St. Patricks Day Freeze, I mean triathlon

What to say about this race....

I have pondered what to say about this race and decided to be honest (novel idea, I know). The fact that the weather hovered around the 38 degree mark and a steady drizzle fell, deepening the puddles that already blotted the streets is about all that needs to be said. But I will complain a little more for your enjoyment.

I swam in a nice warm pool in a nice warm building; that was great. I exited the pool and ran out the door, soaking wet, in a bikini; not so great. I took 3 minutes (an eternity in a sprint tri) to put on bike shorts, knee socks (wanted to be festive!), a sweat shirt, skull cap and gloves. My heart rate was high enough from the swim that the cold did not really strike me until I was down the street a ways on the bike. And then did it strike! No toes, no nose, mist in the eyes, nerves on edge riding 20 mph on wet streets. One good thing...I did feel stronger riding than last season. Pete has had me on the bike all winter and I do feel like I have improved. Anyway, back to complaining...

I finished the bike and went into transition 2 to get ready for the run. The numb in my toes had travelled half way up to my knees and when I tried to run I kept kicking myself in the back of the leg. The fact that I have not been running at all did not help, either, so that made for a L-O-N-G run. The whole time I was running I was telling myself that I would not tell anyone how completely miserable I was; racing is my hobby and it is ALWAYS fun! But I can't lie. This one was not. The weather along with the fact that I was not prepared made for a survival race and that is not my style.

I walked away with two lessons learned. #1: I do not like to be cold therefore I should not race in the spring! #2: If I am going to race then I need to train. No more racing a race that I am not ready for.

All that said, here are some pictures of the day I will never forget.

On the 5k run there was 1 aid station that you pass by twice. As I neared it I heard someone cheering my name and realized that my girls were the volunteers handing out water to the racers! That was neat. When I finished I noticed that all of my family was at the finish line, which is 1 1/2 miles from the aid station where my kids were. None of them even knew that the girls were out there volunteering. Soren and Reese took it upon themselves to walk out to the station and ask if they could help. I promptly let Pete know that I was not going back out there to get them because I was headed inside to the warm showers. Pete got a small run in, too :)