The entire day threatened rain and the closer it got to race time the darker it got. At 5:40 we had a meeting in the water where Mark reviewed the rules and course. At 5:45 and on the word go we all went in to the swim. At first the water seemed very cold, it took a while before it felt comfortable. I did have a small panic attack just before the first buoy marking 150 yards. I was able to calm down and keep focused. As I turned the first buoy I realized I was actually passing people in the water ( first time experiencing this). As I rounded the 2nd buoy marking 350 yards I was still feeling very storing and aimed for the shore to finish the swim.
As I got to the shallow water I stood up and ran to the transition, where I struggled to get out of my swim suit. I looked around and saw a lot of bikes still in transition, which means for the first time I was not the last one out of the water! I got on my bike and hammered as hard as I could, I had no idea how hilly the course would end up being but i know I wanted to pick as many people off as I could.
After about a mile I started passing people, which empowered me more. I just kept pushing the edge of where I thought I could and leave some in the legs for the run. Most of the ride was uneventful except that I kept picking folks off but then around mile 10 we started to climb a hill, that would not end. Funny thing was I wanted a top 10 finsh, top 5 if I could so I used that to push up the hill. One of the people I passed up the hill actually said...."God bless ya' as I went by. my quads were buring.....a lot!
As I finally topped the hill I had about 1 mile to go but had seen 2 more bike in front of me, i made it by them before transiton to the run. As we came into transiton I thought I had a good plan but I got passed by those last 2 people I had passed on the bike. Within a couple hundred feet I was able to get both positons back and by half a mile in I had passed another, at this point I had seen Mark Wilson pass by heading towards the finish line. The next half mile was down hill and I was closing in on another person, shortly after the turn around I passed him. Now it was a bit of up hill between me and the finsh line, I felt like I was running hard, as I turned the corner towards the finish line I was able to dig down just a bit more. I crossed the line and was greeted by Mark and several others with high fives. I finished 7th over all.
FYI: it didnt rain until the very end of the awards.
Happy doesnt describe the feeling! Great race,good people!
Gear:
Suunto Ambit2 watch
STTC tri Kit
Specialzed Roubaix Sport
Specialized Evade Helmet
Sidi Shoes
Look Pedals
Saucony Guide ISO shoes
Fuel:
Hammer Sustained Energy - during race
Hammer Race PR Kit - pre race
Hammer Recoverite - recovery
Hammer Tissue Rejuvenator - recovery
Hammer CBD Balm - recovery
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