First off, let me say I am behind in posting and life in general...so please forgive. I have raced several Triathalons this year, with a few to go. Escape from Alcatraz however has to be the hardest... one for the actual race the other, for it's location cross country.
Conditions: Awesome
Swim:
So much harder from last year..not sure why could be the amount of Kelp or how I stayed in the center of the field. Either way I repeated my time from last year give and take a few minutes. Problem was it took it out of me for the rest of the race..this is a problem because the swim is my safe place.
Bike:
This is insane in every way!!! I trained more for the bike this year..it didn't matter the hills crushed my spirit to the point I looked forward to the run.
Run:
I trained as much as I could on the run and it paid off. I felt awesome I kept a 8min pace with one problem: bottle necking. If you ever get the pleasure in running this race you will know what I mean when I say..it is impossible to race in the run. Unless you cheat and bush wack or skip the 5 foot high tunnel, and can pass on loose sand. At one point we almost came to a stop from people running on the wrong side of the 12inch path. I know it sounds lame but it calls for massive sprints and a dodge and a weave. I love this part.
Result:
I bested my time by 15 minutes. Hilarious.
Still loved it. I do pretty well for really never having enough training under my belt. I know i can do so much better, and yes I will sign up again.
I was certain Brent, was going to get in last minute and I would not be racing alone. He did make it to California the same weekend however to checkout a practice in San Diego. I thought about the prospect of moving to California my whole race....slightly, distracting.
The best part, had to be my parents flying out to see me race, I even found my mom in the crowd after the swim to give her a kiss. It was fun being the only child for a second and without my own kids. Love them.
Returning to Memphis the day of the race had to be the cherry on the cake. I took the red eye of course and found my seat at 12:00 am to sleep, when over the PA they anounce there is no water flow on the plane therefor we all must get off! Kill me! I even said out loud, "Everyone can hold it for a few hours fly the darn plane!" I was over ruled.
We didn't get another plane until 3:00am, then landed in Chicago where their were no connections till that evening.
I raced a crazy race, I had not slept, my body hurt, people were yelling, No one was available to watch my kids an additional day, and I was helpless.
Conclusion:
Slept in a corner of the airport, felt a little more normal, My kids teacher from school took mercy on us and watched the kids another day, I made it from San Francisco to Memphis..it only took 400 hours. And yes, it was worth it in the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment