A few years ago Alan and I were running half marathons and getting into the whole racing vibe. We started talking about doing triathlons and at first I wasn't sold on the idea. After a little research I found a race called the Iron Girl, held right outside Atlanta at Lake Lanier and I instantly wanted to participate. Little did I know that even though the race was all female and had a cap of 1500, it would sell out in less than a month from when registration opened. Needless to say, the first year I failed to signup before it sold out. Year 2 came and I had several sprint triathlons under my belt, even an Olympic triathlon, and I was determined to do the Iron Girl. Once again I waited one day too late and it was sold out. So...I was determined that the 3rd time would be a charm. As soon as registration opened, I signed up. I didn't know what our schedule would be like 6 months out but I knew I would be at this race.
While I've really been training for an Olympic later in the year I worked the Iron Girl into my training as a benchmark for the season.
As we got closer to the week of the race I realized I was going to be traveling to Canada the week before the race and it was going to be less than a restful, carb-loading, alcohol free week! It was going to be interesting to see how all of that factored in.
The morning of the race the weather was cold, rainy and windy, exactly the opposite of what you want for a Tri! Alan's entire family came for the event and he decked them out in "Team Valerie" shirts for the occasion.
The race went well and I finished 29th out of 150 in my age group, even with a flat tire on my bike!
It was a great race and so much fun to have everyone there to cheer me on! Can't wait to do it again next year!
Pictures from the day
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| Iron Girl 2011 |
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