The only problem with this plan was getting sick last Saturday night at the training camp. Sunday: very sick, Monday: quite sick, Wednesday: a little better, Thursday: a little better, Friday: worse and go to doctor, Saturday: better, Sunday: game face. On Friday I picked up a prescription for antibiotics (to ward off any upper respiratory infection which is what really worried me) and some prescription cough medicine (fun dreams!). I definitely felt better on Saturday but with packet pickup for a Ramblin Rose event all day at the store and just 3 of us working it made for a hectic day. I also did not work out from Sunday onwards (with a mostly failed ride on Thursday not included). In short, the only reason I was showing up to this race was because of its significant prize purse. I would definitely NOT have been racing were it not for that. I did not feel good and I did not feel like racing. But at times, we must reach down, grab our balls, and imagine taking a shower in endless amounts of cash (relatively speaking, for a pro triathlete anyway). To give some perspective: New Orleans 70.3 (a big, but not HUGE race) offered $500...for 5TH PLACE. That's almost four hours of work for the same amount I'd get if I won (for less than an hour of work).
Jenny and I drove up on Sunday morning, picked up our packets, set up our bikes and got in the pool to warmup when all of a sudden Ross and Tim show up, which totally made the day that much more fun. Yay for friends!
Swim 300 yards - 3:39
The swim was relatively complicated. There were only 7? lanes in total. We'd swim down one length in the first, then flip under the lane lines and swim two lengths in each lane in all except the last lane. The issue was the middle lane was really wide (2 lanes worth?) and they called it a passing zone but all it ended up being was a "confusion zone." I messed it up but with Ross and Tim waving me in the right direction after popping up with a confused look I got in the right lane and carried on, exiting and quickly moving towards the bike.
T1 - :28
Quick. Cold also.
Bike 10.8 miles - 26:35
I passed someone out of T1 and a person or two pretty quickly before seeing a couple of dudes and a police car up ahead. The course was basically a triangle with the first leg being a slight climb with a headwind then a right turn that was a slight downhill and tail/crosswind then a third right turn and a nice set of rollers on nice pavement. It was pretty windy out there so I got blown around a little bit. At the second turn I had caught the two guys in front of me with the fastest swimmer being in the lead and a relay guy in second. The relay guy went to pass #1 and #1 just got right on his wheel. I was only about 20 yards behind them at this point and I yelled at him. This is a small race, yes, but seriously? The relay guy passed him and #1 moved over to the left to get on his wheel, obviously speeding up in the process. So, my sense of self-righteousness enraged, I moved up to pass and looked over at #1 and asked if he was just gonna ride his wheel the whole time? He looked at me like he didn't know what I was talking about and I moved on to complete the pass on both of them before finishing the first lap.
The second lap was more of the same, just passing people on their first loop and putting time into people on their second. Mostly uneventfully I finished the second loop with what I felt was a comfortable lead.
T2 - :39
Had trouble putting on one of my shoes but otherwise no big deal.
Run 5k - 19:54
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| Do I look happy? I am not :) |
I started out on the run and my lungs felt even worse than on the bike. I wasn't really sure where I was going as there was nobody to direct me but foremost in my mind my inability to breathe deeply and smoothly. I looked behind me after a little while and saw a young guy that I assumed was the relay runner who had made up what I could only assume was a decent amount of time in the first mile. Luckily he faded throughout the run but it put what little pep in my step there was...in my step. The second mile was mostly uphill (it took foreeever to get to mile 2) and the third mile was mostly downhill/flat and the finishing straight was nice and flat. Perfect. I crossed the line and nobody else was in sight.
Overall: 51:18, 1st, overall CR and bike CR
A good day at the office, with Jenny winning as well. I was a little annoyed at my run time but it was fast enough to win by a lot I just don't like a less fit athlete outrunning me by a minute. Were I healthy, I would've liked to get that one as well. Oh well.
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