Baldwin Park Triathlon
I did it! My second sprint triathlon is done and done! 
For a moment this morning I was scared it wasn’t going to happen.
I way underestimated how much time it would take me to get to the triathlon site as well as how much time I needed to set up once I was there. I learned a very important lesson: make sure to arrive at the site at least 1 hour pre-triathlon for all future events. Lesson learned!
I woke up at 5:45 (the race started at 7:00!) and quickly shoved an arnold’s thin with almond butter and fresh berries into my mouth.
Derek and I then bolted to Baldwin Park where I quickly grabbed my packet and headed to set up the transition area.
I only had about 10 minutes before the first wave was set to start and the guy with the bull horn kept yelling at me to hurry up! Talk about stress!
Luckily I was in the FOURTH wave so once we got to the water I had a moment to chill and relax.
The best part of any triathlon is being marked up. Every person I passed – or any person who passed me – I automatically checked their leg for race and age to see if they were direct competition. I think being marked up should be a requirement for every race event!
I lined up with the other pink caps and watched the first three waves of males take off.
Before I knew it, it was our turn to head into the water.
The water was disgusting! It was bath water warm and full of seaweed. Yuck!
After a 30 second countdown the whistle blew and a few dozen pink heads took off.
I started off feeling confident in the water, but once the whistle blew all of that confidence evaporated.
I was kicked immediately in both my right and left shoulder and I could feel people grabbing at my legs. All of a sudden I was claustrophobic and I knew I needed to get out of the crowd. Seaweed plus what felt like a million other girls trying to get past me was not a good combination. I held back, caught my breath and gave the pack a 30 second head start before taking off with the thinned out pack in the back.
Giving the other girls a head start was the best decision I could have made during the race. I felt much better in the back and no longer fearing the wrath of the other swimmers gave me a chance to relax. I was now swimming this race on my terms.
I pulled through the .75 kilometer swim by taking it a buoy at a time. Once I hit the first buoy I gave myself a mental pat on the back for being a third of the way done. One I made it to the second buoy I gave myself another pat for being two thirds. All of a sudden I could see the blue flags and it was time for the first transition!
Swim distance = .75 km Official time = 15:57
Thank god the swim is the first part of triathlons, I think I would drown if it was last!
Run to Transition Time = 00:05
I tried to keep it simple during transition.
I laid my socks out next to my shoes and decided to tackle putting those on first. Then I grabbed the Garmin ( Derek let me borrow his for the race), number belt, and helmet. I debated putting the shirt on I had brought, but decided putting a dry shirt over my wet body would take way to much effort.
First transition time = 02:24
I felt fast as soon as I got on the bike, but others were much faster.
The bike course consisted of 5 loops around Lake Baldwin, which means when I was taking off on my first lap many of the males were on their 3rd or 4th! I hugged the right side of the road and let the speed demons pass me without any fight.
I stuck to my guns and instead of worrying about the really fast males passed me, I concentrated on my form and my own abilities. This was a race with myself, no one else.
Having to do five laps of a course I know like the back of my hand may not be the most exciting part of the race, but at least it gave me a chance to ride by family of spectators along the course.
Hi Family!
Bye Family!
The funny part is when I first took off on the bike I didn’t know we were suppose to do 5 loops of the lake. It wasn’t until the 3rd lap that I heard someone yell something about it being 5 laps. Perhaps if I wasn’t let I would have picked up on that important piece of info before hand. 
Oh well.
At the end of my fifth lap I entered the transition area.
Bike Distance = 13.4 mile Time = 49:11
The second transition was easy. All I did was put my bike up, throw the helmet off, and took off!
Second transition time = 00:28
I love how they save my favorite part of any triathlon for last – the run!
The run is where I’m strong and the run was where I knew I would make up some ground. All I had to do was 2.7 miles. 2.7 miles? That’s nothing. I had this in the bag!
My goal was to maintain 8:00 min/ miles and I am happy to say I stayed right around that range. I planned to finish strong and that I did. I had no problem letting my competition pass me in the swim or on the bike, but the run Heck no! The run was all mine!
I started checking legs and seeking out any females with the ages 25-29 on their leg. These ladies were my direct competition and if I was secretly planning to place in my age group (I was) these ladies had to go down. I found my first girl with a 26 and passed her with ease. I found the second girl with a 27 on her leg, but she put up a little fight. I believe the words ‘oh, hell no’ escaped from her lips (said in a joking spirited voice of course ) as I ran by.
No one passed me on the run, but I did manage to pass quite a few runners. I felt awesome. The 2.7 miles flew by, I could have easily done 10 more!
I finished the run strong with a smile on my face.
Run Distance = 2.7 miles Time = 21:11 <— the fastest run time in my age group!
Official Finish Time = 1:29:29
3rd Place Female in 25 – 29 Age Group!
