I was ready for any excuse to avoid this race. I remembered it from 2007, and remembered that it was HARD. I hadn't done a multisport race since last August, and had just started running again about a month ago. Throughout the winter I mostly sat and hated my shins for not healing,
then hated my IT band. Then there was the thyroid thing and exhaustion. I woke up from my exhaustion two weeks ago to argue about whether I really needed this race.
Yesterday, we paid a guy to dig a hole. He hit a sprinkler line we didn't know was there. Water gushed. We called someone. Here it was, my excuse! Well, there, see, we can't go to Los Alamos now...don't we have to stay and keep and eye on this?
Sweet Baboo however, assured me the line was fixed. We were going to Los Alamos. and so we went. As is my custom when anxiety is high, I binged. My pre-race supper was 2 pieces of birthday cake (not mine), ice cream, 2 bags of chips, 2 candy bars, and some gatorade G2.
The morning of the race, I was the spouse from hell. I can't do this now; I didn't get enough sleep. I told you I need more sleep than this. Oh, hell, I didn't think it w
as going to be so windy. Dammit, I hate the wind. You know I can't race at altitude! What is it, 7000 feet up here? Christ, it's cold! I mean, really cold....Well, of course they screwed up my registration....OMG, I'm so not ready for this. I don't know why I'm doing this. I'm completely untrained. I've barely been on my bike in the past 6 months, and yesterday when I did that 1 mile jog I couldn't catch my breath. WTF was I thinking? This is going to suck. I mean, REALLY SUCK. I will be WALKING my bike up those hills. I'm so not r
eady for this! Why am I here? Why did I think I could do this?
then he stopped, took a deep breath, and his voice softened. It's not
going to be as bad as you think. It will be okay. Okay?
Okay.
My front tire was flat. Nobody could fix it, even the even bike mechanic,
who didn't have the right tools to inflate a HED3 wheel. Well, that's that! I said triumpantly. No bike, no duathlon. I finally had a viable excuse not to do this. Yay!
But, my "friend" Karen suggested a solution, and she and Baboo inflated the tire, and then she announced happily to me that I would be able to race, after all.
Yes, I said grimly. THANKS for that.
Karen laughed, knowing full well that I didn't want this, and knowing full well that I needed this.
I chewed my lip and waited for the start, and then...
and then...
well, it wasn't as hard as I remembered it. It wasn't as long as I remembered, or as hilly. I ran the first 4k with about a 11 minute pace. Then I spent 5 minutes in transition fiddling with my helmet, which for some mysterious reason was so tight that when I tried to put it on
, I choked and gagged. What the hell, had my head gotten fatter? I went to my car and dug around, emptying bags, looking for a tool to get the very tight buckle loosened. Finally, I got the helmet on, and then got onto the bike, and headed out.
and...amazingly, the bike wasn't as hard, either. It seemed really, really short, shorter than I remember. And not as hilly. Why had I been dreading this race? It sure was windy, though. Crap.
But even still, amazingly, I was only a couple minutes behind
my prevous time, even though I was far less trained an
d 15
pounds heavier. I took 1st Athena.
Oh, I was definitely at the back of the pack. But now, I feel a little more confident. I'm ready for the next race. Sweet Baboo, meanwhile, got first Clydesdale on the long course. The prizes were glasses inscribed with the name of the race, in blue for first place. We came home with a matched pair of them.
...
