Shakira Hicks – Rock Hall International Triathlon – Saturday, June 3, 2017

Better late than never….so here goes my first race report. This was my first race of the season, my second full triathlon, and first of this distance. I was beyond nervous and had a TON of questions-Thanks to all the club members who helped reassure me that I was fine and all of the advice-THANK YOU!!! My family is from the eastern shore and I have some that even live in around Rock Hall so it was important that I completed what I set out to do. This is just the beginning of my journey…. Swim: My Goal: 45 mins Actual Time: 50:21 mins Water was warm to me but wet suit legal. This was my first time swimming in my wet suit outside of a few laps in the pool. I felt comfortable in it and very buoyant. I had an expectation that would help my swim but sadly did not. I guess should mention here that I just learned how to swim 2 years ago…Most of the swim was ok but there was one stretch where there was current and being a weak and slow swimmer I was not prepared. I felt defeated at times. On the first lap, I started to catch a cramp in my right calf but managed to keep it from fully locking up. THANK GOD because at the end once I reached the finish it locked all the way up. I had to sit off the dock in the water until it released. It felt like forever *in my Squints from Sandlot voice* (If you've never seen The Sandlot don't ever talk to me LOL). T1: 2:26-Nothing special here Bike: My goal: 1:30 Actual Time: 1:34:40 Bike was super flat and really lonely:-( but I felt good and confident:-) !!! My Calf was fine by this time but my hamstring was tight. Wasn't bad to where I had to stop or anything but I did have to stretch it on the bike. T2: 3:21 Forgot to take off my bike gloves and had to go back…I walked out of T2 thanking family members that were there cheering me on and allow them to take some pics. Run: My Goal: 1:10 Actual TIme 1:12:15 I wasn't sure how I would feel by the time the run came because like I said before this is my first time doing this distance. To my surprise, I still felt good and strong. My focus on the run was to hold a steady pace; that's exactly what I did. I skipped the first few water stops because my stomach is not set up to handle a lot of liquids while running. This worked out well for me. Looking back I wish I had carried my own nutrition. (even better if they held it for me at the half way point lol). These were the only times I walked. I had early pain in my lower back for the first 2 miles or so but that went away and I was able to finish strong.