July 18, 2009
Race Day
So I've got my race wheels on, Zipp's on the front and a Hed disc on the back. I've got my Orca high speed wetsuit, brand new goggles I am just set. I get out of the water and Brenda runs by me into T1. I hurry, don't put on socks and go 22 mph for most of the first half of the ride, go around the turn around and she is right there. I try to go faster but my legs deny me. I get in from the ride and rack my bike and seconds later there's Brenda. I hurry into my shoes and take off on the 3 mile run. I know she's back there but I don't want to look back and look scared. I hit the turn around and hear Brenda cheer someone on. She is less than 50 yards back. I try to run faster but I think my spleen was about to fall out. I struggle to push the pace a bit and with about a 1/2 mile to go someone grabs my butt. I'm pretty sure it's Brenda and it was. She tells me she just wanted to catch me. I thought but didn't say, "I want you to not catch me." I took off and was miserable...more miserable than I had been for the rest of the run and squeaked out a not terribly convincing victory. I was just over 1:31 and I would guess Brenda was just over 1:32. The CF training served me well and allowed me to survive the event, but if I want better performance, I need to do some more specific training. Oh, I think she was second in her age group. I got nothing.