Transition area the day before
Like I said last week, I really do think triathlons are more fun than running races. That doesn’t mean I’m going back to them, other than the occasional sprint, because running is how I’d rather spend my training time, but I have so much fun at tris. An Iron Girl event, being all women, being incredibly supported by the crowds, and being the place where so many women do their first tri ever, takes that up a notch.
So how did it go? Pretty well. I was happy with my swim, embarrassed by my bike split, and satisfied with my run. Triathlon, in my opinion, all comes down to the bike. It takes the hugest chunk of time, so it pays to make it the focus of your training if you’re going to do triathlons. Did I do that? Not so much! I still kept my running miles fairly high, swam about the right amount (and pushed myself in the water), and put in enough miles on the bike. But outside of some hill repeats, I didn’t really work hard enough on the bike. I didn’t realize my split would be that bad, but you get out of it what you put into it.
As for placement–I did ok. I was 23rd overall and either third or fourth in my age group. I got to the awards late and missed my age group. I was officially fourth in
it, but my friend Janelle won overall masters, so she was pulled from our age group, hopefully moving me up to third. In either case, this race organization always awards down to fifth in age groups, so I got some hardware. The only problem is (remember I got there late), they gave me an award for the wrong age group. If you
Post race with my cheerleaders
were fourth in the 40 to 44 age group, I’ve got your award!
A small way to carry Dale's spirit with me
Doing this race as part of Team Fight was fantastic. Seeing all the other women out there on the course and being able to cheer them on was a ball. I love how many of them used this as their first tri. And since I was wearing Team Fight colors, I had the body markers add a little extra for me, in memory of my brother-in-law, Dale.
I ended up raising over $1,700 for the Ulman Cancer Fund, and much of that is thanks to you all. In that spirit, the winner of my raffle for donations goes to Patty Barnhill. Congrats! Many thanks again to my great sponsors for this, Chick Bands, Outside PR, Bill Katovsky, and Oiselle.
Up ahead this week–recovery for a few days and then back to more running miles. I have one more sprint tri in mid-Septembr, and even though I could really stand more bike work, I also have CIM Dec. 2, so that’s going to take priority now. I’m really glad I did Iron Girl–it’s going to go down as one of my favorite races this season!
Great job on your tri! I enjoy reading your tips and passing them on to my husband (he just did his first 70.3!) I’m trying to talk him into running CIM with me;)
Awesome job! It’s great to read about how much fun you have doing triathalons. And congrats on your fundraising!
GreenGirlRunning recently posted..CIM Training Week 3
Good work, Lady!
I did an all-women’s tri in May, and there’s not too many race environments that can beat them.
Adrienne recently posted..The Climb: Austin Cycling at its Finest
Congrats on getting back into the sport and most importantly having a good time.
It’s all about the bike isn’t it…..haha! No matter the distance for us we need to be good on the bike to setup a great run.
jason @ Cook Train Eat Race recently posted..Feeding An Ironman
congratulations!!! such an accomplishment!
Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean recently posted..Best of the Bean: Appetizers & More
Congratulations! It’s impressive enough that you did it at all, but to also place so high AND raise so much money for the foundation… well done. And good, reasonable reflection on your performance, too! Nice work
Meredith @ DareYouTo recently posted..Get After It!
Congrats to you – sounds like a great day!
abbi recently posted..No plans
Congrats on the race
BDD recently posted..Things I Know Now, I Wish I Knew Back When
Excellent! Way to go. I agree about the bike. Unfortunately that’s my worst of the three sports. Thankfully, triathlons are all for fun for me =)
Heidi @BananaBuzzbomb recently posted..Be The 1st To Experience Columbia Omni-Freeze ZERO – Giveaway
Way to go on the race! I struggle with swimming, for sure. It sounds like you had a good time for a great cause. It’s always wonderful when we can make our races meaningful for others, too.
Jen @ ConcreteNCoffee recently posted..Friday Blurbs
Congrats of your tri. You did awesome.
