Race Report (finally)

Last week was a week of travel...travel equals little time, fatigue and blogless days. Had a 2 day trip to Arkansas, home and then right back out to Show Low, AZ for the Deuces Wild Tri, an Olympic distance and my first race of the year.

I drove down with Craig...which was awesome...some great master/student time, some good conversation, tons of snacks and books on tape.

A few hour into the trip the Howie van burned out a spark plug wire, delaying us for a few hours in the sex change capital of the universe...Trinidad, CO...strange town, weird vibe...we were hoping to get outta Dodge before sundown when the tranny zombies roam the streets in search of whatever it is tranny zombies are after. Thankfully, we didn't get to experience that.

Long story short, we pulled in really late and crashed shortly thereafter...about 720 miles and 12 hours on the road...give or take.

Friday, we spent about an hour going thru transition before we headed to the lake for a quick swim. After the swim we drove the course, got off course, back tracked and registered. The Arizona high country sure is pretty, and hot and windy. Jen thru down in the kitchen, as is often the case, and cooked the team an incredible carbo-loaded pre-race meal. Then off to bed.

The plan for race day was to go out front, and go hard on the swim...which I did...until I was pummelled into submission. There was a point, a very short point in time, where I wanted out of the water. I had to stop, regroup, breath...and let my heart rate drop out of z5. Once I settled in, I began to find a groove and everything was cool.

T1 smooth.

On to the ride...the course was beautiful; rolling hills with one long climb about half way thru. It was a little harder to breathe at 6,500 ft. Averaged 19.7 mph on the ride, which was OK with me.

T2 smooth.

Off and running...the first mile was a rough, rocky trail...semi Xterra-ish, so slower than normal going, which may have been a blessing...I was almost able to catch my breath. Miles 2 - 6 were almost all on rolling trails. It really started heating up as well...94 degrees was the high. PR'd, finished 11 minutes faster than my best Olympic time. 13th in my age group, 87th overall. The team all did great on the day...Craig took second overall, Thea 3rd overall female, Amy 3rd in her age group.

The ride home was long, but highlights included "Call of the Wild" on audio book (highly recommended) and Micky D's and Pizza Hut all in one day and Grabel , little man Howie's antics.

Great trip. 18 days until CDA...