Early
bird does get the worm as I got an early start through gate 9 and
arrived at the race site by 5:15, avoiding congestion. I managed transition setup
and many trips to the bathroom before 6:00, and then it was off to warm up with a swim and
jog with friend, Angela Jo Harris, who was from South Carolina.
After
a wonderful introduction of athletes from Suzanne Erickson prior to the entrance
into the water for the swim, I calmly began my stroke, but it was relentless forward motion
in choppy waters. I kept my stroke easy, but on course, without losing sight of the first turn buoy. It was tough swimming against the current! After the second turn buoy, I was able to pulse
forward, weaving to avoid struggling swimmers. With elbows, punches
into my side, and kicks against my head, I managed to kept on course.
You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
My sighting has improved since 140.6 training camp. I
remember not long ago, I was one of those struggling swimmers. I swam
until I was scraping my knuckle on the boat ramp to exit with wonderful
volunteers tapping on my head saying "exit swim here".
Then, I was off to T1 in
a short dash.
Bike
leg was easy the first 10 minutes, then I picked up the pace as I had planned. A tiny headwind... okay... a LOT of headwind. I delivered a descent bike leg -- only 2
minutes slower than last yea,r with encouragement from many friends and
Fleetfeet Triathlon Racing teammates on the course. T2 was pretty quick for
me, then I was off to what it is I think is my favorite part of triathlons....the run.
The first
part of run on trails and shade was "ahhhhh..." nice! That's where teammate Josh Pierson photo bombed me. He had so much energy!
That nice shade feeling didn't last long, as I
entered the hot sun (though it was not as hot as last year) and attempted my first
water stop, with the new hydration water
bags. I tore it open with my teeth and ruptured the bag. I opted out of the
normal cups.
My finish
time 3:18:?? (2012 time was: 3:01:00. The swim was short then, this year's was long). I was 4th in my age
group with 2 minutes away from a podium spot. My time was the same on the run this year as last year. All-in-all, I thought that it was not too
bad, considering that it was only two weeks after my "A" race -- the World Championship in Canada.
The finish wasn't pretty....but a finish....
Brenda McGovern
Fleetfeet Triathlon Racing Team Member