Considering the bike portion of the race was a full mile longer than my first triathlon I more than smashed my time goal!!! I was a happy girl this morning!
Two sprint triathlons down! Now it’s time to start thinking about that olympic distance and then perhaps a half ironman?
Lots of thanks to my trio of spectators!
Derek, Dad, and Maddie!
Maddie was a super cheerer! She always jumped for joy when I rode by.
We skipped the awards ceremony – of course now that I know I actually earned an award I’m kicking myself for that – and headed to my FAVORITE breakfast spot to celebrate.
Briar Patch has hands down the BEST pancakes out there, but since I just had pancakes yesterday I decided to order the Pear and Gorgonzola Egg White omelet with fresh fruit and dry wheat toast.
The pear and gorgonzola omelet was ummm… interesting. These flavors work well together in salad form, but their not quite omelet material.
Maddie had a BIG morning of spectating and could barely keep her eyes open at breakfast!
“Take me home. I need sleep!”
I need sleep too!
Another day, another race, another personal victory.
Rock on!
Congrats on your accomplishments! You did amazing… Except a pear, gorgonzola and egg whites? Crazy combo choice, lady! Works much better on a salad:)
Waaay well done!! Awesome recap, awesome race and awesome result, you must be thrilled!! Gosh, reading this totally makes me want to do one
Have a great day, you deserve it!
Good job!!! You are so ready for a half ironman! I wish that we could train together. We are about the same paces!!
Congratulations!! I am training for my first sprint tri (and first race of any kind…ever), which is in August and I have one in September, too. I am getting sooo nervous just thinking about it, especially the swim. aaah. i know i just have to keep training so i’m prepared, but damn.
You did awesome!
Congrats Meghann! I love how Maddie went to the race!
Congratulations! You did awesome!
CONGRATSSS!!!
great race!!
Congratulations!! What a great accomplishment. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
Congrats! I Think just finishing is amazing but getting 3rd?! Amazing!
Great job! Is that a Lululemon Not So Deep V bra you were sporting? Love them!
congrats lady!
Congrats Meghann! Bring on the next, bigger and better event, eh? Aww, Maddie looks so proud of her mom! Too cute.
I made pancakes and spent an hour reading the Sunday paper – ha!
GREAT JOB! Congrats on 3rd in your age group too!
You are SO amazing (I hope you know this!)
Maybe someday I could do this. . . maybe.
Julia
http;//jewliagoulia.blogspot.com
I was out of breath just READING your post!! Congrats! I love the reaction of that woman
Great job! I would love to try a triathlon but I don’t have a bike- when did you get yours? (and how did you pick it)
there are so many rules in transitioning too! I think I’d be confused.
Were the pearl izuni shorts comfortable after the swim too?
I’m terrible at guessing who is in my age group- last time I thought I was beat by a twelve-year-old but she turned out to be twenty four…
Way to go girl! you rocked it! =)
Great job! I definitely think it was smart of you to let swimmers go ahead. I always count to ten after my wave leaves and then I usually swim on the outside of the pack. I’m a pretty good swimmer, but hate being jostled around.
Looks like a lot of fun!
Good job!! Your triathlon recap is making me super super super excited and nervous about my first sprint tri! It’s in two weeks… ahhh!!! I’m so happy you did so well on yours
Congratulations! What an outstanding achievement! It’s great to walk away from an experience like that with a few lessons learned, too. I can’t wait for my sprint in September!
Congrats lady! It looks and sounds like a great race!
Congratulations! Wow that is awesome! I am doing my first beginners triathlon in Aug (375meter swim, 10k bike, 2.5k run). I find it to motivating to read about everyone else’s thought and mental perspective during their races.
Amazing on your time. Great job!
Congratulations!! I def. see iron womans in your future
Amazing! Huge congratulations and I love your tactics during races. I often start from the back of the pack and get very disillusioned but it’s such a wonderful feeling to hunt down the competition and pick them off one by one in the closing stages. I’m just applying this to running though: I admire you so much for doing a tri…the swim would terrify me.
Wow. Amazing job!! Thank you so much for sharing all of it with us!
Congratulations! That looks like so much fun! I just read your story in Shape yesterday because I saw you mentioned it in one of your recent posts, and I have to say it’s extremely inspiring
Congratulations on a great race! Looks like I would have won that bet:-).
I so enjoyed reading your recap! Congratulations, you rock!
Wow, congrats on such an awesome tri! You’ve got serious speed, girl
YOU FLEWWWWWWW girl!!! congrats. It amazes me the dedication you have to fitness…and Derek.
Congratulations, from my heart!
