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Race Result
| Racer: |
Jamie Roberson |
| Race: |
Reston Sprint Triathlon |
| Date: |
Sunday, June 1, 2008 |
| Location: |
Reston, VA |
| Race Type: |
Triathlon - Sprint |
| Age Group: |
Female 45 - 49 |
| Time: |
2:09:02 |
| Overall Place: |
410 / 418 |
| Age Group Place: |
6 / 7 |
| Comment: |
Reawakening the Competitor |
Race Report:
In the late 70's I owned First Chair Alto Sax in the Bay County (FL) All-County Band. No, really! I thought I was Miss It my freshman, sophomore, and senior years. I'm not just being obnoxious; it's the truth. The only kid to beat me made the McDonald's All-American Band our junior year, so fine, whatever. I'll give him that.
The point of all this band geek braggadocio is that I have a strong competitive streak in things in which I have confidence. Band, backgammon, Scrabulous, corporate litigation, I'm allaboutit. Triathlon...not so much. Five years into this sport, and I still suck. Not enough to make me quit, but enough to pretty much have resigned myself to always being in Lane 6 at Reston Masters, always running a 15:00 mile, and always being at the back of the back of the pack.
Until now.
The swim at the Reston Sprint was fine (2008: 12:88; 2007: 12:25). Went without the wetsuit, was only passed a time or two, and logged my usual 3:00-ish 100's.
Transition was fine (2008: 2:22, 1st among Athenas; 2007: 2:05, 8th among all women). I'm pretty speedy here, by my standards.
Out on the bike course, though, something changed. Cresting the Wiehle Ave. hill on the second loop, I heard a friendly "on your left" and thought "THE HAYUL YOU WILL!!!!" Hilly courses are not a fat girl's friend, but nobody, NOBODY!, beats me on the downhills. All I remember from college physics is Force = Mass x Acceleration, and I'm here to tell you that I can put some serious force down a hill if I crank it up to the big ring and accelerate.
I don't know what happened to my friendly fellow cyclist (she probably spun past me as I ground my granny gear up the Baron Cameron hill), but it didn't matter. A spark lit up and caught fire. I actually passed some cyclists on that third loop as I went guns-a-blazin. That! Felt! Great! (2008: 53:46; 2007: 56:03)
After a speedy (for me) T2 (2008: 2:39; 2007: 2:22), my Speed Racer dreams came crashing back to earth. I got my comeuppance in the form of a nasty blister that bled into my running shoe and reduced me to a hobble, then a jog-walk after an on-course medic gave me a band-aid. The end result was that my bike was faster, but my run slower (2008: 57:55; 2007: 56:59), such that the final time was the same as last year (2008: 2:09:02; 2007: 2:09:51).
Why the difference all of a sudden? I mentioned in a previous race report that I had made some changes to my nutrition. When it was pointed out to me that my proposed diet was essentially Weight Watchers, I hemmed and hawed and decided to give it a shot. I initially wanted to keep it quiet in case I failed, but I can now admit that it has worked. As of race day, after two weeks on WW, I had lost 7 pounds. I still look like Jabba the Hut in my RAT-suit, but no matter. This diet is working, and the Points System is actually fun. I want to lose a lot more and have confidence that I can.
It's been all fine and good to "just finish" or "just be out there", but now I'm serious about improving. I've found the competitive triathlete within, and I can't wait to turn her loose.
(Shawn, are you ready for another butt-kicking in Scrabulous?)
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