SheRox

If you have never participated in an all girls event, do it. Don't hesitate. There is something about being out there with out so much crazy testosterone, cute as can be outfits, special medals & awards and slightly less stinky (and pink even) porta potties.

All joking aside, this is my second women's only sprint tri & once again I had a BLAST. If nothing else, it's the coolest thing to be out there amongst so many women. Teenagers, college girls, moms, and grandma's. Their friends, family, spouses & children spectating and so proud.

While I am certainly no "sprinter" when it comes to races, I couldn't resist getting back out there to test my fitness again after Rocky Point. Actually, truth be told I probably would not have registered, especially so last minute with the crazy price of last minute sign up were it not for my girl Taryn. Taryn & I met a couple years ago via our blogs & have kept in touch ever since. She decided this would be her year to dabble into multisports. I love nothing more than people joining the bandwagon and enjoying what I love to do so much, so of course I had to be there to support her. If I was gonna be down there anyway, heck why not participate. So, Wed evening after a 2 week training build, no rest days I registered for the SheRox race.

I think having someone else around me that was nervous helped me to not even think about how tired and fatigue I was. No pre-race jitters, no expectations. I wanted to have fun, race well & try to get my running legs back after the bike.

The weather was perfect. Warm, but overcast. Lots and lots of newbies in transition, but would you ever think Miss Taryn was? Nope - she looked the part for sure!

The race waves started and I was in the water with my wave #3 just 8mins later. The swim was short and painless, just lots of weaving around some of the less comfortable in the water. I knew it wouldn't be crazy fast, but I came out of the water with wave #2 and ran into Transition.

The bike was the same old same old Tempe course. Lots of turns, loops, crowded, but flat. This is where I had a smile on my face the whole time. Even though I had to slow down a lot on the corners before I could make any passes so I didn't freak some of the newer triathletes out, no one was reckless or too wobbly. It really seemed like everyone was out there just to have fun, so I couldn't help but be happy. I cheered for everyone I passed, encouraging them along. My legs were not happy about pushing hard so soon after my epic bike weekend, and without any rest days, so I did what they would allow and just felt the burn.

I came into T-2 laughing. Never did I expect to be this far out in front, only a few bikes racked up. I slipped into my shoes, switched the garmin to run mode & off I went. I've really been struggling to get a good run in in my triathlons. I either wait to push in fear of bonking and finish with too much left in the tank, or well I sandbag parts, mostly any hill running. This was my one goal today - to give it what I had. So I did. I ran as hard as I could. My run legs felt much better than my bike legs. My breathing was very heavy, but manageable.

I knew I had only one girl in my age group ahead of me, and one trailing me so more than anything I just wanted to (for the first time EVER in a tri) not get passed up on the run.

I'm happy to say I reached my goal. I managed to hold my place, pass a few runners & never get passed. Little did I know there was a girl in my age group (not the one I knew about) closing in on me all the to the last 100yards....

I finished the race happy, smiling & proud of myself for finally giving it my all. I cheered in my friends who came in shortly after me, and so proud to see Taryn smoking her "best case scenario" time and finishing her first ever triathlon in a more than respectable time!

Thanks to my girl Jamie for the post race mimosas in the park. Can't take this stuff too seriously, right?

We hung around for the awards where I was expecting a second place award. Much to my surprise the one girl in my age group (she passed me on the bike - just like in Rocky Point) pulled out a smoking fast 5k time ranking her #1 overall & bumping me up to 1st place 30-34 and 7th overall. I couldn't be more surprised or happy!

Congrats to all the SheRox gals out there. What a fantastic day! Of course it wouldn't be a race without Baxter proudly wearing his medal.