Race Result

Racer:	Melissa Hancock
Race:	Giant Acorn Triathlon
Date:	Saturday, October 6, 2007
Location:	Bumpass, VA
Race Type:	Triathlon - Sprint
Age Group:	Female 35 - 39
Time:	1:37:31
Overall Place:	130 / 255
Age Group Place:	35 / 62
Comment:	Nice Lake, Beautiful Bike Course, Pretty Flat Run.

Race Report:

This was my third triathlon, the first two being Irongirl. I had no idea where I would fall among the finishers, but was looking forward to trying my best.

I booked a hotel room in Fredricksburg Friday night, so I was able to sleep in until 7am, and then leisurely make my way over to the race site. Since I got there so early, I was able to park inside the Marina (late-comers would have to park in Lot A, ¼ mile away). In the transition area, I was excited to see other people with the RATs tri suits. I introduced myself to Kona Kevin, who then introduced me to everyone else. It was very cool to finally put faces to the people who I've heard so much about. Everyone was very nice and welcoming.

As the first wave of swimmers took off at 10am, I still stood in the transition area trying to decide if I should wear my wetsuit. I might swim ½ mile 2 minutes faster if I wore it, but could loose 2 minutes taking it off. At the last minute, I decided to go without it.

Swim: 18:48: 32/62
The nuclear reactors at Lake Anna had warmed things up nicely. The water temperature felt great at 76 degrees. The swim went great, except for a few gulps of water. About halfway through, I started passing some women from the wave ahead of me. I had a hard time navigating around a few people who were doing slow, but very powerful and far-reaching breast stroke kicks. Near the end, I was passed by 3-4 of the guys in the wave behind me. One of them must have been KK, because he was in the wave behind me, but I didn't see him until I was finishing the bike and he was starting the run. I was a little disappointed in my swim time. Maybe I could have gained more time if I wore my wetsuit. But I made up for it with a fast T1, and had the second fastest transition.

Bike: 40:44: 22/62
The bike course was 12.5 miles, and SO much easier than Irongirl. It had a couple of good climbs, but nothing too hard. It had some fun descents, but nothing scary. The scenery was really beautiful, and we went over 3-4 bridges over the water. I was passed by some of the guys from the swim wave behind me, and it was worth it just to get a close look at some really nice hardware in action. All of those Cervelos and Kuotas and even a Merlin – they made me lightheaded. A lot of the guys were super nice, said encouraging things to me as they passed, but I was too busy checking out their frames and wheels to reply! I think I overextended myself on the bike because I was panting pretty much the whole way, but I didn't care, it was so much fun! The last mile or so passed the run course, so I got to cheer for Shawn and Kevin as they headed out.

Run: 34:58: 55/62
My first 5K run in under 35 minutes ever!!! It might not seem very fast to (well, pretty much everyone), but I have been working so hard to achieve this. I've been doing intervals every week since August and being very consistent with my training. I was completely exhausted when I got off the bike. The cheering crowds spurred me into a jog, however. There was just one steep climb to get out the marina and on the road, so I knew once I cleared that, I would be home free. It was a real struggle to keep moving, but thank god for that lovely brick feeling, where you are completely numb for the first few minutes. That got me up the hill, and then I was on autopilot for the rest. Although walking would have been really nice, my new friends were all over the course and I didn't want any of them to think I was a wimp. I kept jogging, and only walked for about 10 seconds at each water stop.

Since the finish was all downhill, I tried to pull out one final sprint, to impress my parents who had arrived just as I started the swim, and had never seen a triathlon. But I was so tired; it was all I could do to keep moving! They did a great job cheering, though, and were very proud of me.

After the race was over, I ran into Heather, another RAT who I met that day. We grabbed some hamburgers and chilled out by the lake for awhile, enjoying the great weather. This was a great race and a great venue. Although I think I am ready to try some Oly distance races next year, I would definitely like to do this one again.