A Beaming Report From IronGirl Roshelle!

So I finished another duathlon event yesterday. The IronGirl in Bloomington, MN. It was wonderful!!!!! The event coordinators did a FABULOUS job and I would HIGHLY recommend the other IronGirl events to anyone that might want to try!!!! This event included everything from professionals to first timers. See the website at http://www.irongirl.com/bloomington/index-bloom.html for other IronGirl events.

Weather ~ 65F and sunny (little chilly when I got there, but absolutely perfect running and riding weather!) Distance ~ 2 mile run, 22 mile bike, 2 mile run
Total participants (signed up) ~ 600 (limited to keep event small)
Total participants (attended) ~ 507
Total finished ~ 502
My Age Group ~ 26-30
My Total Time ~ 2hr 25mn 03sec
My Age Rank ~ 75/95
My Overall Rank ~ 408/507
Goal for the day ~ to run all 4 miles with OUT walking

Pre-Race Routine: Woke up at 5:00 am (I was very happy because my last event I had to wake up at 3:00 am), stumbled into the shower, consumed my power bar, 2 bananas, a gatorade and 2 bottles water, threw a pillow at Jeff to wake him up, then we headed to event at 6:00 am. Transition didn't open until 6:30 so I tried to sneak in as much sleep as possible. Jeff dropped me off, I setup transition, (I love only having to setup for run/bike, no swimming, yahoo!!!), walked around to get familiar with transition directions, used restroom, then started warm up (10 minutes of stretching, 10 minutes jogging, 10 minutes stretching, 10 minutes jogging, one last set of stretches).

RUN: 7:30 am mass start and it was really cool as it was 500 or so women all standing in a huddle to stay warm since the sun was barely up. The gun sounded and I let the crazy ladies that will run you over to save 3 seconds go past, then off on my run. It took me 25min and 41sec but I didn't walk so I was happy!!! I was 489/507 so I'm DEFINITELY going to work on my running for next season!!!! The route was absolutely beautiful and I met a few women that were a blessing to run with.

BIKE: The run was alot easier than I thought it would be, so I wish I would have ran faster, but I didn't walk and that's all I cared about. Grabbed my bike and I was off!!! The 100 or so women that passed me on the run unfortunately got passed by ME during the bike! I finished the 22 miles in 1hr 28min which was 322/507 and 59/95 in my age group. ALOT better than my run huh?!?!?!?!?! Woohoo!!!! The ride was also absolutely beautiful and the traffic cops did an awesome job!!! It was mostly rolling hills and there were some pretty decent ones here and there, but nothing too bad thank goodness . Also, it was two 10 mile loops, so I knew the course the second time around which was really nice!

RUN: So my goal was to run the whole way and I was going to do this no matter what it took. I got off my bike and started feeling the "why aren't my legs working" feeling, but I kept going and threw my bike into transition, threw on running shoes, and was off again. The first 1/2 mile was yucky because I didn't have my running legs yet, but I knew the feeling would go away soon and kept going. I felt like I was running soooo slow, but was still passing ladies that were walking, so it helped me keep going. And of course, about 20 or so of the ladies I passed on the bike, were now passing me on the run (I hate when that happens ) Jeff met me 1/4 mile from the finish line and says, ok, lets sprint to the end (which I usually do) ~~well my head was saying YES YES GO GO, but my legs were screaming NO NO YOU ARE CRAZY . So I kept my regular pace and finished the 2nd run in 26min 5sec and I DIDN'T WALK!!!! WOOHOO!!! The coordination of this event was incredible.

The commentator was my favorite part!!!! Every time I came into transition, he always had something cute to say. During T1 (when I switch from run to bike), he says, "now here comes Roshelle, one of our better dressed athletes of the day" and starts describing everything I'm wearing from my my pearl izumi shorts and arm warmers to my light blue jersey, etc. It was hilarious!!!! Then at the finish line he announced my full name, said what city I was from, and thanked me for joining the other tri girl athletes. It really feels great to hear your name on a loud speaker when crossing the finish line AND to have someone call you an athlete. It makes all the hours of training REALLY worth it's while.

Thanks again to all of you for your support!!!!
God bless you all!
Roshelle