ahhhhh….yes…..an actual Triathlon!!! It’s been ages!! I haven’t raced since August 2017 to be (semi) exact. Why not? well…Irma cancelled 2 races outright, I didn’t evacuate with my bike so was nowhere near ready for a 3rd and then the 4th was cancelled as the race was about to start due to some crazy weather rolling in. Needless to say, I have missed me some racing! Was about to take to the streets with an old medal and just start asking random strangers to put it around my neck. Needless to say, I was excited to race the Egg Hunt!

Glad Kelly Jane realized here kit was on backwards before we got to the start!! 🙂

I was a little nervous about the race. I wasn’t exactly feeling in tippy toppy shape. Also, this was my first Multirace event as a Multirace Ambassador. Multirace. (I’m not sure how many times I’m contractually obligated to say Multirace. har har. Multirace). I wanted to make a good impression and not embarrass them in their selection of moi. But I was racing no matter what!

Race day was coolish (for South Florida). Luckily it was a Duathlon and Sprint so we didn’t have to wait around for 6 hours after transition closed to start the race. And at only around 225 racers, it was a nice small crowd with a quick start. It was billed as a good thing that it was a lake swim. Here’s the thing. I HATE swimming in lakes!! For some of the following reasons:

1. I can’t see the bottom. So obviously the snakes will get me.
2. you have to wade through the soggy grass to get in. Probably disturbing the snakes.
3. there is no salt water for buoyancy. And if you’re someone that say, ate there way through a hurricane evacuation and never stopped so your wetsuit doesn’t fit, u gonna sink.
4. snakes
5. Given that most people fear the ocean, there will likely be fewer panicking people for me to pass (and I may be one of the panicking people)
6. snakes. Ok. I realize that is a silly fear. it’s bred from summer camp when we swam in a lake where there was a too healthy population of water moccasins (snakes). Most people at the start were worried about gators. I was like “sweet, they’ll eat the snakes”
7. there is no 7. I can’t figure out how to not automatically continue this list when I hit the return key. son of a

there we go! Where was I? oh yeah, at the start where I was realizing that THIS SWIM WAS LONGER THAN THEY SAID!!! MAN! I hate that. I know it was only a 440 yard swim and I certainly can swim a mile (in just a shade under an entire day. i kid. sort of), it’s just argh, I hate it when it’s clearly longer. Like I don’t have enough to worry about with the sinking and avoiding the snake eating gators.

What? I’m not last???? Is there a snake behind me?

I was definitely a little freaked out during that swim. I kept waiting for something to grab me. I should’ve taken the gillyweed and grown some gills. Halfway through I just calmed down and enjoyed my glimpses of the sunrise (except for when I got all tangled up in the buoy line. boy did they put that anchor on the wrong side judging from all the people that got clotheslined). 10 hours later  In no time at all, with all the grace of a drunken sumo wrestler on sand, I exited the water.

Off to T1, no major hiccups there except for the fact that I am NEVER a picture of grace running (ok, lurching) into T1. I see you. I see you athletes loping like gazelles out of the water. I see you and I don’t like you. There, I said it!

It was time for the pancake flat bike course! time to fly! Like a twin engine prop plane encountering turbulence, I headed out onto the bike course. And it was flat! What a blessed relief to do a race in South Florida and not have to climb bridges that are built tall enough for a cruise ship to go under! I don’t know why I wasn’t faster.

so happy before the spill. and not at all aero

I really did push it. Especially since I have finally mastered the art of pedaling while drinking Rocket Fuel (BASE performance, here’s your mention!). Yes, you read that correctly. For the past 5 years or so I have been completely unable to pedal and drink water at the same time. But I’m good now! (insert triumphant Breaking Away montage here). Though I wasn’t getting the speed I thought I would, I was at a pretty good clip when I came around the corner and the “dismount here” sign snuck up on me. Another athlete got surprised too and we both came in a little hot. I unclipped one side as I usually do then swerved to avoid him and yup, down I went while still clipped in on the other side. Crashing in the dismount area is enough embarrassment but thankfully, there were plenty of people to witness it! thank goodness!! The bike is ok! (I know you were wondering. New saddle, new bar tape). When I fell I twisted so the bike wouldn’t really hit the ground. Cheaper to fix a broken bone than my bike?  I was pretty much ok. some road rash on my left leg and the next day would realize that the pain in my back was bruised ribs.

dammit! not done yet! my boo boo hurts

Being super mature, I headed into T2 all kinds of crazy, irrational mad. I did not want to continue. Racing was stupid. I saw my friend KJ while I racked my poor bike. She was done! what? I suck. I’m so slow. I’m bleeding and embarrassed. She encouraged me to go on so I did. It was a two loop run. I told myself I’d just do the first loop and then quit. We all know that once you go, you go. I just plugged along, ignoring the sharp pain in my leg every time I ran. I did not run as much as I wanted to, but I ran more than I thought I would after the (low speed) crash. I only wanted to quit like 5 or 6 times on that first loop, lol.

Slightly (understatement) mortifying moment when I neared the finish after the first loop and everyone was like “YEAH! YOU DID IT!” and I was like “no! one more loop!” and then they awkwardly clapped. But around again I went. It was a really pretty course. Not shaded (you’re a liar, Kaspar!), but I’m pretty used to the heat.

YAAAY!

And finally, finally, finally, there it was. The glorious finish chute. There really isn’t anything like coming down that chute. And I was done. My first race in months and I only embarrassed myself a little. I knew that if I finished, I was on the podium. There were only 3 in my Athena group. Some (a certain Pathetic group) would say that my 3rd place means nothing. But it meant a TON to me! And I can’t wait to race again!! Thanks for joining me Kelly Jane!!

yaaay!! 3rd place!