I am an Iron Girl!

The Iron Girl Columbia race is one that usually fills up within 24 hours (this year it filled up in FIVE hours), so on November 1, 2010, I signed up for the race, which was on Sunday. The plan to race was temporarily cancelled when a friend planned her 40th birthday shindig in London this weekend. Well, after Delta Airlines and Mother Nature thwarted my travel plans (and some hemming and hawing about whether or not I wanted to race after the disappointment behind the trip) I completed the Columbia Iron Girl Triathlon today!

There were 3 other ladies of Tri Unify that met up before the race and we tried to stay positive throughout the torrential downpour before we got started. We looked fab and were all smiles despite the rain. Ken showed up to offer his support, as usual.

Lisa, Terri, Me and Cassandra

The 1100 meter swim (which is long for a Sprint Triathlon) went well. The water was calm with no crazy current and choppiness to make me loose my lunch like in the NYC Triathlon. The only thing was, I kept feeling like my Tri shorts were sliding down and I had to stop stroking twice and do a little wiggle like movement to pull them up before sinking into the murky lake. I went my usual slow and easy pace and started to think about how I was going to get my swimming speed up, once I saw women with other colored caps passing me that started after me. I ran out of positive stuff to think about and was more than ready when I saw the swim exit buoys. Time: 32:42

Getting mentally prepared!

Me and Cassandra

Done with the swim!

T1: Maybe I will get a change of heart/mind next year about transitions times. I never really like to rush, as is evident by my time. I've been told that they should be less than 5 minutes. Time: 7:43


I had mentally prepared for the 17.5 mile bike course and had been out there on the crazy hills of Columbia in the past. However, I was concerned about this "Mount Albert" that everyone was talking about. I didn't go too hard on the bike, as I had been fairly warned of the crazy hills on the run. I think I paced myself nicely and even provided some free therapy to a lady along the way. I came up with this "WE GOT... THIS!" song that I sang out loud on the hills of Mount Albert and Homewood. This one lady caught up to me on the down hill and told me that she was looking for me to sing on the last hill because "she needed me". I told her that, "She didn't need me, because she made it up the hill without me and that sometimes we look for things that we already have inside ourselves". She asked if I was a life coach. Time: 1:17

T2: There was nothing impressive here. This should be my fastest transition time, but it's NOT!
Time: 8:12


The 3.3 mile run was just WRONG. I don't know who in the hell planned that course, but it sucked elephant nuts. The hills man, THE HILLS! I found myself skipping, shuffling, making a stop in a boathouse bathroom, walking and a little bit of running. I finally made it through. Time: 49:56

It was a nice event, but I doubt that I will be sitting at my computer on November 1st signing up again.

Total time: 2:55