Nathan's Race Recap!!

I was a little worried how the race would go today since it was so ridiculously hot yesterday. Luckily, the weather was amazing and could not have been more perfect for the race. I woke up and there was a slight chill in the air and it was extremely cloudy. I got ready and headed down to Tempe Town Lake by myself- 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' decided to meet me down there later on (closer to the start time) so he could get a little more sleep. ;)

I got down there, and made my way back into transition where I dropped my bike off the day before. I got everything set up and went to get body marked. After that, I waited. I ate another Luna bar, helped RunningFrida set up her transition (she was running late), and then found a spot to sit and wait some more.

You see, at all of these races they have a certain time before the first wave starts that the transition area closes- no one is allowed back in, so that it is empty for athletes coming in when the race starts start. Makes sense, right? Well, that's all fine and dandy- unless you're like me and start in Wave 13. That means 12 waves go off before you- WITH 4 minutes (or more) between each wave. That's a lot of sitting around and waiting!! (Which is probably why 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' chose to drive himself and get an extra hour and a half of sleep! ;))

Once 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' got there, it was close to our start time. We waited in line and slowly inched towards the swim start. (The best part about being in the 'Females 0-30' group is we definitely have the most energy! Girls were dancing in line and we sure made it known we were ready when the announcer told us we could get in the water. Then when we all got in the water and up to the start line, we heard one final "30 second warning..." from the announcer- to which we all erupted in screams, cheers, and 'wooohoo'ing-- immediately followed by lots of laughter of our own ridiculousness!) LOVE this part of racing!!

The 'cool' crowd ;)

After the laughter, we all got serious and took off on the 1500meter swim. The swim went well- I got hit in the face for the first time and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think I got hit by a flying elbow right on my check bone and it hurt- but nothing I couldn't handle- hopefully I never get a foot to the face!! I finished the swim in 36:39. I again, was hoping to be around 30 but it just didn't happen.

I quickly made my way out of the water, back into transition- it felt like I had to run a quarter mile to get back to my spot!  I hopped on my bike and took off. I knew the course and felt prepared. It was two loops with NO bee stings or dropped water bottles! Impressive- I know! ;) I think I was most happy with my bike for this race- I finished the 24.8 mile bike ride in 1:23- averaging 17.8 miles per hour.

So happy to see 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter'!!

Before I knew it, I was back in transition heading out for the 6.2 mile run. Right as I left transition, I saw my old friend, Claren, from soccer. We both looked shocked to see each other and quickly said hi as we passed each other. Not long after that, I saw 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' and his friend. It's always so, so, SO good to him when I'm racing.

About a mile into the run, I heard someone behind me say "Come on Kim, pick it up!" and I turned around and it was my new friend Jason. He was already on his second loop of the run and I completely hated him for it. ;) He took off like the speed demon he is and left me trotting along... on my first loop...

My first loop was boring and slow. I don't know what happened, but when I started my second loop and saw 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' again, I got my second wind and was able to pick it up. I pushed the pace the entire second loop and felt good. I was telling everyone I passed (or that passed me) 'good job' and that they were doing great.

When I finally got close to the finish and made the final turn, it felt like the whole crowd was saying "GO KIM!" so I smiled and waved and tried to sprint to the finish as fast as I could. I had no idea who all these people were that were cheering for me, but right before I reached the finish line, I heard a large group of them shout "GO TIM!" not Kim.... TIM! Yup, there I am waving and smiling at strangers- who aren't even cheering for me! But hey- the way I look at it is: they got a two-for-one cheering deal! ;)

That would be "Tim"

I finished, found 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' and was able to immediately see my results on this new APP that they had up on a bunch of iPads- it was crazy awesome! Although, I was hoping to PR and be under 3 hours-- I finished with a time of 3:08- not so awesome.

The answer is no- I really don't ever brush my hair...

Afterwards we headed to a nearby bar to meet some friends, get food, and watch football. I also an amazing text from a friend that lead to me meeting a 'celebrity'.... I use that term loosely. ;) Stay posted for the details in the next post!!


Congrats to anyone who raced this weekend!! 

Have you ever met a Celebrity? If so- who?