Swim, Bike

(I am adding info to this weeks later!) Here are some photos of the race. The first photo is the training that I did earlier in the week, where the current swept me away and Ali, who was watching to make sure I didn't drown, went berserk thinking I was drowning. She was scream, yelling and swearing at me until I got out of the water! She can be brought to tears weeks later by just mentioning it and made me work out a signalling system in case there was ever distress again!

The day of the race was kinda like a dream fueled on pure adrenaline! I ran to T1 at about 6:30 and took my time setting up and sharing my bike pump and stuff. Then I got to go back to the house and just chill, and about a half hour before start, I leisurely walked over (less than a block away!) with Ali for swim start. It was fun being able to hang with the kiddos and eat and rest and just be still. We could also see the swimmers from the Full Ironman distance from our deck!

Swim start was exhilarating! There were over 450 people, and four waves. It was chilly, and people were all different levels of nerves. One poor girl had obviously just been bawling her eyes out. I was jabbery (big surprise) and excited. After all the blah-blah, they started up the music and it was Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and it was absolutely perfect for the feeling of the race! (so that explains my new ringback tone...) The Swim was much easier than expected because the current worked with you, and helped you bob along. and yes, there were two jellyfish bobbing with me at one point! The thing that frustrated me and made my time slower was sighting- instead of swimming a straight line, I zig-zagged and that costs you.

Finally an emergency boat told me specifically to go toward the middle so the current would help me more. The water was cold, but iIdidn't think about it much until I got out and three women in front of me crumpled. They were wrapped in reflective blankets and walked around to get over the hypothermia! We had help whipping off our wetsuits, and then we had a quarter mile run to transition. Ali was there screaming her head off and taking pictures! it was great to see her, but I wanted to get on that bike!

However, I am not totally thrilled with this picture because I look like a dog with a fire hydrant! 56 miles of smooth sailing! the two drawbridges were strange to go over, but there were very few hills, and YES there were at least three sets of hunters, and two packs of dogs!!! I was very annoyed that I ran over and shredded a water bootle that I HOPE someone dropped on accident, and my personal favorite, someone dropped their hand tire pump that I just flew over. my average speed was 18 miles an hour for the most part and up to 24 at times. I was eating gels, bars and cubes like crazy and lots of water and Heed! Getting off of the bike was strange because someone grabbed my bike, someone grabbed my helmet and they escorted me to the T2!