swim fast. I was confident I could swim faster than average.

It worked great. Once I got passed the first buoy, I was much more comfortable, and there were only a few people around me at all. I was extremely motivated to swim as fast as I could so I could get the heck out of the water. It was fairly terrifying.


I swam mostly freestyle but did flip over on my back twice to catch my breath a little. I learned a few things too. I have worked very hard to breathe on both sides while I swim, just be make my strokes count equally on both sides. I learned this time however, that during a race I need more air. The distance between the third and fourth buoy I breathed on one side. I breathed a lot more and swam a lot faster. Note to self…do this again in your next race.

I was gasping for air when I came out of the water. You can tell from these pictures.


But according to my friends (who could be lying to make me feel better) said I was one of the first women out of the water.

I was totally relieved to be out of the water and transitioning onto the bike.
When I got to my spot, which was quite a long run across the beach, my brother Randy and his wife and four children were all there cheering me on, along with my parents.
I also learned later that my brother Scott was there too, but I didn’t see him. Steve was also at the transition area still getting himself ready for the bike portion.
I acknowledged him, but didn’t even think to ask him how it was.

I quickly put on my dry top and bike shoes.

I started flipping out because all the people who I had just swam faster than were beating me out of the transition area. It was very frustrating. I had planned to put on my heart rate monitor, but in the heat of the moment, I was lucky to get just my shoes and helmet on before I booked it out of there.

The one accessory I was sure to not abandon wearing was my new Team-sparkle skirt. My friend and mentor Elise an extremely competitive racer from Orange County California started a business creating and selling these skirts. I bought my self one for my birthday and have LOVED wearing it every chance I get.





This was the first year of the Herriman Blackridge Triathlon. All in all for a first-time race, I have no complaints.
You can see from this photo the race officials were very professional. Note to organizers...children make great race officials. They really do.


I was all alone on this race. I headed down the hill on my bike just about as fast as I could pedal and still feel somewhat safe. My goal was to finish this race just as fast as I could. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours, but secretly I was hoping to do it in 1:45.

I knew I needed to pedal just as fast as I could because I am a slow runner especially compared to all the animal triathletes that surrounded me. I can however pedal just as fast as anyone.

I had a great time on the bike. I loved the course. Plus, I got tons of complements on my sparkle skirt. Each compliment gave my moral a boost and motivated me to go faster. It had one very challenging climb up around Butterfield canyon, which I somehow have never done. It was a challenge. My goal was to ride the whole way, not get off and walk. There were people walking their bikes up the hill, but I was not one of them. I did have to be careful not to use too much torque on my left knee. It’s a bit gimpy and needs a scope (which I am planning for Oct or Nov) to be repaired.

I somehow managed to stay on my bike and even passed a few folks and got a few more skirt compliments. It was really hard work, but under and between my exhales I was singing Miley’s The Climb. It has gotten me through hard segments on several hard races. Before I knew it I was at the top of the hill looking at the mile long decent.

I took my bike the fastest it has ever got before 34.9. I really wanted 35, but couldn’t manage to get it there before the slope flattened out. It was exhilarating to be traveling that fast of my own volition. Exhilarating and somewhat terrifying. Those road bike tires are so skinny and hard I know that running over one smallish pebble could send me flying over my handle bars and into a gnarly crash.

I made the decent, passed the high school and was totally pumped to be riding back towards the park to transition 2. My knee felt great until about mile 12. The bike portion was only 14 miles, so I knew it was in the bag and I could ride as fast as I could without worrying about killing my knee.

I was whizzing past people right and left. This was my favorite and best road to ride on in all Herriman. I ride it all the time. I caught up with my friend and training partner Jen with about a mile and a half to go. We rode together for the last mile until there was another small climb to get up to the park road. My knee wouldn’t let me have the torque I needed to climb it as fast as I wanted, but I was able to catch her when the road flattened out and we rode into Transition 2 together.
I dismounted my bike and ran into the transition area to change shoes. My legs were so wimpy and wiggly at that point. My knees felt like Jell-O and I nearly dropped to the ground, but caught myself.

I changed my shoes, grabbed my trusty MP3 player and sweat rag/portable A/C unit and hit the pavement for the final portion of the race. Unfortunately my MP3 Player’s ear phones were in the biggest tangle of all time. I almost didn’t even bother with it except that it helps so much to distract me from the fatigue I feel while I run. I had to fiddle with it for several minutes to get it all straightened out. That slowed me down a lot. Note to self…next time make sure the cord is strait before the race…Duh.


I enjoyed the run more that I was expecting although I was SO hot. When I reached the water station I was elated because it meant my A/C unit would start working. I got it wet and wiped down my hot face with my cool cloth. It made such a huge difference.


I remember the 5-K to be a lot longer during the Daybreak Tri last year. I thought it would never end. This one was easy compared to that one.


Before I knew it I was running up the trail past the Jr. High and toward the park. I notice a big pick-up truck honking at me in the Jr. High parking lot with people hanging out the windows waving and cheering. It was my friends Brad and Angela and my kids who were headed toward the finish line. They cheered for me as I ran up the trail toward the park and finish line. It was perfect timing to see them. I was pretty weary at this point.

I got up to the park and my little nephews who are 7, 4 and 2 were there to greet me. They ran with me until they got to their dad (my brother Randy) who was also there cheering me on.
I did my best to sprint with what I had left (not much) to the finish line.
I crossed the line and the clock said 1:56. I was very pleased to see that I had done it in under 2 hours. Steve pointed out to me later that the finish line clock was for when the first racers began, not my start time my actual finish time was 1:45.41. I was very pleased with that time. Pleased as punch.

I loved doing this race. This was my favorite and best race ever. It was great for many reasons. First, because I felt for the first time like I belonged there. Second, because I had an awesome sparkly skirt that everyone loved, but no one as much as me. Third, because Steve did this race too.


(who says white people can't jump? We cleared the ground at least two to three inches.)

It was something we prepared for and thought about together. Fourth because it was in my hometown. Fifth because I had so many amazing friends, family and neighbors come and cheer for me.
Even though I have always known, I realized how blessed I am when it comes to having amazing people in my life and surrounding me.


I am a rich woman when it comes to friends and family.

Can’t wait for next year. Who’s in? This guy finished, so could you.

Steve's Post Note:
So, I’m not sure how I really got involved in this. I mainly didn’t want to be the trailing spouse by too much. I knew a lot of the participants in this event, which was close to home. And since the swim was short and the bike was long compared to most sprint triathlons, I thought I could do it.

I thought the swim would not be a problem. I swam a mile at Bear Lake as a 14 year old scout. I guess I didn’t consider that this was 20 years ago (seriously). Anyway, I started the swim strong and then got very tired. I tried to swim on my back for rest, but got lost (headed the wrong direction). When I realized that I had lost ground, that was very frustrating. I was one of the slowest swimmers there, but I did not drown, so that I count as a win.
I was very glad to be enter the bike portion.

I really enjoyed the bike ride.

I held back on the on the bike a little because I knew I’d need energy for the run (slow jog).
I actually did better than I expected in the slow jog.
I had plenty of energy, it was only pain slowing me down. So, I should have ridden harder.

Anyway, I said this would be my first and only triathlon—but
I’m planning on next year.

Special Thanks to Heather Waegner of Aya Photography. She is hands down the most talented photographer in the Logan area and possibly the world, and is available for family portraits or whatever you photo needs are. Please notice my super cute and new family photos on this very blog page. She is also responsible for them. You rock Smeather. Thank you for being a friend.