183 Days after femoral neck fracture (fancy talk for a broken leg) I completed 2/3 of a triathlon. It wasn’t the prettiest thing on earth but I did it. For some unknown reason I tend to go about things the hard way & having to recover from a broken leg to race a triathlon is not all that shocking.
I’m not going to recap the last six month but rather just focus on the race. Harmony & signed up for the Black Diamond Olympic distance triathlon as a relay team. This means I was responsible for the swim & bike while Harmony would knock out the run.
The race was definitely two things, first it was a blast, second it was very educational…I learned a ton!
Packing up the night before the race was easy, I just took everything. If it was nylon, dry fit, neoprene or yes…spandex I threw it in the bag. Checked the bike to make sure it had two wheel, a seat & breaks.
Karen came over for the traditional carb-load dinner & we added a new pasta selection to the mix…Dark Chocolate.
We got out to the State Park nice & early on race morning. For the most part no real stress or butterflies. I got my transition area set up then settled into my wet suit. The pre reace meeting was about 30 minutes before my wave start time, I have never had to pee so bad waiting for my swim start. I have to do something about this pre-race over hydration.
Plain and simple the swim kicked my ass, no other way to say it. The first three minutes went well then my left leg calf cramped up. About half way through my right leg joined cramp-fest 07. Looking back the only real “fun” part of the swim was the pre race anticipation.
Getting into T1 I was not as quick or sharp as I thought I would be. I stripped off the wet suit, threw on some bike shoes then headed out. To be honest I wasn’t 100% sure I was even heading out the right way with my bike. Due to such a lame swim I had plenty of people to pass on the bike. Being on the bike during a race felt totally different than training. Different in the way that I felt like I could puke the majority of the 25 miles. My average on the bike was a little under my goal but I was happy with how it went.
T2 was a snap, Harmony & I pounded fists & she was off and running. I was beat after the swim & bike. Harmony blazed through the run course even though it turned out to be some challenging trails. (Big rocks)
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Now to the educational part, I learned a ton about training. This winter I just may grow fins from time in the water. Even in a short race it felt like my nutrition was way off. I need to get that figured out during training & get my body used to it.
I think this may sum up how I felt about the race…There are two more races next month, who wants to run for me?!?!
Dumb Focus 