Well, for starters. I think I forgot how to pack for one of these things. Thursday night came & I wasn't in the least bit packed. It wasn't till about 10pm that I even started. Smart Sarah, very smart. I ended up throwing anything & everything into the music room floor & started wading through it all. Don't need this, don't need that ... do need that. Found my race belt, shoes, goggles ... by about midnight, I pretty much had everything ready. Friday morning I threw everything in the car & zoomed off to work. I tell you what, sitting at work when you are all packed & ready to be gone is one of the worst things ever! Finally, Nicole let us know that she was in-fact going to get off early, so I was able to scoot out of work at a decent time. Jeff, Nicole & I grabbed subs for lunch and headed down the interstate in Jeff's huge red truck. We made it down there w/o too many bathroom stops (Nicole is pregnant). The AC didn't work in the truck again, so the windows were rolled down & the radio was blaring. Jeff had even been doing his homework & was able to sing along w/ some of the songs! =)
When we all get together there is always a good amount of laughing, and since Nicole is preggo it made for some very funny, almost disastrous moments, First of which came in the elevator of the hotel. Jeff shoved me, the Griffen, Nicole, the Kestrel & the HUGE cart of luggage into the elevator. The only problem was we got stuck & couldn't get out!! Here we are stuck, laughing are heads off, Nicole w/ her legs crossed & me having no way to move pinned btw my bike & the luggage cart. Finally we made it out & safely to the room. =)
Food time! Takeout or Dine in? We opted for takeout - the faster we got food the better! But, before we picked it up we stopped at the grocery store for nothing other than bug spray & Diet Code Red. Both are a MUST at this race. After giving the guy behind the counter my phone # about 3 times & then Nicole laughing her head off, w/ legs crossed, & giving it to him again, we made it out of there & got our food! After dinner Jeff & I started cleaning up
the bikes & getting them all ready for the race the next morning. Nicole opted out of this, but we felt bad & took care of the Kestrel. Got all the clothes set out & off to bed!
RACE TIME!!
The alarm goes
off at some ungodly hour and none of us want to get up. I know some not so nice things were exclaimed by everyone of us. I hate early mornings! After a few u-turns we picked a friend up on the way to the race site. Boy, what a beautiful drive in. There was marsh on either side of the palm tree laden road as the sun was barely rising ... it really was gorgeous! Jeff snuck around & got the normal parking spot for this race right by transition area instead of way far away like most people. Everything seemed pretty routine unlike last year where I was freaking out the entire morning. Found my bike rack, set up, went for a short bike ride, stretched, walked around, got bored, sat on the grass, waited, almost fell asleep sitting in the warm pool area, waited some more ... Finally, it was about 10min before I was supposed to go off, so I jumped in the pool & did a few practice laps & flip turns ...
And, I'm off! Thankfully I was seated pretty descent. There was actually a min
break after me so I didn't have anybody trying to swim over me & I ended up only passing 2 people. I hate pool swims. I started out w/ flip turns but got winded and finished w/ grabbing the side & pushing off. It was kinda funny, every time I pushed off my shorts kept going lower & lower on my butt. I thought I might loose them! Finally, out of the pool, with all my clothes and on to the bike!
Thankfully it wasn't nearly as cold this year, so coming out of the pool wasn't so bad. I ran to my bike, only to have a video camera shoved up my face. The marines were standing there video taping me ... until I almost fell putting my socks on, then they moved to another athlete! Got my new race helmet on & I was off! The bike felt great! Tried to keep my legs like pistons & keep a good cadence. I didn't have a computer so I was going completely by feel, but it worked ok for me. About half way through the bike I caught Nicole & she was dying. She had left her gels in TA so I gave the only one I had to her. It was time for me to get ... oh well, suck it up! This bike course is completely flat so in one sense that's nice. There were a few sharp corners that I had trouble w/, just b/c I'm not confident yet after the crash last year. About 3/4 of the way through this one guy & I started playing cat & mouse. The only thing was, he ended up drafting off of me for about 1.5mi. I was sooo aggravated. I kept weaving & then I tried to burst ahead, but he stayed right w/ me. Later they told me I should have done a snot rocket & that would have fixed the problem. (I have now mastered that & am fully prepared for the next race!) Finally I dismount & the jerk that was riding my butt almost plows into me & my bike ... I lost it & yelled at him. It's one thing to mess w/ me, but don't mess w/ my bike!
Oh, the run. I hate the run. Always have & probably always will. Thankfully in TA I found an extra gel since I didn't have one on the bike. I start running, ooo this doesn't feel good. I found a rhythm, not a very fast rhythm, but it was all I had, so I'll take it. When there was about 1/2 mile left I didn't think I could move anymore, but then I saw some friends & knew if they saw me walk I would never hear the end of it ... so I kept running as best I could. I would love to feel like I smoked that run course, but I don't. It was faster than last year though & that was my goal.
We all had a great race that day. Nicole got 2nd in the Athena group, I got 3rd in my Age Group, & Jeff had an awesome race
time ... he wiped the floor w/ Nicole & me! There were a lot of other friends out there that place & did awesome, especially Kat Welling bringing home a big glass bowl for 1st place overall women! It was great to see all the familiar faces & to meet new ones too! Thanks to all my great sponsors, friends and family. I couldn't do it w/o them. Thanks also, to my great coach & friend, Nicole!
