We arrived a bit past 9PM and got Junior situated in his travel bed. It looks like an inflatable boat and raft combination. He slept well in it. We all shared a bedroom and our bed was super duper soft and small, so Bri and I were not quite as comfortable but we made it work. The house is just across the street from the beach. I would like to buy it, but alas, we do not have beach house dollars, or much time to go to the beach, at the present moment. Blah de blah.
Got to bed around 11 and up at 515 to chug coffee and clean out the pipes. Rode easy to the race site with one of my athletes and got my packet by 6AM. She forgot her ID and had to make a mad dash back to the house to get it, but got back on time and everything. I set up my transition area and said hello to other peoples I knew. It was dark. And a little chilly. But not freezing. Like lukewarm cold soup. So it was all good. I ate a PBJ for breakfast. I drank water and had coffee in one of my water bottles. Then I had a half a banana. The other half is still in my transition bag, growing mold and smelling rather banana-y. Speaking of bananas, have you heard the Banana song? Singing this song is one of our family pastimes. The rest of the channel is pretty bizarre.
Pre-swim warm up.
I digress. The water. The people. The wetsuit. I swim. I swam through the channel with my buds. They're not really my buds but for a moment we are all together. Introspective life moments and confused ramblings about flowers ensue.
Getting psyched for the elite wave.
The transition run is long and I am not super duper lickity split there. But I don't totally suck either. We bike. People pass me and I cannot keep up with them, for they are more powerful at least on a watts to kilogram scale or perhaps more aerodynamic and equally powerful, and I am slightly less powerful or not as aerodynamic in this present iteration of myself. Yay, though I do forethwith enjoy the ride, but as the ride progresses I grow thusly tired. Wheels keep on turning and winds keep on blowing. Rah rah rah.
Transition to the run. The first elite woman was close behind.
The run begins. I spot my honey and my sonny awaiting me at the run exit. I get a high five and a smooch. Then we begin to run. We don't feel tremendous and do feel just basically tired, but we also don't feel terrible either neither. We hold even miles of about 7:00 or under pace. This is Our default no-intervals recently type of pace. People pass me. We curse them profoundly for being faster and/or in better shape than the me who races. Two more pass Us close to the end and they are the victims of hateful stares at the back of their backs. We finish. The race is over but Our journey to the next race begins. Just a few hundred more sunrises until then. We shall meet on the beach, rub the sand in our toenail fungus and pee in our wetsuits.
Post race stretching.
In the end, I finished 12th overall and 3rd in the master's division. This is not shabby and I'm pleased to not be shabby in my athletic dotage. Next up is time to refocus on some running - signed up for the Skinny Turkey half marathon on Thanksgiving and will do the Umstead Trail Marathon in March 2015.
Au revoir.
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