speedvegan

1/4 mile swim – 10 mile bike – 3 mile run

Total Time: 1:14:34
Swim: 12:35
T1: 1:13
Bike: 30:58
T2: 0:57
Run: 28:51
Overall Place: 157
Gender Place: 34
Category Place: 7

I had a feeling this race was going to suck, but I never thought it would suck this much.

First of all, I struggled trying to decide whether to enter the race because it’s about 60 miles from where I live. As if driving 120 miles in one day wasn’t bad enough, I had to pick up my packet the day before at a bike shop even further away from the race location. I decided to do it anyway because Geoff was going to be out of town and it would be something fun to do to keep myself occupied. Somehow the sleeping in option didn’t cross my mind.

Then there was the “Duathlon vs Triathlon” dilemma. Naturally, I was inclined to do the Duathlon because I’ve yet to drag my sorry ass to the pool for swim training. Well, it turns out nobody in my age group signed up for the Duathlon and I’m not one to take home a prize I didn’t really earn, so I signed up for the Triathlon instead. Here’s how it went down. First I’m going to tell you the funny part of today’s race because the actual report will have an angry tone. I got to the race with ample time. I set up transition, picked up my chip, got marked, hit the lady’s room and made my way to the beach. I stood there watching the waves in front of me line up. I was going through it all in my mind when I looked down and noticed I had no chip around my ankle. In fact, I didn’t remember putting one on. Shit. I ran back to the chip guy and asked if he’d seen my chip all frantic and out of breath. Negative. I ran back to transition and searched all over. ALL OVER. Nothing. Finally, as I stood there, I stepped on something underneath a jersey the guy next to me was using to cover all his gear. Whew. There it was. I securely wrapped it around my ankle and took off running back to the beach just in time for my wave to start.

The Swim
Sigh. I knew in my heart I shouldn’t have attempted this without at least some recent training under my belt, but Triathletes think with their legs sometimes. Also, I seem to upset the ocean. It’s a gift. The water was rough, with a strong current. People hear “strong current” and think “cool, it’s like tailwind.” No. It’s like salt water up your nose. You have to get past the buoys before that current is going to be any help, plus if the ocean is rough, that current is only going to help you somewhat. I hung out in the back with the other reject swimmers. I could tell because every time I looked back to take a breath I could see them wading in the water. Maybe they were praying for the ocean to vaporize. The sad part is that I still wasn’t moving much faster than they were. I swallowed more water than my stomach was comfortable with, but I finished. Despite being a beach loving Floridian, I was happy to be out of the water today.

The Bike
I could not wait to get my ass on my comfy new saddle and kick some butt on the bike course. I passed many people, but didn’t notice anyone passing me. That’s when I realized there was nobody out there left to pass me. I’d probably been one of the last out of the water. Sigh. I left my legs out there on that bike course. The wind was rough and I guess I just didn’t have it in me today because my bike time wasn’t very impressive. Still, I enjoyed it. Any day on the bike is a good day.

The Run
Definitely takes the prize for “Worst Run Ever.” I couldn’t even feel my legs moving, but I guess they were because I managed to get from the start line to the finish line. I think the biggest problem for me was the huge bridge as soon as you got out on the run course. It usually takes about a mile for my legs to fully transition to run mode after being on the bike and the bridge definitely didn’t help. But overall, I just don’t think my body was up for racing today. There’s good days and bad days and then there’s days like this.

Geoff wasn’t in town, so there are no pictures this time. Maybe that’s a good thing. He will be back next weekend for another race I will be doing. This time I will be trying to beat my time and praying to the ocean Gods to forgive me for whatever it is I did to piss them off.