Nice job with Iron Girl. I’m toying with buying a bike and trying out the tri world. I feel pretty good about my swim and run. I am sure actually owning a bike would be a good first start on cycling.
In other news … Clippers picked up our swim coach. Sounds like he’ll have your sons’ group. You’ll have to let me know what you think.
Mara @Big Happy Family recently posted..Happy Anniversary
Wow you did fantastic, congratulations! Well done and aweome on the fundraising.
Robin recently posted..Amelia’s 2nd Triathlon
WOW AWESOME JOB! And such a great cause too! Way to GO girlie! You are such an inspiration!
Krysten Siba Bishop (@darwinianfail) recently posted..MidSummer’s Night Run Race Recap
Nicely done – sounds like you enjoyed it. My hubby ended up not doing his this weekend b/c of potentially bad weather that of course turned out to not happen…
Heather (Where’s the Beach) recently posted..Fun Facts Friday – Recipes to Try
Congrats!! Way to go
I’m with you in the fact that I need to work more on biking. I think I’m fine at it and focus on the swim because I’m more nervous about that, but I need to remind myself the the bike is the biggest portion and I need to focus on those dang hills!! Anyway, yay for you!!
Kara recently posted..Sizing Up
Great job! I’m doubting your bike split could have been too embarrassing if you placed! Congrats on your fundraising!!!
Julie recently posted..One Freaking Craftastic Day
Some people are just better at certain sports than others – even the pro triathletes have a weaker event, so don’t worry too much about the bike – you placed and that’s awesome. Congratulations!
Jill recently posted..Tri for the Cure: My first Tri in (gulp) 23 years!
Sounds like fun! Our kids did a tri yesterday, hoping to get Laima to complete one next year!
Kovas – Midwest Mutisport Life recently posted..Week 16: The North Face Endurance 50K Training
Good job! I’d be afraid to run a triathlon on the spur of the moment. I’d probably drown! Nice that you enjoyed it.
Just a note about the atmosphere at a tri: My husband, who announces races says that at triathlon award ceremonies, the athletes are very nice and accommodating, even if they’ve had to wait awhile for the ceremony to start. Runners on the other hand tend to complain and be in a much worse mood. I thought that was interesting, because being a runner I always thought we were the nicer ones
Debbie @ Live from La Quinta recently posted..Weekend Reader: Inspiring Words from the Web
Congratulations on both the awesome race and fundraising!
I agree about the bike being the most important. It’s the longest chunk, and if you don’t train enough or go too hard it can really affect your time. Still, I’d rather have a stronger run than bike.
Enjoy your few days of recovery.
Abby @ Change of Pace recently posted..Logic vs insanity – it’s all for fun
Well done and congrats on your performance and your fundraising for a very worthy cause!
Awesome work! And as someone who’s had oodles (read: hardly any) of experience with triathlons (read: finished one sprint)
– I have to say I agree with the bike thing. It really killed it for me. I dropped 4 places during it and made up the 1 at the end (it was a reverse tri so we ended with the swim). It was totally deflating for me and turned me off from the tri experience. Maybe I should bike more and tri it again 
Sheila recently posted..Running Like A Girl
congrats to you! i’m impressed by everyone who does a tri – no matter what the distance is. i can’t swim or bike to save my life! kudos to you.
Kristy@RunTheLongRoad recently posted..Turkey Swamp 50K Recap
Congrats!!! Great job!! Sounds like a very fun race and congrats for placing!! Awesome.
Erin Henderson recently posted..Process of Perseverance
Congratulations on placing- that is awesome! I never realized how difficult riding a bike was until I started to bike this summer. Dang, it is tough- I don’t know how people can do it! You are an amazing athlete my friend!
Tasha @ Healthy Diva recently posted..PRO Compression *Product Review*
Glad you had fun! Triathlon is a blast
Stephanie Anne recently posted..Top 10 August Workout Songs!!
Awesome job Amanda!! Congrats!
