Prom + Racing

You wouldn't think that those two things mesh, but for me this weekend, they did. It's not always easy juggling real-life with race-life. But, for the sake of growing up and paying bills, you've just got to do it.

Friday was a whirlwind of a day. I left school almost immediately (but not before taking a picture with this girl, she loves my blog, and I love her for it) -->

to pick up my sisters graduation cake then get home, eat lunch, pack my bag for the race, get dressed for my sisters 8th grade graduation and senior prom, and get over to Lululemon in Princeton to try on clothes and get on to the graduation right down the road [with a few goodies in tow]. Unfortunately, since the prom was not quite near Princeton and was at a time where we'd hit insane traffic we had to cut out at around 5:05. It took over 90 minutes to get to a prom 2 towns away. Princeton and Route 1 at 5o'clock, I hate you.

We finally made it and it was a relief being able to unwind for a little knowing that we'd be there for a few hours. It was so nice seeing students, athletes, and other kids I know coming in all dolled up. I got a couple good pictures with field hockey/lacrosse girls and a few swimmers. Prom was over at 11pm, but the advisors decided to do a valet service which meant that there was about a 45 minute back-up of kids waiting for their cars. All I wanted to do was go home and get to bed! It wasn't until 12:30 that I was home, and close to 1:00 that I was finally in bed. That meant 3 precious hours of sleep before a race. Oops! I even contemplated bagging it for a chance to just sleep. I was TIRED. I was also worried about how my feet would hold up since I had been in heels for 10.5 hours. Totally not thinking.

Swimmers.

Field hockey/lax.

Field hockey/lax.

Pre-race Prom indulgence

The race was in Port Republic, NJ. I figured it'd be a relatively small race, but it was bigger than I thought! It was perfect weather for racing which I was so happy about. The water was rather warm so I didn't get to wear my new wetsuit, but it cut down on T1 time so no big. I'll have plenty of time to get some good wear out of that suit this summer. Anyway, I saw some guys who I had met at the Jerseyman 1/2 a couple weeks ago and chatted with them a little. They'd done the race plenty of times before and told me the bike + run were pancake flat. Score! I didn't think my mind could handle hills.

SWIM 1/2 mi: The swim was pretty warm, and I just did the damn thing. I don't really have any strategy when I swim and sort of just do it, which I don't think is very good for me because I know I'm capable of swimming much faster. I think I just get lost in all of the people and trying to sight and such. Came out of the water in 14:45.

Making out with my goggles

Makin' moves

T1: 2:07 (what in the world was I doing in there?!)

BIKE 16 mi: The bike was SERIOUSLY so flat! I think it was flatter than any ride I do around here hands down. I was just hammering and pushing as hard as I could keeping in mind my legs so I wouldn't trash them too bad for the run. I was playing leap frog with a few men for a bit then I lost them, then played leap frog with another 3 women, lost them too and vowed to myself that I would catch them on the run. I finished the ride in 46:33 which I'm stoked about since that's a 20.6 mph average. Yes I'm slow, and it was a flat course, but I'll take it.

T2: 1:16 (better)

RUN 4 mi: The run too was also very flat. It was a lot nicer to be running with people (although I did have a run in with an older woman who said she 'hated' when people wanted to run with her in races and she ran away from me, only for me to get pissed and leave her in the dust) unlike at the Jerseyman when I was suffering solo. The run was pretty much a loop around the lake we had run in. There was about 2 miles left when I caught up with one of the women I had told myself I would catch. I called her pinky and made my decisive move around her and never looked back. I saw the other 2 women, one of which was in my AG, passed them with about a mile left and ran scared the rest of the race. Good thing it was only 1 more mile! I kicked it in high gear and pushed it the rest of the way. Thank goodness for Thursday track workouts that allow me to get that final kick I need at the end when I'm super tired! I finished the run in 32:44 (8:11 pace) which I'm also really happy about.

I'm glad I kept my pace up during the bike and run and until I had finished the run I hadn't realized how lucky I was to not bonk. I only had two 'cups' of water on the run and nothing else the rest of the race. I really need to not be so dumb with my nutrition. I did fill up with watermelon, an apple, and a handful of trail mix when I finished. I then decided to check out the results and was pleased to find that I had finished 2/7 in my AG with a total time of 1:37:24. We decided to stay for awards, which was painfully long and annoying, but I was happy to get a little medal.

Typical post-race bloody ankle

All in all, I was glad to have done this race. A good confidence builder and still helped my mental toughness (though I don't think anything will compare to the mental toughness that was the Jerseyman). It was a nice and easy course (now I'm wishing I had signed up for the half that's here in September!) and we were really lucky to have some stellar racing weather.

My driving partner fell asleep on the ride home for a few minutes, but we still made it back safe (even though I was quickly fading) and made it on a train south to Philadelphia to indulge in some amazing Indian food. Indulge we did! We couldn't even eat my favorite vegan cookie we had gotten at the Whole Foods because we were so full (no worries, it was eaten as part of breakfast on the train ride home). This vegan cookie is seriously the BEST cookie and so worth every single calorie. My only regret is that I shared it. Unfortunately (more like fortunately) they don't make them at the WF in Princeton. Drats!

Seriously huge. But not big enough to cover up the zit on my forehead.

Sunday I dragged my bf out on my 60 min recovery ride which felt really good. It was nice being on such a flat course because now my legs don't feel as trashed as they do after hilly races. Today was a nice swim in school and an easy run at the end of the day. It was also the last full day of school! ! ! ! I can't believe the year is just about wrapped up. I'm giving 1 final tomorrow morning, 2 on Wednesday morning, then my last one on Thursday morning and I'm finito. Friday we all go in to get papers signed, tie up loose ends, and then escape for the summer. It will be a nice summer indeed, more on that in the next post!