As we were sitting at lunch, we realized that we were also right across the street from the Expo, which was awesome. After a yummy lunch, we walked over and checked in and browsed around the Expo, which was by far the biggest triathlon expo we've seen yet.
After seeing all the Expo had to offer and getting all the info we needed (since the race packet really wasn't all that helpful), we jumped back into the car and headed to our hotel, hoping that our room would be ready. When it wasn't, we decided to leave everything with the concierge anyway and jumped on our bikes to ride them across the bridge and check them in to the transition area. It was HOT outside; I was just praying that it wouldn't be that hot on Monday, even though I knew it would be! We racked our bikes, made sure everything was working properly on them, checked out where all the parts of the course were and then looked at the lake we'd be swimming in. It was glassy and smooth and very different than the last swims we'd done in Kemah and Galveston, haha!
There were also a lot of people swimming in the lake, which we hadn't really planned on doing, but decided sounded like fun. We still had a whole afternoon to kill, so we walked back to the hotel (to discover our room was finally ready!), changed and then walked back down. We ended up swimming about half the course, which was nice. The water was pretty much the perfect temperature (though we were glad we had put on our wetsuits!) and nice and calm. And, it eased my nerves quite a bit to actually get a little swimming in.
the view from our hotel roomAfter we'd gotten back to the hotel and showered, Landon's parents arrived in Austin to watch us the next morning, and we all headed out to Wal-Mart, so Landon and I could grab some breakfast for the morning and flip-flops to wear before the swim, and then had a nice dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse by the hotel.
And, after laying out our clothes and making sure everything was in our race bags, we hit the sack around 10:30pm, since our alarms were set for 5:30amm which always comes so quickly on race days!
When the alarms (yes, we always set multiple alarms) went off, we jumped out of bed, choked down (at least that's what it felt like for me, because I was not hungry at all!) a bagel with peanut butter and some Gatorade and headed out the door. It was weird because we had to be there and have everything set up in transition by 715am, but we didn't race until 8am (me) and 820am (Landon). So, after we left transition, we sat around and watched the waves that started before us swim past. It was fun and kinda nerve-wracking at the same time! It almost felt like we weren't about to race.
But then, around 740am, we decided to go and put on our wet suits, so that I would be ready to line up for my heat, and because putting on a wetsuit is a 2 person job, in order to make sure it's on right. A few minutes later, as we were walking to where my wave was lining up, we ran into Landon's dad, who we didn't even know was out there yet. We chatted with him for a minute and then it was time for me to head off. I had a weird little freak out moment right then. I started imagining that this swim would go as badly as the last two and that made me feel like I was going to throw up. But it was weird, because it was like I had this sneaking suspicion that it was going to be alright, but I was afraid to believe it. It was easier to give in and be worried that it was going to go badly than think it was going to go well and have it turn out bad, if that makes any sense at all. Looking back, I totally think that God was giving me peace about it and telling me that everything would be ok and I was not trusting in Him.
As it turns out though, I should have, because the swim honestly went about as well as it could have. Landon and I decided a good swim strategy for me would be to stay on the outside, so I didn't get caught up in all the kicking legs and flailing arms, so that's where I started out and it worked out beautifully.
Some combination of more open water swims, swimming with Landon and getting used to swimming almost a mile, made a huge difference. Not once did I feel panicky or anything like I did in the other races; it was like I was just out for a nice swim, with about 100 of my closest friends, haha. I had to swim around people and had them swim around me, but it was all good.About 15 minutes into the swim, after the first turn, when I realized that things were actually going better than I could have hoped, I just started praying, thanking God for taking care of everything. I prayed pretty much the whole long back stretch, thanking him and praying for the rest of Landon and I's races. Every time I had prayed about the swim in the weeks leading up to the swim I had felt kinda silly, because in the grand scheme of things, my swim experience really doesn't matter, but I am so thankful we have a God who loves us enough to care about the small things too.
And, I finished around 37 minutes, which I was happy with, especially since they told us that the course was actually more like an 1800m than a 1500m, which is what it was supposed to be. God is SO good.
About 20 minutes after me, Landon's wave was jumping into the water. He never stresses about the swim, so I wasn't worried about him--only hoping he wouldn't catch me during the swim, haha!
He caught a lot of people, and every some in my group (he said he looked each time he passed someone in a yellow swim cap to make sure it wasn't me!) but thankfully I was out of the water before he could catch me.
