Sunday, May 15, 2011

The Pictures... And The Details

 Upon checking in on Saturday I found out I was gifted a super race number. How could it not be a good day with a number like this?

Nalani got #8. We felt like superheros the day before the race given that they wanted to mark us with our numbers a day early. Isn't it always necessary to sleep the night before the race with your number already stamped on? And, um, check out her guns, huh?

I got home from check in and woke Moana up from her nap... Instantly she saw the number on my arm and asked, "Can I touch it?" Lol. So freakin' cute. Then she asked, "Can I have one?" Of course you can, Sweetie. (Mama's dream come true.) So I marked her up. Just like Mama. Isn't this the reason we have kids? To have a little Mini-Me running around?

So the swim start for the race was at the same beach where we filmed the triathlon scenes for Hawaii 5-0 last fall... Today was not nearly as brutal as what we practiced back then. I like this photo below though... Top 4 OA women right there with Bree, Rae, Nalani, and me right on the front line waiting for the signal to go. The looks on our faces are priceless, huh? Bree's looking all serious, Rae looks nervous, Nalani is in her normal la-la land (all smiles), and I'm just like YEP, Let's do it.
Interestingly, all three of those gals beat me out of the water (along with several other women). I don't think I had a bad swim. Hawaii just has some bad ass swimmer girls!

Nalani and Rae are both athletes I coach, so naturally I was glad that they both had good swims. But, um, that does not mean I did not make it my mission to hunt them down on the bike! (I actually had this thought while I was swimming... Just get out of the water so you can get on your bike... What has happened to me?? The swim has been my favorite part of triathlon for like 16 years... Apparently in my old age I can't keep up with these young whipper-snappers in the water anymore.)

Onto the bike... I caught Nalani pretty early on. Next up I caught Kathryn. Took me a bit longer to catch Rae but I got her ~15 min into the ride. At the first U-turn I saw that Rae and Nalani had rallied and were not very far back... my first thought was What? Why am I not dropping them?? Ha! Then I reminded myself the obvious... Um, Hello? I taught those girls how to ride a bike. Good job, Michelle... making life harder on myself helping these girls who were now hunting me. Clearly I had my work cut out for me getting the time I needed to hold them off once we dismounted our machines...

At that point I calmly reminded myself that the only gal out there who has even possibly been riding more than me was Bree... I had the utmost confidence that I could drill myself on the bike and still be able to run (pretty sure this is where a solid foundation of base fitness comes into play) so I upped it a notch and by the time we got to the next turn-around I saw that (OMG!) I was gaining time on Bree and creating solid gaps between myself and everyone else behind me. Sweet.

I swear I do ride in my aero bars and typically have my feet actually in my shoes. No one ever seems gets a picture of that though.
I came off the bike and Bree was actually in sight... OMG again. This is where I started to wish that I was a good runner. BUT, I kept my head on straight and just did what I could do and just hoped it would be enough to hold off anyone from catching me. I would have been super happy for Rae or Nalani had either one of them caught me, but it wasn't like I was going to give it to them. They would have to earn it. And one of these days they probably will. But not today! Turns out, I can run my current 5K pace for a 10K... after an hour of hard riding. Super.

How can you take me seriously when I am wearing this cat suit?

The finish line was a very happy place. All smiles with Rae who finished ~a minute behind me.

Nalani was happy about 4th OA and a 5 min PR over last year. I was happy about the champagne, even though it was in a plastic cup.

Awards. This was fun. I was buzzin'... some from the champagne and some from the awesome endorphins. Moana got a nice little taste of the podium too.

It was awesome today to finally have a race that felt reflective of the training I have done. I think it will just get better as the races get longer. Honu is in 3 weeks.

15 comments:

Lizzie said...

Awesome race Michelle!! The photos are especially cool! It's one thing for you to write about racing and training, it's another to see you pull it altogether visually! Um, also - you still are a whipper snapper :)

Kim said...

awesome pictures michelle! and what a tight competition! i still dont know how you ladies wear swimsuits on the bike. OUCHIE!

Beth said...

HA! Now you know what all us non-swimmers are thinking as we get out of the water!! (not that you didn't swim REALLY fast I'm sure!! :)

Anyway, so, so happy for you Michelle. Great to see that all your hard work is paying off!

Michelle said...

What a fantastic race! Congratulations:)

Trigirlpink said...

Yay Yay Yay. Tim is whippin' you into shape and beyond! Grrrrrrrr :-)

elizabeth said...

Way to get after it Michelle!! And looks like you are living it up - I am just super stoked your hard work is paying off and you are having FUN!! :)

GoBigGreen said...

That's alot of well deserved Champagne:) Good job Michelle, so odd to see you all so tan and hot ( sizzle) since we are just starting to get into our lakes. ( 52 deg!) ouch!

Angela and David said...

Nice work! Love that Moana wanted a 7 on her arm.

Molly said...

I want to know how you all race in swimsuits too :)

Amazing job - knew you were gonna start killing it in races soon after all the training you've been doing. Very exciting for next month!!!

Teresa said...

What an amazing day....way to go as an athlete and coach! Love the suit :)

N.D. said...

Awesome! I love the pictures, especially with mini me, the catsuit, awards w/ Moana. What a great role model. I LOVE IT! Oh and your bike is bad A$$!

Running and living said...

OK, I have to start by saying that you look stunning and very focused. To finish second to a pro is absolutely amazing give that you also have 3 other jobs aside from triathlon. You are right, the longer the race, the better. I love when I see hard work and determination paying off. It seems to me like you are striving with the high volume approach. Very happy for you Michelle, well deserved!

Libby said...

nice work!! what a great race, can't wait to see you kick butt at honu. love love love the suit and the competition with your own athletes. classic.

Regina said...

Huge congrats! I am so proud to call you coach.

Charisa said...

Love your suit - so fun! Congrats on the race :)