Hold onto your pants, Again.

I've included some sound effects today. You may need to click the play button twice if it doesn't play the first time.

Imagine, if you will, running on hot pavement in the desert in July with hearing several of these screaming in your ear:

Annoying, huh? Has your significant other screamed, "What the hell is that noise?" yet?

It's actually shriller and more annoying in person. Yay!

Today was the annual "Bottomless Triathlon" near Roswell, NM. It's a teeny weeny sprint (400m/14K/4K) that is suprisingly hard work, given that it's in the upper nineties here in the desert. Not all that surprising. Just unwelcome.

No, we weren't bottomless. And, yes, that Roswell. And, OH, it was the 60th anniversary of the alien spaceship crashlanding this weekend and BOY, there's nothin better than freaks on the weekend!

Here's an itinerary from the local UFO museum, including the times of symposiums and lectures, about alien abductions, sightings, and the like. (Lime green, by the way, is the preferred color if one is to feel at home during the annual Roswell Experience. )

ANYWAY, here's last year's race report on this triathlon... This year, several comments:

1. Despite advertising a free pasta meal , they didn't. I mean, can they do that? I give you exhibit A, a screen shot from the race website -->

Surely, someone out there in blogger land can sue on my behalf. Taking away a girl's food. It AIN'T RIGHT!

2. Luckily, just like last year, the director decided to have us go off at 8:30 (young men) and 8:45 (everyone else, including "athenas and the women") Because if you're expecting a high of 100 degrees, you want to start as late as possible.

3. The lake was as salty as I remembered, but oh, so clear. I swam my guts out, and then decided I would strip my wetsuit before T1. I had decided to go sockless, and my feet to be able to dry off during the run. Swim time: 11:13, just a bit slower than last year.

4. The bike was much bumpier than I remembered it. And kinda hilly. But it was short. at just under 9 mile in length, my time was 0:33:47, almost 3 minutes faster than last year, including my T1 time.

5. The run was just as hot as I remembered, with heat radiating off the pavement and insects screaming so loudly that I was disoriented. I'm talking the kinda hot where it feels like someone is aiming an infrared heater on your FACE. The 1.25 mile (2K) run to the turnouround point seems 8 miles long. Everyone running toward you looks kind of pained, desperate, shiny and wet. But, ooo, there was ice water at the 2 aid stations on the run. 2 aid stations. You hit aid stations a total of 3 times, and boy, cold water never felt so good...my run time was 30:59, a little over a minute faster than last year, and included my T2 time.

I was trying to stay ahead of ShyTriGirl. Ever try to stay ahead of a particular person? It's exhausting. You want to turn around but you don't dare, and your paranoia kicks in and--and--oh, is that HER? behind me? are those her footsteps? Is that her shifter i hear? I want to stop running--I need to just walk for a minute, but--crap! what if she's RIGHT BEHIND ME, waiting to MAKE HER MOVE?

I tell ya, I'm exhausted by my own thoughts some times.

Cody came out and ran the last quarter mile or so in with me, which was encouraging because, although I'm [obviously] not the littlest Outlaw I am by far the slowest one most of the time.

Many of the Outlaws got some hardware today. One of them was mine. Sweet Baboo got first Clydesdale. Everyone else is going to have do their own report! (I'm talking to SW TriGal, Cody, and Pirate, and ShyTriGirl; did I leave anyone out?) I beat my time last year by about 40 seconds. I'll know for sure when they post the splits. I did this one blind again - no watch, nothing but me. I'm starting to like that. My time was 1:15:59 total.

As for nutrition, I had a gel just as I jumped on the bike (GU Latte flavor, w/caffein) since I forgot to take it in the swim, and some GU sports drink (mango tango) during the hour before the race. I also took some GU sports drink in a bottle with me on the run.

Tune in tomorrow when, during my long run, I scream, "Will somebody please turn on the damned air conditioner?!?

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