the hunted

it's like christmas morning...

finally, my 2013 triathlon race season started this past sunday.  i had been looking forward to this race for a few reasons:

1. last year it was my first ever triathlon, and as you know, you never forget your first ;)

2. i am 10x's better than i was last year and wanted to show my coach (she puts on the race) how well i've been doing

3. when i broke my jaw and teeth on may 4th, i figured there would be no way i would be able to race. however, thanks to my dr.'s and oral surgeon, i'm cleared to race, so here we go....

earlier in the week, my coach told me that there were going to be a few fast swimmers racing.  i consider myself to be pretty quick, but when the shot rang out, i think one guy was attached to a boat motor.  i was shocked, but soon calmed down and followed.  it was crystal clear out and the sun made it almost impossible to see the turn-around buoy.  however, i could see the 'motor boat' in front of me, so i used him to sight.

was second out of the water... 7:47 :)

as i made my way to transition, my fiance greeted me and told me that i was second and needed to hurry up.  i asked her how much further ahead was the 'motor boat' and 'damn, he's fast as "crap".  to my surprise, he was still taking off his wetsuit.  he had me by 45 seconds, what is he still doing here?  

 removing my wetsuit quickly, which i didn't know was one of my talents

jim aka "motor boat" couldn't believe that i was out of my swim gear and on the bike in seconds.  to me, this is a race and i'm trying to win, let's talk about this later... out of the water 2nd, onto the bike in 1st.

sexy flo cycling wheelset, huh?

the race is in wayne hills, nj.  the course circles a lake.  there are tight turns, some hills, some downhills, an overall challenging but fun course.  as i started out on the bike, i remembered that jim won this race last year.  he looks like a runner, tall and lean, so i determined that i needed to get a decent lead coming off the bike.  

but as i peddled away from transition, i had this strange revelation... 'i'm leading this race, i'm being hunted'.  have never been in this situation before.  it felt great and scary at the same time.  normally, i'm the hunter, picking off competitors one by one.  plus, my age group always seems to start in one of the last swim waves (25-29), so it's always a chase for me, never a lead.  but here i am, setting the pace and trying to build my lead.  i tried not to think anymore about it and put my head down and just kept peddling.

coming into transition, i was told i had a minute lead on jim.  my fiance told me i needed to win so we could pay for the wedding?!?  however, this race doesn't have a prize purse, but it was encouraging.  i made my way onto the running course, and started to feel water-logged.  it's a sprint distance and normally, i don't need anything.  i took a few sips on the bike, but not enough to feel like i drank a gallon of water.  this feeling stayed with me until the last mile :(  jim caught up to me about halfway into it.  i was sad to hear his footsteps behind me.  we chatted for a bit, but i couldn't keep his pace.

i kept motoring on and made the final turn towards the finish line.  i thought about looking behind me to see if anyone was coming, but it's a quiet neighborhood, i didn't hear anything, and i hate looking back.  i want to stay focused on what's in front of me, never behind.... kind of a life mantra for me, but if i happened to look this time, i would have noticed a speedy runner behind me.  he must have been wearing sound proofing shoes or something.  

therefore, i ended up taking 3rd overall with a time of 54:38.  i am happy with the result, but not satisfied.  i can and will do better...

by the way, the silent yet speedy runner who took 2nd was rocking newtons.  so was the first woman finisher and yours truly.  hat's off to you, newton running shoes!