Moss Park Triathlon Relay – Race Recap
Triathlon relays are so much fun!
Ryan, Megan, and I made a great team. The relay really played up our strengths and we finished our Olympic Triathlon in 2 hours, 37 minutes! AND I finished a 5.6 mile run in 49:49 minutes. THAT’S RIGHT – 8:48 MINUTE MILES FOR 5.6 MILES!!! This is the first time I’ve run more than 4.0 miles in THREE MONTHS! Woo hoo!
Race morning started off like any other race day — alarm went off and an ungodly hour and I stumbled to the kitchen for coffee and oatmeal.
I had banana oatmeal with coconut and blueberries. Mmm! I was out the door before the sun came up and arrived at Moss Park as Megan was setting up her bike.
Megan, Ryan, and I walked to the beach so Ryan could listen to the swim rules. The sun was just beginning to rise and it looked so beautiful out.
Ryan looked pretty calm for a woman who was about to swim 1.5K in a muddy lake! She swam in college so I guess she felt prepared. 
Since the men start before the woman, we chatted while we waited for her wave to start:
And… then the gun went off and Ryan swam off like a mad woman!
Megan and I pretended to swim with Ryan. I much prefer swimming on dry land!
And then…. suddenly Ryan was BACK! She was SO fast. She swam 1.5K in about 25 minutes, 43 seconds – I was floored at her speed! I cheered so loudly for her as she came out of the water and ran towards transition. The run into transition took her 2 minutes, 10 seconds.
I pretty much pavarazzi-ed her all the way to the transition zone. She probably felt like a famous celebrity triathlete!
In the transition area, I took the chip off Ryan’s ankle as Megan put her helmet on. Then, I velcro-ed the chip to Megan and she raced off!
That’s the ONLY non-blurry one I got of Megan on her bike – she was moving pretty fast!
Megan had to ride 40K (or 24.8 miles), so we had some downtime during the bike ride.
That’s when I spotted another relay team. I tried to psych them out by giving them the evil eye. I don’t think it worked.
And Ryan changed out of her swimsuit, which had some VERY interesting mud spots!
Since it had been 2 hours since breakfast, I drank 1/2 a MyoPlex shake because I could feel myself getting hungry and I didn’t want to be underfueled for the run.
I also taped my knees. They feel OK, I am icing them as I type.
After a 1 hour and 18 minutes ride, Megan came screeching around the corner! She was super fast, too! I grabbed the chip off her ankle, tied it to mine, and off I went!
I was a little disappointed because they announced at the beginning of the race that the run distance had been extended from 5.15 miles to 5.6 miles. Normally, that wouldn’t bother me, but I haven’t run more than 4.0 miles in a long, long time and I already felt like 5.15 was going to be stretch.
I focused on pacing myself and keeping any negative thoughts at bay. It’s so easy to let yourself slip into thinking “This is hard, I am tired, it’s hot, I’m thristy… blah, blah, blah.” Every time I felt myself sinking into that hole, I forced myself to think “This is GREAT! I’m running, I feel strong, this is fun!”
I also repeated Meghann’s favorite mantra: “I am a machine, I am a machine!”
By the time I came around the corner and could see the finish line, I was looking rough AND feeling pretty rough.
But I finished strong! My offical chip time was 49:49 minutes — under 9:00 minute miles!! I am very proud that I can still run that fast (that’s fast for me!) after 3 months of taking it easy!
Our total time was 2 hours, 37 minutes, and 28 seconds, which was good enough to win our division!
Alright, we were the only ladies IN our division, but a trophy is a trophy!
After the award ceremony, I ate a banana:
And a slice of pizza:
And then said goodbye to everyone, including our awesome spectators (Megan’s friend Debbie and her boyfriend Mike, and Megan’s boyfriend Jason):
Jason was a great photographer for the race (don’t the pictures look professional?):
All in all, the Moss Park Triathlon Relay was a FUN experience, and it was a great way to re-introduce myself to racing. It looks like Race Season 2009 – 2010 is going to be very exciting!
