Lake Stevens 70.3

I had great workouts yesterday. Right before we left Murphy's Law was in full effect. I could not pump up my tires because my valve extenders somehow closed the stems. We had a good drive up. Karen held us up, so we missed the 1200 mandatory briefing. We waited around til 1pm for a whopping 45 min talk on things we already knew. There were some funny parts, but overall I didn't think it was necessary. Especially since they explain the rules and then give a packet with contradictory information. We ate lunch at a good Thai place, I would recommend. The rest of the evening we chilled at the hotel (which was also at a good location) and set up our race gear. They had karaoke right next to our window until 9. Lucky me!!!

RACE DAY
I didn't sleep well. I woke up 10-15 times and went to the bathroom just about each time. I woke up 2 minutes before the scheduled 430am wake up. Just like I do everyday of the week. I need a new job. :-)

I had breakfast, filled my bottles, and was ready to roll. Sleeping beauties (Lee & Karen who slept like they were on vacation) took a little longer because they were so well rested.

We got to transition around 530 and set up our bikes. I went out for a quick run hoping to use a port-a-potty on the run course. It was zip tied. What luck. Luckily the world is my ...

They delayed the start by 10 minutes because of the fog.

SWIM
This was my first time in the Xterra Vortex. I now know how much I appreciate the Vendetta I have. The suit was very stiff. My wave 35-39 started 11 minutes after the pro males. This is one of the straightest swims you will ever have. There is a rope in the water that is used for rowing. The only problem with the rope is everyone would swim there. I felt okay on the swim. There was a nuisance behind me, who would touch my toes periodically. Can we guess who? Hint: Crowieto. My slow swim was 30:59, HORRIBLE!!!

BIKE
I was out of T1 in 1:15 and out on the course. I wanted to build the first loop and work the second loop. Lee caught up to me around mile 10. We rode together for most of the first loop. I decided to let him ride away. I knew I could ride with him, but my didn't want my run to suffer. Near the end of the ride I thought I saw Lee messing with his bike half way up the hill. Was it a hallucination? No. He decided to let me catch up, so he got the chain stuck. A few incidents with cars and cyclist riding too far to the left. 2:34.50

RUN
I was out of T2 in 1:07. Same strategy build the first loop and push the second. I had no idea where Lee was until I took my first turn and saw him in the distance. I knew I would catch him with in the first mile. The first couple miles are at a slight incline and then you have a decline/flat for the a mile or so. The next couple miles are rollers. I decided not to run with socks. It actually worked for the most part. I felt a blister forming the last few miles. I carried socks just in case (Thanks Karen for the suggestion). It is better to not need and have then need and not have. 1:30.31.

I missed my goals for the race (29:15, 2:35, 1:30=4:37.00) I went 4:38.41. I did the math and figured 4:36 would put me on the podium, not even close. Third was 4:29. I ended up 7th in my age group and 41st overall.