This weekend I decided to shake things up with my second ever sprint triathlon, the Try Cambridge Tri.
Since moving to Madison I have been inundated with Ironman culture, and all of the biking and open water swimming around town made me a little jealous of the triathlon scene. Midway through the summer I decided it was time to make my debut in the Madison Multisport arena and I signed up for this triathlon with my friend Adam, who I did the Madison Mini Marathon with last weekend.
Going into it, my training was sporadic at best. My “plan” was to get in the pool and on the bike at least once a week. I did a few swims that amounted to a mile or more total, so I figured I would be fine there, and I was able to get a few 20+ mile bike rides in. I wouldn’t say I followed a program by any means. For usually being so structured about training, I was honestly pretty willy-nilly about the whole thing.
I think since I didn’t have a baseline for how to compete in a triathlon or how long it should take I wasn’t too concerned with the whole thing. Go out, have fun, “tri” something new.
The night before the race I did some pretty terrible race prep. Carbs were a bottle of wine enjoyed on a boat and sleep was in short supply.
(Although, to be fair, the sleep was pretty deep because of the wine!)
The race itself was a blast once I finally made it there and got settled in. I really started to get into it when I got my body markings. I swear, there is just something about having race numbers sharpied on your calf and bicep that gets you pumped up.
While waiting for instructions on how the race would kick off I started chatting with Bailey, another 20-something gal who was also doing her first triathlon in years. We were definitely rookies compared to some of the other athletes. Bailey and I both agreed that the guys who showed up in wet suits were just WAY too serious for an 8 minute swim at a triathlon located in the middle of the Madison suburbs. (We may have just been saying that out of jealousy though, let’s be real – those guys looked pretty badass.)
BFF for race day!
The swim was in Ripley Park Lake and was prefaced by a stunning sunrise.
Normally I don’t really believe in being at a race before the sun has come up, but I’ll make an exception for this morning!
I hadn’t done any open water swimming leading up to the race and I was admittedly a little worried about that. From my first triathlon in 2011 I remembered open water swimming being chaotic, disorienting, and kind of gross. My wave had a max of maybe 35 people in it though and the swim was a breeze. I veered off course a lot my first triathlon and this time around I found my head bobbing out regularly to check my course. The best part of the swim though – passing Adam. I knew I needed a head start because, as a UW Cyclist, he would pass me in no time on the bike.
T1 (the swim-to-bike transition) went well. I mean, as well as putting socks on wet feet can go.Then the bike ride went a little something like this:
WHOOOOOOO!
I’m off!
::woosh:: ::woosh::
That’s the sound of people passing me.
HOLY $%!*
Massive hill at mile 3.
“Seeya Goldthorpe!”
Adam screaming past me.
WHOOOOOOO!
Clocking 25 mph on a downhill.
SCCREEAACCHH
As everyone does an abrupt 180 at the halfway mark.
HOLY $%!*
Sudden realization that the second half is uphill, into the wind.
::woosh:: ::woosh::
That’s the sound of MORE people passing me.
WHOOOOOOO!
Going down massive hill from mile 3.
Honestly, 15 miles is the perfect distance for my biking ability right now. Anything more and I probably would have gotten pretty bored/tired. I can already tell if I keep doing triathlons that improving my biking would be a huge help for my time and level of competitiveness at these things.
The 5k run to the finish was interesting. I never run 5ks, so I didn’t have the best pacing strategy. Plus, having legs that felt like bricks and jell-o, simultaneously, made it hard to gauge how fast I was running. I was pleased to see that I was clocking sub 8:30 miles the entire time!
The race ended and I met Adam and his friends and family at the finish, with a personal best! (Gotta love saying that, even if it is because it’s a new event!)
I’m not ready to say I’m totally hooked on or addicted to triathlons yet, but it was a lot of fun! I think I really like how new I am to it – there is definitely a lot I could learn and a ton of room for improvement. Who knows, maybe once I volunteer at Ironman Wisconsin in a few weeks I’ll really get ambitious. I could easily see myself doing a half Ironman within the year though, that’s for sure.
Race for all 50 States 
I haven’t volunteered at an Ironman, but I went at midnight to cheer on the late finishers to the Madison Ironman. It was such a fantastic experience to cheer people on as they met their goals, no matter what their time. Good job on tri’ing something new!
Congratulations’
Miss Goldthorpe…
You did Phenomenal with this Tri.
I would like to make a few edits to your recollection of this endeavor.
FIRST and foremost it should be noted that Kelly competed against 54 other women and did VERY well, but most importantly, her time placed her 4th in her division (The largest division).
SECOND, it was “WHOO HOOO.. YEAH…GO GOLDTHORPE!!!!” not “SEEYA” (that would be rude).
THIRD, Folks, when Kelly mentions a massive hill, it was an abrupt and steep climb. Immediately after a blind curve thus surprising the rider with an “Oh S**t!!!”. (It really put the FU in ‘FUN’)
FOURTH, The bike out was very decent, smooth, with wind at our backs. When Kelly mentions that after the screeching 180 turn around she realizes that the return was uphill and into the wind.. She wasn’t joking. It also is incredibly disheartening to be pedaling your cheeks off and looking down and seeing 14 MPH. The wind was about 8-12 MPH and in your face. It also maintained a minimum 1-2% grade from mile 7.5-11, into the wind. Additionally there were significant rollers and a few climbs just to bust your remaining energy.
FIFTH, Kelly you rocked the run, and it was no easy stroll through the park, nearly the entire thing was hills and corners. There is also no way for someone to understand how challenging it is to get off a bike and then run without having done it. Stumps and Jell-O sums it up but doesn’t do it a justice. IT SUCKS. I was limping through the run, happy to be “completeing” the event… Around mile 2.75 I passed Kelly on my return and got a high five. (HIGHLIGHT)
FIFTH.2 – Kelly is one of the most, if not THE most, inspiring woman I know. She finds energy in what seems to be nothing and promotes others to do the same! The high five from her was my little reminder that I needed to bring it back up a notch, that I was close to being done and that I was doing really well! I smiled the rest of the run and as I crossed the finish line I saw her face in my mind. Smiling and cheering as she always does, giving me that additional boost of energy to finish incredibly strong!
I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to do this even t with you Kelly! Thank you for signing up with me!
I wanted to draft you the bit of note to thank you over again over the strinikg opinions you have featured at this time. It has been unbelievably open-handed with you to make freely what exactly a lot of folks could have marketed as an electronic book to generate some dough for their own end, even more so seeing that you could possibly have done it in the event you decided. The suggestions in addition acted like a fantastic way to recognize that other people online have similar dreams just as mine to see good deal more when considering this condition. I know there are millions of more pleasant times in the future for folks who go through your site.
I love triathlons so much! I must say, I kind of hope you get hooked because I’m always looking for more tri blogs to follow!
Awesome!!! I’ve always wanted to try a tri! Maybe next year when things settle down I can incorporate some swimming and biking into my training! Great job!