The club race was first on the agenda. Usually I treat it as a social event followed by breakfast. The race just being a venue to burn some calories and eat breakfast free from guilt. Typically I spend the time prior to "club races" chatting and reconnecting with people I haven't seen in a while. Then when the race starts I am not warmed up at all and my body feels like it is going into shock. This time I mixed business and pleasure and warmed up with Julie and Beth. We were fashionably late getting done with our warm up jog but that meant we were still warm when we hit the water. I would have had a slower swim had Julie not keyed me into the best line to the first buoy. It's good to have friends in high places. I lined up a couple rows behind her. She is a fish and I knew I couldn't hold her draft. I decided to be positive and attempt to hold I her draft 3 time removed. I soon found myself on top of the body in front of me as if I was attempting to get a piggy back ride. After that it was a kick to the left side of my goggles which made me think they might fall off. This was followed by a kick square in the right eye which suction cupped my goggles on very tight. So tight, I wondered if I may have to wear my swim goggle on the bike. By the third buoy things had thinned out. I was my only enemy, zig zagging back and forth.
I'm pretty positive about sport and racing in general I love it. I'm not going to lie. That 800M swim felt long. I felt spent and I was sputtering. I wanted to walk to my bike, catch my breath, then ride at a leisurely pace, building my speed over the next hour. However, the bike ride was too short. There was no time for that so off I went. 5X 2.5 mile laps around the island didn't leave any place to hide. If I didn't get moving I might get lapped by one or more of those damn boys. They might post it on facebook saying something like "I lap girls on pink bikes". It was windy and my legs burned for the first few laps. I tried to hold the burn knowing that for a 13 mile ride feeling the burn is not sufficient. Sufficient in a sprint is managing feeling the urge to hurl. A really good job is actually puking. One guy lapped me. His name was on his butt. I think if my name was on my butt I would swim, bike,and run faster. Social pressure. After that it was time to run. I tried to step it up a bit. Everything felt fine but I needed to make it hurt. After the first lap my friend Brian yelled to me. "Jenny, your 30 seconds back from Beth and closing in". I about fell over with laughter as that would have meant I was running sub 6 minute miles. I know you can't achieve what you don't believe but the thought of me running sub 6, yeah right. I smiled and gave the peace sign and a thumbs up sign. For about 10 seconds I entertained the thought that it was true. I had no idea how fast I was running because my watch did this again.
.
Shout out to Garmin....Garmin, Garmin Company .
Can you hear me? Anybody listening?
My watch keeps breaking just when I need it the most.
Anyway I kept running. Trying to push up my pace a bit. I used magic Harry Potter powers to beam myself up a few places. I would just lock my gaze on the runners stride in front of me and soon I would be ahead. A few guys passed me. I managed to finish in third behind Tati and Beth. I'm happy with that. I know I will always want to be faster than I am but I know I don't always make the choices in training or life to become faster than I currently am. ( Cookies, beer, and burgers my friends) After that we had the famous Tri Club breakfast and hit the road for a 3 hour ish ride. So basically it was a hammer fest followed by a yammer fest.
We met Julie's husband John on the coast. As always, Jon managed to maintain chivalry while riding circles around us.
Beth and Tatiana always look cute. The type of girls who just get fashion, whether it be racing or at Starbucks in Del Mar. Beth uses the point of her aero helmet to show us her favorite type of tea. She only knocked over a couple of dispalys. Tatiana uses her sleek one piece tri suit and retro Oakley blades to reduce the drag coefficiency while waiting in line.
After that it was some post ride recovery food and catch up time with Stacy.
Sunday morning after Tim got off work, we boarded the Idyllwild Express.
To my surprise and delight "The Idyllwild Express" was even decorated for the party.
There were "Weekenders" at Idyllwild.
This may or may not be "The Weekender"
It was cold and windy when we left San Diego but down right frigid and actually snowing upon arrival to Idyllwild. I was accused of ordering up the snow special for my birthday. I didn't actually think of ordering up the snow, I'm too blond to think that far ahead. However, riding in the snow with dark ominous clouds in the distance was very eerie and cool. A whole new experience.
By the end of the day I was tired. Usually after mountain biking I ride around in the grass and practice "my skills" bunny hopping, track stands, and the infamous wheelie. I don't know if calling them my skills is a true statement but I could write a whole blog on the wheelie. This time after the ride there was only one thing I wanted to do. Collapse. Somebody stuck a fork in me.
The End. (Literally)
2 comments:
Snow on your birthday and we even found Marie!
snow on your birthday and we even found Marie!
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