Esprit de She Race Report – International Distance

On Sunday I raced my first International distance triathlon of the year in Tempe. Esprit de She

About the race:

I met a group of friends from Tucson in Tempe and we headed over to Tempe Town Lake for packet pickup. 

The tri jersey is super cute and we listened for race details at the meeting. This race is geared to women who are racing their first triathlon so there are several distances: super sprint, spring, and Olympic. At the bike rack there were all kinds of bikes: mountain bikes, hybrids, road bikes.

After the meeting we dined Gordon Biersch we headed back to the hotel to relaxing and sleep.

Race Day:

I woke up at 4am and ate a peanut butter bagel and sipped water.

Maireads’s husband Eric drove us to the start and was the perfect Sherpa and photographer. 

Eric has an infectious laugh relieving us all of race stress. Mairead was so distracted by being nervous she put her wetsuit on backwards – we’ve all been there!

We hit the water about 6:50 a bit of a late start due to volunteers getting in place. It was going to be hot so sitting around in wetsuits wasn’t great however it turned out to be a blessing since it allowed Torie’s husband, daughter and son to arrive and see her off.

Swim:

The water temperature was 70ish degrees. My ROKA Maverick sleeveless wetsuit was perfect for the warmish water. This was my first race in the Maverick; my first race in a sleeveless wetsuit and I’m hooked. It was incredibly comfortable and I felt fast. My legs overheated which was a weird feeling at first. 

Afterwards I learned I should have let water in to cool down which I will remember for Ironman Texas in less than two weeks. The water felt so good. I felt so good. I just swam and sighted. Swam and sighted. A perfect swim.

It also helped that I followed my training plan for swimming and added a 4,000 yard swim. It made me stronger on a shorter distance so I want to be sure to do another log swim this week to prepare for Ironman. This race also perfected what to eat and how close to the swim start. 40-45 minutes for me is ideal.

Out of the water, the man who helped me on the stairs was great. I don’t know how he did that all day. Great Volunteers at this race – all morning long! The wetsuit strippers helped me to the ground and in one fell swoop off it came. I jogged to transition feeling amazing albeit a sore back which is normal for me, unfortunately.

.93 Miles Time: 36:59

Bike:

I just biked fast the entire course. I wore my Wingspan RudyProject helmet and it felt so nice on my head; I felt fast. I tried to stay in aero position the entire time and pushed it for the 24 miles.  I wasn’t passed at all which was so fun! (because that has never happened in a race)

 2^nd in my age group on the bike

24.16 Miles Time: 1:15

Run:

At times when I looked at my Ambit3 I was running at 8:45 / mile which didn’t seem hard. But, because it was so hot I wanted to stay hydrated and stopped at all aid stations except two which slowed me down. The hills on the back side of the loop helped me pick up my pace at the end. I can go faster, I just need to train faster for the 10K but happy with the run results. Very Happy.

6.2 miles Time: 59:08

Overall time: 2:56 – 4^th in my Age Group!

This race was the perfect warm up race for Ironman. It was a great day with friends and practicing nutrition on race day.

I love the Olympic / International distance and want to do more of them of them and get faster.

A Big, Huge Thank You to my Triple Threat National Team and our sponsors. I am thankful for the support and encouragement from my team members and the opportunity to experience ROKA wetsuits, Rudy Helmet aerohelmets, and the Suunto Ambit3.

A big thank you to:
Torie for driving and taking care of the hotel arrangements.
Mairead for the humor and easing my stress by talking about her pre-race anxiety.
Nice to meet you Fast-Laura who placed 1^st in her age group.
You all motivate and inspire me to swim, bike and run faster and with a smile.

Thank you Eric Brogmus for the photos and cheering. Thank you Dan, Tanner, and Shelby Grammar for the photos and cheering.

It was a good day in Tempe.