I am amazed at how strong you are, and how you enjoyed it almost all the time. It’s wonderful to see how you’re smiling on the photos
Congratulations! You look and sound so amazing. I love that you seem just so passionate about it and it shows all over the place. <3
Congrats!!! I don’t blame you for staying back on the swim…..that is the part that freaks me out too! Way to go…
-emily
You are a rockstar! Way to go!
Congrats on your victory! Sounds like you approached it just right…by competing against only yourself (until the end anyways!!) Great job…makes me want to go do a tri RIGHT now.
Rest up!
Courtney
adventures in tri-ing
Great race Meghann! That is awesome. The weather looks perfect too. I give you a ton of credit, not sure I’m tri material…yet
Interesting combo in the omelet, I think I may like it – sweet and savory. Have a great rest of your day!
Congrats! That’s a great accomplishment
Funky omelet, LOL.
Jenn
Wow! Congratulations
That is such an impressive improvement on last year! Your swimming has just improved so much, and what a great run split!! It’s definitely time for an Oly now 
Rock on is right, congrats!
Awesome job! I really like the idea of starting in the back of the pack, especially for the swimming portion. That sounded scary! This post definitely makes me want to try a sprint triathlon! I guess I should probably learn how to ride a bike first though, right? haha Congrats again!
Right On! Looks like you had a wonderful day and loved every minute of it! You are certainly inspiring! Congratulations on a job well done!
That’s awesome. Congrats!
Congrats on a great day! What an accomplishment!!
Ahhhhhhhh, congrats!!!!! You are inspiring!!!
You rocked that race, congrats on the Tri. Great job.
YEAAAAA girl! CONGRATS!
Haha, I laughed when you described how you took down the other competitors on the run. That’s awesome 
GREAT job!!!!
Meghann, you kick ass!!! Seriously!
Awesome!!!!! You did a great job! The swim part terrifies me. Not the swimming–but the other people!
Great job today! I’m contemplating my first tri (I need to get a bike first…) so it’s been nice hearing everyone’s recaps.
This made me so excited for my tri in July! Congratulations!
IM SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COngrats!!!! Oh gosh was this an exciting read. You have given me so much inspiration for my try-atri in a couple weeks. You rock!
C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S!!!!!!
Congrats on the race! I competed in a sprint tri this morning as well and thought of you while I was doing the swim portion! How many people were at your tri? I did a women’s only race and there was close to 900 people!! It started thundering though and only about 1/4 of us got to complete the swim-the rest had to do a duathlon.
What a fantastic effort! Gosh I love triathlons – sadly it is approaching winter here so the season is over … for now
great job. I am training for my first triathlon in a few weeks. I did my first duathlon today, you shoudl try and find one to race in. I placed 2nd in my age group (it was a very small race)! i am pleased with how it all played out. the bike course was very hilly (the event was held at a ski area in New Hampshire!)
great job
Congrats Meghann!
Good Job, Meghann!!
Love the hot pink swim caps : )
Congrats on completing your 2nd tri! I did them when I was young, and I’m tempted to train for one again…
yyaaayy congratulations on 3rd place and totally rocking this race Meghann!! You hands DOWN give the best race recaps in the entire world of blogland (wherever that is…)
I’m constantly amazed at just how many important decisions you need to make for yourself throughout the entire race. About pacing, about pushing, about being safe. It really brings so much more persepctive and respect for athletes like yourself.
Congrats again!!!
That is such a great accomplishment!
I would love for my puppies to cheer me on at an event. Hunni suggested bringing them to my next race since he isn’t running.
girl you are simply amazing! always so inspiring, love it! So happy for you, amazing accomplishment
xoxox
Congrats, girl! Looks like it was fun
Congrats!! that’s an awesome time!
Congrats! And I love that white top!
Congratulations Meghann! 3rd place in your age group for the females is simply amazing. So proud of you!!
Congrats Meghann! That is awesome!
sometimes I feel like you’re going to announce next that you’re going to fly to the moon! You are so intense – such an inspiration
way to go you did awesome!
I did that a cuple weeks ago, I placed in my age group and didnt know so we left,then I was bummed when I found out!
So awesome, congrats!!! I’m getting more and more inspired to do a tri.
Wow fab post Meghann – well done!
You really inspire me!
Julia
http://www.britbride.com
Great job Meghann! Your swim time is kick ass
Congrats on your race! Awesome times for everything!
congrats! sounds like fun
Awesome JOB lady!!! You got me all pumped for my Sprint Tri in a month. Hey if you want to do the Vine Man Half Iron Man with me next June that would be awesome!!! http://www.vineman.com/Vineman_Ironman_70_3.htm
Good job! Between this post and Jenna and Caitlin’s bike ride I’m ready for my own adventure! Thanks for the inspiration and congrats on 3rd place!!!!
Congrats, awesome job!!!
Congratulations Meghann!!! You did amazing!!! So impressive and inspiring
I would have the hardest time with the seaweek….yuck!