Off Topic Thursday: 2019 Triathlon Season Recap

Yes, I’ve used most of my Off Topic Thursdays to talk about triathlon and this one is no exception. The 2019 season is now over in my climate zone and I had a stand-out season and I wanted to take a minute to reflect on it because I’m not sure if I’ll see another one like it.

My friend Andrew and I at the Triceratops Triathlon

I started training early this season, in February. I had the Half Ironman in July and knew I needed to start training early to be ready for it with all of the travel we were looking at through the summer. It paid off well! I had my first race of the season in June, a sprint triathlon (0.5 mi swim, 20k bike, 5k run). This tri was part of a series of three held throughout the summer. I’ve done the full series twice and the past two years I’ve done just the June event. I had a friend from swimming who had the goal of completing a triathlon do this one with me so it was doubly special for me.

My goal for the race was to go under 1:30. My best time on the course was a minute off and I felt like I could do it. The swim felt good, as did the bike, and I flew through the run. I ended up going a 1:23.18, my best on the course by more than seven minutes! It was wonderful and extra memorable for my friend Andrew joining me and my husband and mom being there. I took second in my age group and got a cool mug.

My next race was the Half Ironman. I’ve talked about that enough. You can read more here. In summary, it was amazing and I’m still blown away that it went so well!

My last race was earlier this month, an Olympic Triathlon (1 mi swim, 40k bike, 10k run). This is a race I’ve done twice before successfully and last year I didn’t finish it. The swim was canceled last year due to a strong current and my knees were not excited about a duathlon (run, bike, run). I ended up getting two flat tires on the bike course and had to get a ride in a truck back to transition and my family. So my goal for this year was to finish. My secondary goal was to go under 3 hours. I was at 3:12 two years before and I was feeling good and thought I could do it.

The race was a time trial start, which means one athlete starts every three minutes. They ask you to line up by expected swim finish time. I got fourth in line, the man in front of me saying he thought he was going to do a 25-minute swim. I passed one person by 50 meters into the swim and by the halfway point, I passed another and I was in second. I never ended up catching the guy in first but the announcer was shocked to see a woman get out of the water five seconds behind the leader! My family laughed at how poorly he contained his surprise.

I’m not a strong cyclist and the whole time I was riding, I kept waiting for a woman to pass me. None did! I was passed by several men, but no women. I got to the turn around point and realized they were a ways behind me and I had a chance of getting to the transition area still leading the race! I’m an okay runner so I had the same thoughts on the run course, thinking one of them would finally catch me. At the turnaround, I realized I might do it, I might win! That spurred me forward and I ended up crossing the finish line in 2:48.11, dropping 24 minutes and being the first woman across the finish line! Because we didn’t all start at the same time, there were a tense few minutes while I waited to see if I’d finished far enough in front of the second woman to win and I ended up beating her by only 40 seconds. She was a great runner.

Me as the Overall Womans’ Olympic Winner at Sunrise Side Tri

I’d never been on an overall winners podium before, let alone on top of it! It was such a cool feeling and I felt so great. My family was a little shocked, I’d never been dominant in a race like that before and they weren’t completely sure what was happening! It was a great way to end my tri season. I’m not sure yet, but it may have qualified me for Nationals in 2020. I’ll have to do some serious training if I make it but I think that would be a really fun opportunity.

I’m not sure I’ll ever train as hard as I did this season. It was a great feeling to do well and see my hard work pay off. I had a lot of personal bests this year and I’m trying to figure out where to set my sights next.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!