Yam City Triathlon Recap

Workout: 150 meter swim / 3:39 minutes 15 mile bike / approx 56 minutes 2 mile run / 16:38 minutes

Yam City Triathlon was yesterday and it was definitely, as advertised, a “yam good time.”

The race was in Opelousas, Louisiana, which is about 2.5 hours from New Orleans. Luckily, I have a gorgeous, Cajun hipster sister living in Lafayette who we could spend the night before with.

packing up

we should seriously set up the bike rack

We picked up my packet and the much anticipated t-shirt did not disappoint.

And then met up with my family for dinner.

we actually ate next door to here, but I couldn’t resist

That night, we did have a bit of a bike nightmare. Mo and I were pumping the bike tire of my bike, which has a faulty valve. Of course, the valve broke. I had a spare tube, but neither of us have changed my tire before, although I have seen it changed.

Between this video and my memory, we were able to get the tire off and put the new tube in but we were struggling with putting the tire back on.

Just then, my sister walked into the room and found me pulling my hair out, Mo frantically searching youtube videos, and bike parts strewn around her apartment.

“You know, my neighbor runs a bike shop.”

Sweeter words have never been heard. So thanks to Erin’s neighbor Tony, my bike was back in commission for the race.

Race Day

My dad drove with me to the race and helped me get my transition area set up. We had a blast, and I enjoyed getting to show him around the triathlon. He has been a road race director, so I’m sure he was looking at it through an organizer’s perspective.

Swim

I seeded myself ambitiously for the swim portion and our race numbers were assigned based on your projected swim time, so I was placed near some pretty accomplished swimmers. Since the pool was a small outdoor 25 meter pool (6 lanes), this was a solid plan by the organizers. There was no timing chip pad to walk over right before jumping in the pool, but there was a volunteer checking off the swimmers as they started and letting them start every 10 seconds so the organizers could subtract that time from the athlete’s overall time.

I swam the 150 meters in 3:39 minutes, which I was pretty pleased with. I did get passed by a few people in the pool, but I stayed out of the other athletes’ way. It was really great to hear my dad and friend cheering for me during the swim and on my to transition!

Bike

I felt confident starting the bike course. I have put in some really good training rides in over the last month, so I was looking forward to the bike portion of this race. What I hadn’t anticipated was the hills! There are NO HILLS in New Orleans. None.

But apparently Opelousas is another story.

I planned to finish the 14 mile bike in 50 minutes. I ended up finishing in about 56 minutes. I forgot to take a picture of the race results and they haven’t been posted yet, so I don’t know exactly how long it was. The course was supposed to pass a yam farm, but I must have missed it. A lot of the course was along an interstate service road so there wasn’t a lot of scenery, but I honestly wasn’t paying attention. This 14 mile course also made me realize how much hanging out with Mo on a ride makes the ride fly by!

Run

The run felt like it took forever. There was a water station at the very beginning of the course as soon as you left transition but I skipped it. I was pretty focused on giving it everything I had left and passing other women. I think I passed maybe four or five women along the way. The run is my strength, so I’ve got to put it all on the line. It went through a little neighborhood and a lot of it was shaded. There was a water station at what I guess was the 1 mile mark, but I skipped it too. In such a short run, passing a water station is a great way to pass other athletes if you are well enough hydrated.

I finished the 2 mile course in 16:38 minutes. That was a little slower than at Rocketchix, but I definitely ran as fast as I could, so no worries.

post race glow

Overall

The race was well organized and the race swag lived up to the hype. The atmosphere of the race was energetic and excited. There was music and every athlete’s name was announced as they crossed the line, which is always special. This is a race I am looking forward to doing again next year!

Post Race

Mo had one goal for our trip to Lafayette: find good boudin. And where you find good boudin, you find good cracklin. My littlest sister Tess, Mo, and I went on a hunt for the best boudin and cracklin the Lafayette area could offer while Erin and my parents went to an event. Erin recommended Best Stop Supermarket in Scott. It was amazing! After the meat fest, we stopped at a serve yourself TCBY. I had no idea those even existed and I am so grateful New Orleans does not have one because I would be there ALL. THE. TIME.

I can’t eat like this all the time, but after a hard race, I can make an exception.

all the girls. you would never guess we were all sisters.

Did you race this weekend? How was it?

Do you treat yourself post race or after a hard workout?