I am an Elephant Man - or something like that :)

(I'll try to edit this later and add links to fellow bloggers. Sorry, I can never remember how to do that and want to get this posted)

Pre-race

Got a call from GeekGirl on Saturday afternoon. She was on the bike course following S.Baboo and gave me the low down. In summary, I should expect it to be hilly, bumpy, & scenic.

My friend & I left at about 2:30pm and drove through a storm. It quite windy when we arrived. We drove the bike course and I knew that this was going to be a challenge. I had little sinking feeling in my stomach and started feeling quite anxious about how the next morning would unfold.

We attended the pre-race meeting and the athlete's dinner, which was pretty good.

SWTriGal walked over to the car with us to admire my new steed (photo is of friend taking bike off car).

We called it an early night and slept well as per the plan.

We arrived plenty early in transition and got set up near the bike out. During the pre-race meeting, I was surprised by the Most-Wonderful-and-Supportive husband who had awakened at some rediculous hour to drive down alone so that he could be there to support me before and after the swim. I am SO BLESSED; I cannot tell you how much that meant to me.

They concluded the pre-race meeting with a blessing from a local Pastor and the National Anthem. I thought that was a nice touch.

The Swim

The swim was basically in the shape of a triangle. They started the race in two waves - men under 50, then everyone else. They started our wave when the men had cleared the second bouy. I counted to 10 and started swimming. This time, my swim was MUCH better, in that I didn't panic and need to flip on my back or anything. However, I did manage to swim terribly off course in the middle and probably added and extra two tenths of a mile, so my swim time wasn't so good. Despite this, my goal for the swim was simply to swim 'well' and not panic, and in my mind I accomplished this. Next time, I'll add 'stay on course' to my plan!!

T1

I'm not sure where T1 officially started and the swim ended, but the run from the water to T1 was very long and uphill. I had placed my sandals near the water so I didn't have to trudge all that way barefoot. That was a good move. Husband was there to cheer me on. That really lifted my spirits. He made a point to let me know that he would be heading home and told me to have fun. I still can't believe he drove 2.5hrs each way just to stay for an hour or so. He SO ROCKS!! Other than that, T1 was pretty uneventful. My wetsuit came off easier than it did at Buffman Squeaky and I was happy about that.

The Bike

The bike was challenging, very challenging. But I must say that there were portions that were just absolutely BEAUTIFUL. As much as I was struggling, I couldn't help but enjoy it because of the scenery. At one point, I even caught myself singing out loud.

Cindy yelled "We're doing great" or something like that as she passed me at mile 6. I didn't see very many other cyclists out there, maybe three. It was a bit lonely.

They had bottle exchanges at miles 10 and 20. I picked up some water at mile 10.

I leap frogged with one woman who was having trouble with her wheel. She ended up getting a flat near the end and walked her bike into T2 (bummer!!).

T2

It was a little disheartening to see people packing up to leave while I entered transition, but T2 seemed to go smoothly. I was very happy to be off my bike and start the run. I remembered to WoooHooo as per the plan. ;)

The Run

I started off happy to be running, and this quickly faded. The run course was difficult, more so than I expected and had trained for. It was hilly and hot. At my last Oly, I ran the whole thing. This time, I walked quite a bit. The first .8 miles was a bit of a trail run including a fairly steep uphill portion in sand!! :(

On my second mile, I saw SWTriGal and my friend, both looking strong out there. On the second Dam, I saw Cindy. We cheered and hooted for each other. That was a bright spot for me. :)

GeekGirl and her fellow Outlaws were manning the water station at the run turn point. Their station rocked and was by far the best out there. They even won a trophy for it. In addition to having water/gatorade, I was fully hosed down with a power squirt gun, a few folks dumped water on me per my request, and I was offered Gu (I refused, having just had one a half mile earlier).

With about a mile and half left, I really ran out of steam and two runners passed me including the lady who had walked her bike in with a flat.

After what seemed like an eternity, the finish line was finally within earshot. I crossed the line waving my arms in the air like a crazy woman.

Post Race

My friend got a massage while waiting for me to finish. I was hungry and took advantage of the food that they had out. All of my friends placed in their respective divisions. I loved cheering for them. The RD made a point to stop the awards when the final finisher was crossing the line so we could all cheer for her. That rocked.

I wish they had a slow-n-steady division (awards for the final three finishers in reverse order, wouldn't that be cool??). I wouldn't placed in that either, because I think I was fourth from last overall.

Afterthoughts

This was a first time event and a really well done race. The volunteers were awesome. I tried to thank everyone one of them when I passed them on the course. The RD did a great job; I'm planning to send her a note of thanks. The officials rocked and kept the course safe. My Totally-Awesome-Most-Wonderful Husband came down to watch me swim, which was incredible beyond words. The water was comfortable. The bike course was absolutely beautiful (albeit very challenging). The run wasn't so much fun for me, but we did get the unique opportunity to run across the Dam which has been closed to the public since 9/11. The only downside (and this is very minor) is that the shirts are plain white with black ink.

All-in-all, I'm glad I put this one on my calendar. It was a nice ending to my 2007 Tri season.