At the start I got way to the outside away from all the crazy swimmers and just took off. I was feeling really good. After I rounded the buoy I briefly glanced at my watch and saw that I was definitely on swim PR pace. I got a little excited. I was calm and controlled throughout the entire swim. When I exited the water and saw I was at 15 or 16 minutes I was really pumped. In fact, as I was in transition trying to get my wetsuit off, and get on the bike I was just so excited about my good swim. I almost had to slap myself and say "ok, bike time".
Starting the bike at the hammerman is always interesting. You exit transition and mount your bike and immediately start climbing a crazy up hill. Surely humbles you if you were feeling good. The course was incredibly slick and super muddy. Anyone you passed by was totally covered in mud. And you just knew you were too. It was quite difficult staying upright at times. The roots were very slick and your tires would just slide all over them. On some of the up hills you had to get off your bike and really kick your feet into the mud to drag your bike up to avoid slipping...which you still did a lot. As I was coming around a corner there was momma and baby moose right there on the trail. I of course stopped and gave them a little distance. A couple guys came up behind me and sort of yelled at her a bit and she and baby just moved so we could pass. Thanks momma! Since the babies are a little more mobile now I think the moms are a little less anxious and protective. She honestly didn't look concerned about us at all. Ears up the whole time, just grazing. After than obstacle the bike finished up ok. Not my best time with all the mud.
When I started the run my legs felt like cement. I usually feel pretty good coming off the bike, but this year I think the bike was just so much tougher with all the slipping around so more energy output. It probably would have helped to at least do one brick before the race. Yea, I'm smart. My whole thought on the run was "just keep moving". Walked up a few of the steep hills, but walked less than I did last year for sure. I ran into Todd about a mile in and he was having a crazy quad cramp so he wished me well and told me to go on. I was feeling a lot better when I knew I had about a mile left to go. At this point I was looking at my watch thinking I could beat my overall time for last year. About 1/2 a mile left to go I hear this bird making a god awful sound. Suddenly there's this bird in front of me coming straight at my head doing it's war yell! So I waited till the last second then ducked! Ahh, it missed me. It's the same bird that chased Todd on the trail for a few miles last week. I think it was a hawk and she built her nest right along the trail and it was known that she's been dive bombing people. She drew blood from some, but thank goodness not from me on that day.
I finished the run strong with a total time of 2:54:23. I believe last year I was 2:58 ish. So overall I was pretty happy. I don't have the splits yet, but no matter I'm very pleased with my swim. I must say another thing about Todd. I was sad when I saw him walking in front of me on the run. When I caught up with him and he was cramping I was just bummed, because I know how frustrating something like that can be. It's so nice that he's so supportive of me and an amazing man that pushes me to go on ahead of him. Instead of him being upset that he got "chicked" that night he just told me how he was so proud of how well I did. What a man! Todd's accomplished so much in triathlon. His accomplishments are such a motivation to me. I think he knows that no matter how we finish in races that he will always be my triathlon hero.
Here's a pic of Todd and I after the race. We are both super tired, dirty and smiling from ear to ear!
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| Me and my Tri man |
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