Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon

Context
Haven't participated in a tri since October 15, so I was ready to kick off the season. Felt very prepared since I'm training for much longer distances.

Location
Smith Mountain lake is beautiful, and our accomodations, graciously provided by my TRIgirl little sister Jennifer and her family, were fantastic.

Nutrition and Hydration
During and right before the race, I enjoyed Clif Shot Bloks, Kashi bars, oatmeal, water, and Gatorade. The evening before the race brought fresh red snapper with coconut macadamia crust and a spicy pineapple salsa. The Strebel's postrace cookout was divine--especially the deviled eggs! The margaritas were delicious...

Swim
My first swim in a wetsuit, although not my first open water experience. I've completed two Sandmans and one Naylor's Beach, so the lake water was quite calm and inviting in comparison to the Atlantic Ocean and the Rappahannock River. Even the wetsuit provides warmth and flotation. That being said, I still experienced my traditional shallow breathing, not-putting-my-head-under-the-water breaststroking. Totally inefficient. Also quite frustrating, because although I know it's all in my head and I "just need to relax," um, okay. I even think I'll be fine prerace. One day...

Bike
First bike with the aerobottle. What a great invention. Felt pretty good on the bike--rolling hills, no real climbs. Stayed in the large chain ring for the most part. There was a bit of traffic on Smith Mountain Lake Parkway that interfered some--had to hit the brakes to avoid rear-ending a truck at one point.

Run
Standard out-and-back. Sharing the road with not only other runners, but also the last cyclists, which made for a more congested course than I've seen on a tri before. Three water stops, which was really nice for a sprint distance. I felt good here and had no problems with a negative split.

Afterthoughts
1. It is so fun to race as part of a training team. Of course, we have the best jerseys and wetsuits! And we get the name recognition--hearing "Go, TRIgirl!" while wearing a veritable disguise of swim cap, goggles, and wetsuit is very encouraging.
2. Hmmm. This was the first race that had bakery cake at the finish line. I ate a rose.
3. I registered for this race as Athena (first time to ever do so,) which is a category for women weighing over 150 pounds. I thought I may have a shot at an award by doing so, but not among these fast women! There were eight Athena entries, and I finished fifth out of six Athena finishers. I would have been nine out of fifteen had I registered in my age group. My brother thinks the whole Athena/Clydesdale (men over 200 lbs.) is kind of silly, and I kind of agree. But I also think Ironman is kind of silly, and I'm signed up for that, too. Sigh.
4. I like racing.