Another Triathlon

The Camp Pendleton Triathlon was Saturday the 8th. It is over and I am glad. I think Damon is too. It has been a hard one to train for. I blame summertime on that one.

We were in the car backing out when Damon asked me if I had everything. I answered yes. He started running through a checklist and got to helmet and I stopped and looked. No helmet. So we opened the garage and I had to run in and get it. What would I do without Damon? Even though he doesn't do the races he is just as much a part of them. I think he stresses more about them than I do. He laughed at me bringing balloons to mark where my bike was in the transition area and 10 people wished me happy birthday, but I tell you it was the easiest time I have had finding my spot.

The race started at 8am, but my leg didn't leave until 8:50am. My sister and I had a lot of time to kill. The waves were relatively peaceful which made my heart happy. They were so brutal last year. When it was our turn to go I told my sister I would see her on the flip side and we were off. After awhile in the water and realized, along with the group I was swimming with missed on where the buoy marker was. We had to swim diagonally to get back on track. The horizontal swim wasn't bad at all. The water was really calm. On the way back into the shore there was a bit of an undertow so the wave would push you forward and the undertow would pull you back. I was starting to get really frustrated, but then I caught this huge wave which carried me halfway back. It hit my hard and I ended up getting a cramp in my leg and my back. It hit the girl behind me too and she was a bit shaken up as well. Luckily it dropped us off where we could stand and we ran back into shore.

The bike was so much easier than last year. I attribute that to better equipment as well as a good spin instructor. The whole time I was out on the road (well, other than the time I spent praying that I wouldn't get a flat tire), I had my spin instructors voice in my head yelling, "You control the bike. Not the other way around", "Push through your heel", and "Let's go. INCREASE". That's her favorite. Interesting things I saw on the bike trail... a smashed rabbit. A partly run over raccoon, where you could see the guts hanging out and a lot of big nails. I prayed those wouldn't find there way into my tires.

The run was easy except for the cramp in my left calf. By this point you have to push through it and finish. When I started the run my brother in law and Damon were sitting by the side cheering for me. That was nice. I ran without socks for the first time and by the time I finished had huge blisters on my tendons. There was blood in my shoes. It's a good think I didn't notice before I finished. It was nice having a group cheering for me when I finished. I wish they had been there in the middle of the run. My goal this race was 2 hours and I did it in 2 hours, 1 minute and 11 seconds. Maybe next year I will get it. I finished 13th in my age group and placed 687 out of 1000 people, even though the race sold out at about 1200.It was a good race and I feel good about it. The best part was indulging in the not so healthy food that I ate right afterwards. After a race though, who can feel bad about eating an ultimate cheeseburger, with curly fries and a coke from Jack in the Box. Yum!! (but I could never justify eating that without burning a zillion calories before hand.) No pictures of that though. Nobody wants to see that.