Tribella Race Report
By 303 Ambassador Erin Trail
The Tribella Triathlon by Without Limits is at the top of my list for a “must do” race. What makes it so fun? Yes it’s a women’s race – but it’s not that kind of women’s race. The Tribella sprint is incredibly supportive of women, but in a “go out there and kill your race while having fun” kind of way. This is a race where experienced athletes and beginners alike can go out and achieve their goals.
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I also love this race because my club, Altitude Multisport, has a FANTASTIC showing. This year, we had 11 women come out and race. Several were first timers, some were experienced, and all were super excited to race. This race is also really family friendly. We set up our club tent, stocked it with cheering supplies, and while we were out swim-bike-running, our friends, spouses, and kids were out cheering us home. And then after the race, we all hung out, recapped our experiences, and celebrated our finishes. It’s one of my favorite days of the year.
As an added bonus, title sponsor Coeur Sports founder Kebby and her husband Reg flew out from Los Angeles to cheer racers on. I’m a Coeur Ambassador and having Kebby and Reg out in person was amazing. They were at every transition and the finish line cheering everyone through their race. These people (and the entire Coeur team) embody what is so great about our sport. They also make the cutest and most comfortable tri kits around.My race report
Last week I raced Xterra Lory, my 2nd off-road tri. I’m a strong swimmer but a nervous mountain biker. As a result, I was passed by 140 people on the bike. I know I’m stronger than that and I was really bummed. Tribella was a week later and I knew I’d be up for redemption.
I knew the course extremely well – I raced a 7 week Time Trial series out here in April and May, Karen Hornbostle TT Series. As a result, I knew how to hurt for 10 miles, where to really push and where to preserve my legs.
The swim was pretty standard. Water temp was 72 degrees, same as at Lory the week prior. I opted to wear my swimskin, since I prefer to be cooler and I got a bit warm in my wetsuit last week at the same temperature. I had a clean swim (I was 4th in my wave out of the water), although I understand that other waves had a bit more contact, depending on where you were and your swimming ability. The swim was definitely short as I popped out in 10:xx, but that’s ok. Everyone races the same course, short or long.
I ran up the nicely carpeted (uphill) path into T1. Liz from Tribella was there stripping wetsuits. I bypassed her and came across Kebby and Reg madly cheering – I got a slap on the butt from Kebby as I went by, which I’m certain helped to propel me onto a speedy bike.
For the bike I had one mission: ride HARD. I injured my left leg in April and hadn’t been able to do much running until 3 weeks ago – and definitely NO speed work. I didn’t know what my run would look like so I decided to really push the bike and hope for the best on the run. My legs felt SUPER strong – probably because of my weekly commutes home from downtown . I just put my head down and kept my effort just below puking. I zoomed into T2 and I KNEW I had CRUSHED that bike. (my results had me 4th in my age group and a full 1 mph faster than my best Time Trial effort – WOW).
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And then the run. The fun thing about racing with so many friends is that you get to see all of them, usually on the run course. So even though you’re hurting, it’s ok because you have friends all around you. I was quickly passed by my clubmate Megan (she’s a speedy runner) and I left transition right behind my friend and athlete Becca. I won’t lie, I wanted to pass Becca. But my legs and my lack of speedwork just wouldn’t move faster. And Becca had a fantastic run, which makes me a proud coach. I just tried to keep my effort just below pukey again and stayed with Becca the whole way. The run was a nice tour of CC State Park – I like running in the trees and listening to the bird calls over my labored asthma breathing. As sprint distance racers, we had to do a little “make up the distance” out and back after we passed the finish line, which was a bit mean, but with a bridge out on the usual run course, there weren’t many other options. Soon enough, the out and back was done and we were greeted by friends and family at the finish chute. As for me, I matched my run pace from 2015 and only got passed by one other woman in my age group (my friend Aimee who I *knew* would catch me). I checked my results and was floored that I came in 5th at a race where a lot of strong women come out to race fast.
After some mingling, rescuing my inhaler from transition, and getting beverages and food, the women in our club recounted our races with huge smiles. And AMC? We had 3 women on the podium – AMAZING.Tribellla is definitely on my schedule for 2017. Its best to sign up early because it always sells out. Oh, and did I mention that firemen run the aid stations? You really shouldn’t miss out on this race next year.
Full race results here
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