Michelle @ Running with Attitude recently posted..Rest days are vital
Great job! You always impress me, even when some piece of it isn’t satisfying for you. And you almost always have fun too, which is probably the most important thing.
Terzah recently posted..Do You Trash Talk?
Congrats!!!
Kierston recently posted..Staycation: FUn, Fitness, Food!
Congrats! I was one of the “newbies” doing IG as my first tri. It was such an amazing experience — definitely something to be said about the environment/feel of an all-women’s event. And like you, I participated through a charity team — mine was Team in Training. The experience of training with such an incredible group of women and our awesome coach made me feel like a winner even before race day! (And I raised almost $4000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, with a few more donations still trickling in – which is the best part of all!)
Way to go!!! Totally agree on the bike thing. I’m not a huge fan of cycling personally find it a bit boring, not sure why. Now it’s really CIM training time!
Fueled by Spite recently posted..Vacation Running
WAIT! I just did the IronGirl yesterday, too. Now I know why Christine at Live, Love Surf tweeted us Congrats at the same time. We were at the same event. Small world.
What a great event. Weather couldn’t have been better. This was my 2nd IronGirl and it was just as good as the first. Congrats on your placing. I’m in the “turtle crew”, but I finished strong and still feel great. Congrats again. I see Team Fight at many events here in Columbia.
Michelle recently posted..Weekend Recap & The Weekly Chase
Congrats Amanda!!! So glad you raced with UCF! Such a great org.
Kristy (@KrisRunTri) recently posted..Weekly Log – Flash Back.
You are my inspiration, Amanda. And I am always impressed that you never divulge your finish time on your blog. I know how fast you are and it’s commendable how you don’t make the # the focus of your posts.
Congrats on a great race, especially given that your focus is still mostly on running. Imagine how amazing you’d be if you focused more on the bike =)
Michele @ Nycrunningmama recently posted..Gestational Diabetes
Fantastic job, Amanda! You did an impressive amount of fundraising, too!
Raquelita recently posted..The Return of Training Monday Posts
Congratulations on the race and the fundraising. I’m sure your brother-in-law would be very proud.
Beth @ Miles and Trials recently posted..My MS Story on CNN’s Website
Congrats A! You did great. And for such a great cause. Glad you had fun!
Teamarcia recently posted..A Runner in Bike Clothing
Congratulations! Awesome job:)
hikermom recently posted..Danskin Tri Race Recap
Great job on IronGirl. I really wish we had one near us. I agree, triathlons are much more fun to race than normal events, but I have to admit after my half marathon yesterday….It was kind of nice not to have to worry about everything that you have to bring with you to a triathlon.
Robin recently posted..My 5 Hour Training Day
Great job! I have always been intrigued by tri’s especially an Iron Girl. How awesome to be competing against all women. Girl power at it’s best!
Angela @ Happy Fit Mama recently posted..Healthy Living Summit 2012
I think you did fantastic, congratulations on your results.
I
Fran recently posted..Monday August 20, 2012: Bella’s beach adventure
nothing better than having a great race and raising money for a great cause. love the family pic! Great model of a healthy family!
I’ve ALWAYS wanted to attempt a tri, but something holds me back…argh, the swim??
marissa recently posted..Push yourself but what about them?
Way to go! Congrats on good race. The key is..you enjoyed it.
Joanne recently posted..Catherine Valley Half Marathon 2012
Awesome!! So glad it went well… I’m sure your bike split wasn’t as bad as you think, especially if you came in 4th! I definitely understand the draw to do sprints, they are so fun! Enjoy your brief recovery.
Laura recently posted..Home again! Vacation recap in photos
AWESOME! Congratulations!
katie recently posted..random friday facts
Congrats on our award (even though it is the wrong one)
Christine recently posted..The Long Run that never happened
congratulations – i am in awe of people who can do triathlons!
getfitnaturally (@getfitchick) recently posted..My Top 5 Gym Etiquette Rules
Congrats! Way to go, awesome tri!
Beth @ RUNNING around my kitchen recently posted..Drafting & pizza