Have a WONDERFUL Sunday!
Posted by: Caitlin 78 comments
Posted in: All Posts
on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Yay! So glad it was a success! You look so strong and fit!
Congrats!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:10 am
awesome job !! you guys did great and it looks like you had a lot of fun ! :0)
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:14 am
congratz! You ladies did a GREAT job…looks like you had great weather for it too! Kudos to the swimmer!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Awesome job! Doing it as a team seems like so much more fun than doing it on your own. I had no idea that competitions allow you to do stuff like that.
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Congrats! Caitlin, you look so great and in shape; you're such a tiny little thing!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:23 am
we rock!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:24 am
Congrats! It looks like it was a ton of fun!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Awesome job!! You all are amazing!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:32 am
CONGRATS, Caitlin! You look great out there. I know I've said it before, but I am so inspired that you took a break from running when it was necessary, and now have strongly yet patiently buily back up your stamina. You ROCK!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Congrats, Caitlin! You guys were such a great team! what a fun way to kick off the race season.
And yes, the pictures were wonderful!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:42 am
WOW beautiful photos!! And what a great recap, I felt like I was there. Congratulations to the 3 of you.
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Congrats!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Way to go Team SBRB! OK, Caitlin – are we all doing the century?
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:46 am
What a GREAT relay race!! You all did amazing, I love the photos!!! What fab action shots; you all should be PROUD!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:49 am
You all did awesome and show off your trophy with pride! Oh, and the T's were super cute!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:50 am
CONGRATS!! you guys kicked major bootay!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:51 am
No no no you didn't look ROUGH at all…you look beautiful, happy and STRONG! You guys rocked it…congrats!!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Great job on your run! You should be so proud of yourself for finishing as strong (and with such a great time!) Enjoy the rest of your day!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:56 am
One of my friends who also does triathlons has the best quote (for any race):
"I'm not a competitor, I'm a completer". Every time I remember that it brings a smile to my face! Great job guys!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 9:58 am
I had such a great time with you girls today! Yay for us
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:02 am
contrats on your race
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Great job – you SMOKED it
P.S.- I love your shirts!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:03 am
amazing job! I am happy for all 3 of you
http://strivingforbalance.wordpress.com/
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:14 am
you girlies are awesome!! a million congrats, babe! xo
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Great Job! looks like a lot of fun. Love the shirts!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Congrats Caitlin! You girls did awesome! =D
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Congrats!! All three of you did a wonderful job! Ha, I was thinking how great the pictures looked even before you mentioned it.
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Congrats!! You guys did a great job!!! WTG! I love the shirts!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Congrats on the race! That is an awesome time!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Great job!!! That looks like so much fun! I am so happy that you enjoyed it.
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Congrats! I love the shirts!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Congratulations!! You guys did awesome
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 11:36 am
GREAT JOB!!! You rocked it
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 11:37 am
great job and recap – you guys did awesome!!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Those pictures ARE fantastic! Congrats to all of you on such an awesome race.
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Wonderful job and a great recap.
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Great job! Especially after they extended the running distance, all of you look so great doing what you do!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Wow, awesome job! I love your shirts!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
CONGRATS! You three are amazing (not to mention adorable in those shirts!). Glad you had such a great race
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
You guys did AWESOME! I'm so glad it went well for you. Congrats on the trophy too
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
aww I love that little running skirt of yours! It's so cute! I went to lululemon (did I totally spell that wrong? probably haha) yesterday and fell in LOVE with some of their running skirts, but at $52 a skirt, it was just too hard to justify
Congrats on an amazing race! It looks like you had a ton of fun!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
kathy – my skirt was $19 from target!!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
great job to you and your team!!!! so wonderful! i wish i could have been there to cheer you on!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Hi Caitlin! Congratulations on winning in your division
It truly is awesome though. Running a marathon in the upcoming year is definitely a goal of mine. Your blog is sooo inspiring and you have such a beautiful heart. 
