I Am An Irongirl!! Again!

Yesterday was a lot of fun. There is something to be said about having an event with all women. It seems so supportive, positive and much less intense.

It was another early morning - but for me, not too bad as I was still on East Coast time. We had some breakfast and were off to the race. Have you ever seen those people who bike to the race start and thought they were so bad a$$? It's over rated. HA! Actually, it was a pretty good 3.7 mile warm up.

Once we got to the start, it was the normal body marking and setting up the transition area. It was really fun because Mimi and I got to be next to each other, and we were one row away from Molly, Katie, and Molly (Katie's friend from Albuquerque, NM). Mimi and I took a quick walk to the swim start and it was a beautiful sunrise. We finished getting ready and it was off the start.

The Swim.
It was only 400 meters, so I wasn't too worried. Molly wanted to be at the front (it was a run in start) and I was okay with it. We had about 5 minutes before we went off and there was some good music playing, so I was having a little dance party. It was fun! Once the Aflac duck quacked - that was the starting gun, we ran in and started. The water was about 72 degrees and without a wet suit, it hit my lungs pretty hard. And the sun was coming up and I couldn't see the first two buoys. But, I managed to sight off of someone in front of me and do okay. The problem, it took me 2 minutes to get from the water to the transition area! It was a far distance, and I was not running!

The bike.
Molly offered to drive the bike course, but I declined. I didn't want to see what I was about to do. I knew the first was going to a false flat to start, and some rollers. That was enough to know for me. Sure enough, the first 4 or so miles too forever! I was sucking air and hating my choice to do this race. Sapphire was doing the best he could, but all I could wish for was Blain. But once the first part was done, the bike was actually kind of fun. I picked up some speed and still enjoyed looking around. And to my pleasant surprise, I averaged 16 mph. WooHoo!

The run.
This is where I had some issues due to the elevation. I tried to run, I really did, but I just couldn't. There were even a few times when I started on my walk break and felt a bit dizzy and light headed. But I did just keep moving forward. Not a great run time, but all things considered, I don't think it was that bad for me.

The finish.
Having a few people finish before you is fun because they come back and cheer for you. I noticed Mimi first, as she also had the DC Tri top on, and then heard Molly screaming her head off, which was super nice. I was still sucking air but managed to finish running, which is always nice.

Overall, it was a really fun race. It was nice being with friends, not taking the race too seriously, and just having a good time.
After the race, it was off to a micro brewery for lunch, a nice nap and a trip to the Rockies game. Vacations are awesome.