I did another PR yesterday while being sick with a cold. What is up with that? Of course everyone says it is the massive cold medication I was on. So what! I am so psyched-I like to think it was the visualizations from the Mark Allen Seminar that did it. I also like to visualize my favorite Dolphin that almost kissed me while diving in Costa Rica. Whatever! Here is what happened:
We arrived on Friday night at the base pretty late at night. Our friend Lisa is in the military and scored us some rooms on the base. It took a good 45 minutes to clear us on to the base-seemed like mighty tight security but we made it..I was really stuffed up by now with the cold and coughing so I slugged down some NyQuil and slept like a rock until 5:00 AM. I awoke to the wind howling outside about 25 MPH. That is not good-I thought.. We were about 300 feet from the transition area (thank you again Lisa). I got down there and got my bike at the best spot and proceeded to check in. The wind was gusting so hard by bike almost fell over while putting air in it. I ran into S.Baboo in the transition area and he exclaimed gleefully "Now this is how a Polar Bear triathlon should be!" I wanted to slap his Sweet Little Baboo face but I smiled and said "I think this wind is a bit much"..As the sun started to rise, the wind died down a little but not much. I overdressed for the run, which was first-I was so paranoid of being cold. Now I didn't realize this at the time but apparently about 30 people were in line still trying to get into the base. If you arrived at the gate at 6:30, you barely made the start at 8:00. The RD was not going to hold up the start. More about that later. So we started right at 8:00. A coughdrop in my mouth, I felt good from the start, although was peeling off layers of clothing right away. Off came the gloves, jacket, ear warmers. I felt so good, I picked up the pace. I was not wearing a watch but knew I was at a pretty good pace. I kept passing people as I ran, one woman I knew was in my AG. Finally-I passed someone in my AG on the run-now that is a first!! When I came around the corner and realized I did the run in 37 minutes I was ecstatic! It was a 7k run which made my pace under 9 min. mile! Holy cow! My legs really hurt so I knew I may pay on the bike but I figured what do Ihave to lose? I quickly made the decision not to take my jacket on the bike, which I somewhat regretted late, but I was so hot by now. The sun was out, it was in the 50s I am guessing but as soon as I got out on the bike I thought 'Uh-oh, here is the wind now' and boy was there wind. The whole 18 miles it seemed like I was in a headwind. How is this possible? There was a short 5 miles or so where the wind was at my back but I was in aero position the whole time trying to fight the 20MPH or so wind. It was exhausting! I think I averaged about 15 MPH which isn't bad considering the wind factor. At about mile 15, a woman who whooped my ass last year in my AG whipped by me. Thank goodness, she has aged up, I thought. No other women passed me so I was hopeful for the win..I got to T-2 and it was very interesting trying to rip off all your clothes with cold hands and wobbly legs but I did it. I forgot to take off my ear warmers that were around my neck, which I realized about halfway through the swim. Oh, that water felt sooooo good! like a hot tub after the cold wind! I couldn't wait to get in..I swam pretty good, although I think i forgot I was racing about halfway through the swim. H said it looked like I slowed down. Anyway, I felt good and when I got out the clock said 1:57. H was waiting there with a warm towel-he was such a good sport and I know was upset because he couldn't race (still nursing the leg injury) So that was my total time-I'll take that! I don't have my splits but I would guess my bike was about 1:10 and my swim about 11 min, counting in the transitions because no chip timing at this race. I stayed as my fellow NM Outlaws finished. For two of them, it was their first triathlon! I think that is pretty awesome considering the wind on that bike.. So after showering, we all headed to after race luncheon where we were suppose to receive our awards. after lunch however, it was announced that 4 people were still on the bike course and awards would not be given out until all had finished. Apparently, since the RD decided not to wait for the people at the base gate to get in, some started as much as an hour later. The RD would not take into consideration that they were late so we all had the same start time. WTF???? I guess he announced later-tough beans if you were late-next time get here sooner or don't come at all! What an A-hole! So to make a long story short, we left before the awards ceremony because the Southwest Challenge Series awards were being held at a different venue and we didn't want to miss those. So after driving for what seemed like forever in the mountains to a picnic spot, we found that ceremony. H got his first place award, I got my third place, which were champagne bottles, personally engraved. That is funny because we don't drink, but they are lovely anyway. Half the people weren't at that function because they were still waiting for the awards on the base. It was a confusing day to say the least as far as the race logistics-that was the RDs fault for sure..The other folks finally made it to the campgrounds and Mark handed me my first place medal in my AG. And he said I actually beat some women!! I felt really good. H was depressed because he couldn't race. I felt bad for him and sad we couldn't share in the joy of this race. The Series awards were anti-climactic for me but I was happy to see H get his big ole' bottle of champagne-he earned it!
I slept 10 hours last night-finally. Feel better this AM. Now we have the day to pack and get ready for our trip to Mexico tomorrow. 1o days of beach lolling and reading-I can't wait!!
