Jeff ended up signing up for this race too, so we both crashed at Nicole's Saturday night & then drove down Sunday morning ... very early! I sware we were almost the 1st eople there at TA. At least we got our t-shirts! I had no idea who was here & racing in my age group. But, I did see Ashley before the swim & found out we were still in the same age group. So I knew at least 1 person was going to give me a run for my money.
SWIM: It was a floating start. When the gun went off it felt like that commercial about clean water. You know, the one where the water is drained out of the tank and all the gold fish are floundering around. There wasn't enough water for all of us. I got kicked so hard, I just knwe if it had been any harder my arm would have broken!
BIKE: The bike was rolling hills. Lots of hills. I had GI issues again. Not sure what's going on w/ that, but just kept going. I pushed as hard as I could, both up & down the hills. Last year I made the mistake of not pedaling down the hills. I fixed that for this year ... much be
tter! As I crossed the final bridge coming back into TA, I saw/heard Joe cheering me on. I knew this meant his wife Ashley was still behind me.
RUN: I got through T2 & took off on the run. Thankfully I couldn't feel my feet.
(I've been suffering from tendonitis in my left foot/ankle & haven't been able to do my training runs per Drs orders.) I tried to run smart. Bypassed the 1st aid station. Then I saw Ashley at the 1st turn around. She wasn't too far behind me. At this point I felt like I had a target on my back, so I kept pushing. Second turn around comes & there she is. Didn't look like she had gained any on me. But, now I could feel my foot & I was really hurting. My pace slowed. I turned a corner & there was Joe hollering for me. Right after I passed him, I heard him start cheering on Ashley. Oh boy! We probably had about 1/4mi left & there she was, running next to me. We crossed the bridge together & then hit the grass. I let her get about a foot or two ahead of me. Then, we hit the long parking lot to the finish line. When my feet hit that asphalt I gave it everything I had left. Sprinted until it was over.
Turns out I sprinted in to get 3rd in my age group. This was the 1st race I felt like I really pushed through some mental & physical barriers. I was thrilled with 3rd place.
Jeff had a great race too & we got to go home celebrating!
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