to the Expo and got some zip ties from the great Roswell Bicycles. Thanks guys you are the best. If you are ever need a good bike fit they do a fantastic job, & are definitely worth the drive. Last year I took my bike down there & they worked wonders on my fit!
Macon is know for being a torture fest & it definitely lived up to the tradition. Because of it, Jeff & I had joked that we were going to go out and party Friday night & then sleep in and "accidentally" miss the race. We didn't b/c we knew we would have had our butts majorly kicked by a pregnant lady when we got back home. =) I tell you what. It is so nice not having to mess w/ a bike the morning of a race. Although, I was quite eager to get to my bike to check & see if my tires blew since I forgot to let air out. They were fine. Before the race I finally meet up w/ all the crew. It was good to see so many familiar faces. Just knowing you are not completely out there all by yourself is nice.
SWIM: Felt Amazing! It was a run in start & I wasn't quite as close to the water line as I would have liked, but it was fine. I just prepared myself for getting kicked alot. I really felt amazing in the water. Found my grove early & was able to keep it & push. Ended up drafting off the someone for a little bit before hitting the first turn. Then we started hitting all the slower guys and there were lots of people to pass. I just LOVE passing people!!! I made that last turn back to shore & about half way back the athletes doing the sprint joined up w/ us. Some of those poor peop
le doing the sprint were struggling that last little bit & I was passing them like the were sitting still ... it was sooo fun!! I hit the sand & took up a good run pace up the huge hill to transition. There were no wetsuits this year so that helped. Turns out I knocked a few minutes off my swim time from last year!
BIKE:It took a little while to get my bike legs but by a mile in i felt normal. 5mi mark - I'm already a little sluggish. What's going on? Where is my power? By the first bottle exchange (mi15) I knew it wasn't going to be a pretty day. I already felt extremely tired. Sarah, just push through it. Come on. (I talk to myself when I have issues!) The middle portion didn't seem horrible, but I started calculating my time & I was definitely slower than I should have been or wanted to have been. I hit 18mi left on the bike & my mind starts playing w/ me. You're already slower than you should be. There's no way you are going to make your goal. Just stop. It's all I could do to keep my legs pedaling. Should I stop. I still have to run after this. How am I going to do that? Well, I kept going. I pushed through it. It hurt. It really hurt, but I was not going to get a DNF on my record.
T2: I ran my bike to my spot & then I stood there. Again, my mind telling me to quit. By now my mind and body are already spent & I start crying - i'm not really a crying person, but i cried, then I put my running shoes on, visor on, & started running.
RUN: Not much to say. It was extremely rough. The aid stations were about every 1.5-1.75mi & when it is so hot & muggy that is really too far. (I heard someone later say that it probably felt like 100degrees, but real temp was mid to upper 90's w/ extreme humidity.) By this point my body had stopped sweating & I had chill bumps. Seriously Sarah, what are you doing? - I'm going to finish! Finishing was my goal by this point & that's what I did. When I got to the finish line there was Jeff hollering at me. When I saw him & that finish line I started crying again. I was so drained.
Jeff had an awesome day. He ended up PRing for this course! At least one person, out of the hundreds that did it, had a good day! I am so thankful for the great friends I have - for sticking w/ me during the great times & the not so great times. Thanks to my sponsors for their support & especially for the new special sponsor for this race, Tim & Allyson. I couldn't have done it w/o their support. Thanks guys.
It was our pleasure! :-)
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