After the swim, I felt a little tired with I got out of the water, but still pretty strong. And, I think the fact that I had felt good swimming gave me a bit of an adrenaline rush! I jogged over to the transition area, dried off my feet so I could put on my bike shoes, threw on my helmet and race belt and headed off. It felt like such a long run to the mount line, where you can actually get on your bike, but finally I got there and the second leg of the race began. The bike course was a 4 lap course and I just knew at some point during those 4 laps, I'd see my husband fly by me, but I told myself I'd hold on to my "lead" as long as I could, ha!
Sometime during my first lap, Landon finished the swim and headed to the transition area--he finished it about 5 minutes faster than me. I'm jealous. :)
I felt for him as he was running his bike to the mount line because he has actual triathlon bike shoes, you know since he has an actual triathlon bike and all, and with tri shoes you can't run in them. SO, he had to run down that long path, filled with bark and gravel, barefoot. They should have planned that out better.
But, he made it to the bike and, about halfway through my second loop, I hear my name being called out and see him climbing the hill that I'm coming down! Seeing him meant he was that much closer to passing me, but it was still SO fun to see his face! I'd been looking for him the whole time I was on the bike and seeing him gave me an energy boost!
The bike went well for both of us. It was a little hilly during the first part of each lap, near the capital, but the uphills meant there were also downhills, which was nice.
We saw each other once a lap for the next 3 laps, and saw Landon's parents usually once a lap too, which was fun.
Landon's new race wheels and cassette worked out great (and it was nice to be able to it out with some hills, since that's what the cassette was for, even though they weren't huge hills) and he averaged 20 miles per hour, 2 mph faster than last time. And, he said he felt great the whole time, which is awesome!
I felt good on the ride too, even though I averaged about a 1/2 mile slower than in Galveston. It was kinda intentional though because I wanted to see if it would help me save anything for the run and feel stronger for that portion. It didn't. :) The bike was fun though, with a lot of hills and twists and turns and, except for a little hamstring tightness on the last lap and a half, I felt really good and averaged about 17.5 mph.
After a 1 hour 23 minute bike, which still put me at a good chance of finishing under 3:30, which was my goal, I headed out the run chute to finish out the last 6.2 (which really turned out to be 6.6 miles) of the race.
Landon still hadn't caught me (which was a little mini victory for me:)), but I knew he had to be close, because he was going FAST and was gaining on me that last lap. I started off at an ok pace for me, but I knew it was going to be a long hour, because man, it was HOT. Maybe not as hot as Galveston, and a little nicer because parts of the course were shaded, but the race officials said afterwords that it was 87 degrees. Yuck.
Anyway, I kept plugging along, and right as I hit the one mile mark, I saw Landon coming up the hill that I was going down. We high-fived and smiled and kept on running and then, a little after the 2 mile mark he caught up to me and asked if he could run the rest of the way with me.
Of course I said yes, and was thrilled, even though I felt bad because I knew I was slowing him down. But, it might very well be our only chance to run together on a tri, since he ALWAYS started in a swim wave before me, so it was really fun.
We chatted as we ran (well, I talked as much as I could, but mainly it was him talking to me and me trying to keep breathing, ha!) but it was nice. I told myself I wouldn't ever ask him to slow down, not that he was running fast or anything, but probably a little faster than I would have on my own, so that was nice for me to have that little push. And it was just nice to share that experience with him, especially since so many of our earlier runs together consisted of us fighting, haha. It was uch nicer this time; we've both learned a lot over the last couple of years.
And then, about 45 minutes later, we were heading for the race chute (almost a 1/2 mile after we should have already crossed it if it truly was a 10K course!), deciding how we were going to cross the finish line.
We decided on arms raised, holding hands, smiling! And it was cool as we crossed the finish line, they called out our names, "Landon Speights and Aja Speights, finishing together, from Houston, Tx". It was a neat moment. And, I just realized, they even said my name, and our last name, right. Sweet.
And, just like that, it was finished. And we finished it together. It's such a good memory. And, for the first time since we've started doing these races, I actually feel like a triathlete. I actually swam, biked and ran, to the best of my ability, instead of faking it through the swim, which is what the other 2 races felt like. And, my fear of the swim is now gone. Now that's a good feeling. I'm so glad I gave it one more shot. And so thankful for a husband who stuck it out with me, through all my nervousness and anxiety about the swim, and helped me get to the other side.And, now that I know I can do the swim (especially since this swim ended up being over a mile and it was not bad at all), I really want to do an Ironman 70.3 at some point. It'll be hard, but I'm not scared of it anymore. I'm not ready to put it on the calendar yet just because I need a little break from training, but it's out there as a goal, and it'll happen sometime in the (fairly near) future. For now, I'm just enjoying working out with Landon and focusing on doing everything I can to help him prepare for his Ironman.
Next stop, Ironman CDA!
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