Philly Hexathlon 2009

I wanted to try and do one triathlon while pregnant, and so I did. While I wasn't going for time or speed, I did want to at least go out and do a pretty good job. I think I saw one or two other women who appeared to be in about the same state as I was. Darren even made me an iron-on shirt that had my theme of Hexathlon (triathlon for two) on it. Because of the extra weight gain, I bumped myself into the Athena class (that's 150lbs plus, no age groups) to try and make myself slow down (I hate losing to people in my own class). It was a gorgeous day, clear with a water temp of 74 and air temp just under 80. Darren and T came to watch, along with Anne Marie's dad. By the way, her dad said he would make fun of her if she lost to a pregnant chick. Commence with the taunting (I beat her by about a minute)!

Swim: 0.9K, 16:06
Two seconds faster than this race last year! Started out pretty well, swallowed a half-gallon of Schuylkill about 200 yards in and had to stop for a few seconds. I recovered fine and finished the swim in a respectful time. You will not see pics of this because I am too chubby.

T1: 3:18
Took my sweet time, got some water, threw on a shirt, and started the bike.

Bike: 57:41, 15.5 mph
Again, although it hurts my ever-competitive soul, I took my time and tried to just keep a nice effort up. I skipped wearing my bike gloves in order to save time, and instead my carpal tunnel got so compressed in my left hand that I couldn't shift about 15 miles in. My thumb and index finger were completely numb.

T2: 2:25
More water, more gatorade, slipped the running shoes on.

Run: 32:40, 10:30 min/mile
Because of the lecture I got at my 16 week OB appointment, I was wearing my heart rate monitor for the run and bike. During the bike, I kept my heart rate around 170 and tried really hard to keep it under that. However, during the run, I went off the charts. I kept having to stop and walk because I was getting up in the upper 180's, even though I didn't feel all that tired. Ugh. But I know I have better things to worry about.

Total: 1:52:12, six minutes faster than last year (with a broken leg)! I came in 5th in the Athena division, which is fine with me.


Although I didn't break any PRs or win my division, I'm completely happy that I was able to finish in a respectable time (and 20 weeks pregnant). I'm hoping to sign up for the Olympic distance next year, but we'll see what happens after the baby is born. No more tri's this year!