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
It looks like you girls had so much fun! And I love the t-shirts! Congrats on finishing strong and fast!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Congratulations! I want to do a tri now more than ever! I need to find a short one first though
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Wow! What a great race! You all did so well. I'm very happy for you that you plowed through those 5.6 miles, time off and all. Way to go, Caitlin!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Congrats on your race!!! Great job:) I swam a 1.5k race yesterday too, how funny!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Great work guys! Next time you'll all be doing the whole thing
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Congratulations!
http://www.alovefornewrecipes.blogspot.com
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Congrats on a great race!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
You look fantastic – like everyone had a GREAT time!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Way to absolutely rock it!! Congratulations! That's seriously awesome.I feel all kinds of inspired since I have a 10K next weekend (my first ever) and I had to back off and take it easy for knee pain. I've been building back up slowly and I feel strong but nervous still.
I'll be using the "I'm a machine" chant for sure!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I am sooooo proud of you! I love the "I am a machine" mantra! So proud, Caitlin. Good job!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Congrats guys! You rocked the relay race! I can't wait to do a tri! I'm glad you guys had fun! Love the shirts!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Awesome!! You guys kicked ass!! Happy for you that you have your speed too. You rock!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Congrats to you guys! What an awesome finish time! You all rocked it! And the pictures were great! Love the pic of the sun coming up behind the water!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
CONGRATS!!! You kicked that run's booties. All three of you did awesome
It really makes me want to do another Tri now 
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Congrats girl- that looked like so much fun! Great team work!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
you girls did AWESOME!!! Great recap and it looked like a fun race
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Congratulations. It must really feel fulfilling to complete that group effort. Keep up the good work, Caitlyn!
PS, did you choose the blue dress? :0)
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Congratulations! Everyone did such a great job! I love those tshirts too.
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
awesome job!!you guys look like you made an amaaazing team!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
congrats! happy to hear ur knees r doing ok!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Amazing job on the race!!!! You rocked it super fast
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Strong work ladies!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
woah–you guys kicked it!! GREAT JOB
i think that might be the only way i do an olympic!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
That sounds like a total blast!!!! (and an under 9/min mile is amazing fast to me!)
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
WooHoo Congrats!!
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on Jul 19th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Wahoooo! Great recap! I'm doing a relay tri (bike section, sprint distance) next month and I'm getting really excited for it so it's great to get a little preview of what I'm in for!
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on Jul 20th, 2009 at 1:16 am
Just be sure to stay away from the Evil Eye!
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on Jul 20th, 2009 at 4:02 am
Congratulations Caitlin and all you girls! You ran so fast! I probably would have freaked out hearing about the mileage going up right when I was about to start.
You look like you are in awesome shape!
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on Jul 20th, 2009 at 5:15 am
Congratulations! That sounds like you all had a great time! (and you had great times too!)
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on Jul 20th, 2009 at 8:28 am
I loved this race recap! It looks like you had a great time! Also, I have the same green flowered bag that you have in your pictures. I love it!
I just wanted to tell you that I ran my first trail run on Sunday! It was the 5K Spillway Classic and it was incredibly fun! You were right, I totally had the endurance for it, and about 2 miles in I actually said out loud "Wow! I thought this was going to be way more difficult!" Since my normal runs are on flat ground, I trained for it by upping some of my normal runs from 5K to 4 miles, which seemed to do the trick. It was also great because the weather cooperated and it was really cool (for New Orleans) which made the run even better!
Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for the encouragement and congratulations on your awesome race!!
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on Jul 20th, 2009 at 8:50 am
congrats caitlin! you guys all did great. that's a superfast swim time from ryan. and going on a relay team is a great way to get into triathlon. now when is your sprint coming up? you're going to love it.
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on Jul 20th, 2009 at 9:55 am
OMG You did GREAT you guys are Rockstar and I love the shirts!
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on Jul 20th, 2009 at 11:28 am
That seems like so much fun! I'd love to try it!
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on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Nice teamwork!! Way to go!! Those are some pretty impressive splits by you 3!!
And my wife had similar “mud marks” after swimming in a muddy lake – yum!…
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