Sandman Triathlon, Virginia Beach

The Sandman is like a sprint triathlon. Often when my students say something is like something, I reply that not only is it LIKE something, it actually IS that thing. However, when my swim and run times are about equal, I don't quite consider the race to be a sprint.

Having done Sandman last year, I wasn't experiencing any pre-race anxiety. I had already accepted the fact that freestyle would not play a part in my swim. When my three trigirl-to-be friends and I hit the beach Saturday afternoon, however, I started thinking that my weekend might be better spent drinking margaritas and cracking crab legs than planning for and participating in the race. The four of us bravely sat on the beach, wearing hoods and wrapped in beach towels, trying to read our books and magazines without letting the wind turn the pages for us. As many of my friends are aware, sun worship is my part-time job, although pay is not a premium. Me voluntarily walking off the beach is a good indication that the weather is not friendly. That being said, it really wasn't so bad. I think I was mostly afraid I'd be cold, which makes me kind of laugh out loud now.

Race morning, I got up earlier than I thought I would. Since I'd organized all my stuff the night before (highly unusual for me, but I was being thoughtful for the sake of my hotel roommates,) I really didn't have much to do. Brushed my teeth, drank some water, and ate a bar. There's even a real live bathroom in the transition area for this race! I went down to transition, three blocks away from my hotel, and joined Jonah in line for bike inspection. Set up my transition area fairly quickly, and headed to the Seven Eleven for coffee. This was part of the plan all along. I've gotten too familiar with triathlon's hurry-up-and-wait. Mary Jo finally made it through the now-long inspection line and into transition. I have to give her props for an anxiety level about one percent of that she had at Naylor's!

Mary Jo and I walked down to 32nd Strret, where the swim would start. I tested the water (and may or may not have peed.) The temperature was great! I started actually looking forward to the swim. The water was still choppy, but not entirely covered with whitecaps as it had been the day before.

Watching the first wave of open registration, I was glad to have the advantage of learning from someone else's mistakes. The current was pretty strong, and many of the swimmers were getting carried past the first buoy, having to fight the current to go back around it the right direction. Knowing that I'd rather add to my time by swimming a little extra than struggle against the waves themselves, I positioned myself REALLY FAR down the beach. Thank goodness. While I still swam primarily breaststroke, I did incorporate some backstroke as well as a little "LA Combo" (thanks, Som!) into my repertoire. The most notable thing about the swim was not the number of times I was kicked or got my butt grabbed, but the number of times someone said, "Sorry!" All-female wave explains some of it, but I guess these swimmers were just nicer and/or less competitive than those I "ran into" (or vice-versa) at Naylor's.

I got out of the water to cheers from Mary Jo's crowd, and ran--okay, walked--up to the transition area.

On the bike, I pretty much just chilled. It's a flat course, and I was pretty beaten down from the swim. I was worried towards the beginning that I got a draft penalty. Some dude on a yellow bike passed me, then immediately slowed down. This method was repeated by several other cyclists during the 14-mile ride, and I finally just pulled over and got off my bike each time it happened. Just kidding. But most of my bike thoughts revolved around the USAT rules and how I owuld prevent an official from penalizing me unless I actually benefitted from a draft! Anyway, I neither drafted nor was penalized. So much for my bike thinking.

The run, also was fairly uneventful. Out-and-back on the boardwalk. Concrete. Headwind on the way back. Saw Mary Jo and Jonah sporting their pink. Heard loud cheering from my friend LA and her husband Douglas, as well as from my girls, Mary JO's girls, and Jonah's family. I decided the best thing about this entire race experience was that I had more personal cheerleaders than I'd ever had before. It was so great! I also must say that I had a fabulous last .2 miles. I always like to have a fast finish, and I think I passed about ten people then. Jonah had a great fast finish, too, fighting off some potential passers. Mary Jo, she just looked scary! I wouldn't even have tried to pass her!

Among the seven girls who traveled with me and Mary Jo, I'm hoping at least a few caught the spirit (Ashley said it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement!) but even if none tri next year, at least Lauren and Tracy are set to be the cheerleaders. We've got some pink for them...

Oh yeah... my times:
Overall 1:52:43
1000m ocean swim 27:02
T1 1:50
14 mile bike 52:32
T2 1:28
5K run 29:49
I finished 20th out of 33 in my age group, and I took about 12 minutes off my time from last year!