Well if I am going to tell the story about how this small little race in Perham, MN went down, it is probably good to give you an idea of the days leading up to it.
After work on Wednesday night, at about 10:30 Blake and I drove up to the lake, which is about a three hour drive. Two a.m rolls around and we just pull into the driveway at the cabin. Had to make a pit stop at wally world for some essentials - muffins, pizza, coffee creamer, the usual. Our friend Vinnie was waiting there already, probably about to fall asleep. And since bedtime was so late, Thursday was going to be a boat day out on the lake, and that is exactly what it was (after my maiden voyage on the new wheels of course). Friday was a really windy day and that is not exactly what you want on race day, so I hoped today was just a single windy day. I swam around the point from my cabin to the resort on the other side. It almost felt too good, but that made no difference on Saturday. We all went for a little run afterwards and split up and went different distances, makes me happy to see friends running! The rest of the day was spent chilling and eating some spaghetti for supper.
 |
| The New and improved Eva! She got some new A+C wheels and boy do they look pretty. This was two days before - my first ride with the FLO setup. Can not believe the ride and the aesthetic. |
Saturday morning did come and it was windy, like really, really windy. The race did not start until 8:30 so we took our time and made some omelettes at 6 am. Out the door around 6:30. This is the third time I have competed at this race and it is fun every time to see the same people show up. Today was going to be interesting, not only because of managing the bike in the wind, but because I was doing this race in my Chubbies Speedo. American flag goodness with a bald eagle smack on the ass. Definitely was going to turn some heads!
 |
| Coming out of the water first! A First! |
The Swim- This race is relatively short for a sprint, an extremely fast 500 yards. The water was down this year, which was obviously a good thing for some people because I swear they water-trudged to at least the first turn buoy. I had a good feeling today that I was going to be swimming at the front because I have been working really hard on swimming, and racking up some serious yardage for IRONMAN. So with that feeling, I decided to start at the front with the good swimmers. That turned out to be a good idea because I was on one guys feet for about 250 yards before swimming over him when he turned in early thinking that was the last buoy. So from then on, I was going for it. Came out of the water and noticed nobody behind, on the side or in front of me. I was first out of the water! Next closest guy was 30 seconds back. What an amazing feeling. But until I am first to actually cross the finish line there is work to be done. My friends were not expecting me first out, so all three of us were surprised! T1 was very fluid and as I ran my bike down the dirt road, Vinnie ran next to me, yelling whatever came to his mind, I jumped on and went to work.
 |
| Repping Chubbies Shorts and America today. |
The Bike- 12 Miles of all outness. So the wind was going to be pushing us out and a major headwind coming back. Because I came out of transition first I had the road all to myself for a good 10 minutes before a stronger cyclist came past. Even getting passed was OK, because I had never been in the lead like that! By the end of the ride 3 more bikers passed me. The side wind was rough before we turned into the major headwind to come back. But I think my bike handled it pretty well, given I was like a sail out there. I ate my one Gel Coming back and I put my head down and did the Best I could to keep the cadence up. The speedo did not hold anything back, literally, and was not terribly uncomfortable.Back to the dirt road, I got off the bike and ran up to T2. I did not know we could ride up and down the road as it had been a rule not to in the past couple years, so I may have lost some time there. I forced myself to put socks on in transition because I got some crazy blisters from my last race without socks. Grab the visor and the race belt and we are off.
The Run- To say running in a Speedo is freeing is an understatement. Technically I wasn't all that much faster today than with the "normal" Tri shorts, but man, did I feel faster. The run here starts with a good half mile of going more up than down, which is a good way to kill the HR right away. Not long After that I heard a voice behind me saying "I like the view from back here", that got me laughing and I knew exactly who it was. Branden was coming up to pass and I told him how many were in front of him, wished him luck and away he went. He will have to teach me how to run faster, a lot faster.
 |
| The tan difference between my upper thighs and the rest of my body is laughable. |
I held my own throughout the 4 miles and there was a table set up where they had ice and cold paper towels. This reminded me so much of racing in the heat in Racine where this is commonplace at the aid stations. Taking a page from that playbook was an awesome idea by those volunteers. The last mile and a half were with a tailwind, if that's a thing in running, so the pace felt easier and faster. Back to where the finish is, my heart was ready to explode from uphills. At the end of the last 1000 meters was a welcoming party, Branden, being the awesome competitor he is, waited at the end and we congratulated on a good race all around. He finished 5th and I in 9th. One place better than last year and a bit faster too.
 |
| Crossing with a 1:09:41 and 9th place OA. |
This years race went really well and I am very pleased with my performance. It was not a win, but I am working toward that goal one step at a time and today, having the fastest swim by 30 seconds was a huge boost to my confidence and gives me a reason to keep putting yards in at the pool. It really does pay off. The new wheel setup on the bike will take some getting used to, but who doesn't love that roaring sound coming from the road?! Running is running and I know speed will come with miles and miles and miles of it. I also learned that a Speedo is a great alternative to Tri shorts and I will definitely be racing in it again. Another great weekend at the cabin with two awesome friends who came out to support me at the race, can't thank em' enough! Now I do not have another race until my 70.3 in Racine, July 17th. But I am going on some long rides and doing a race simulation day. The countdown to IRONMAN season is on!!! 20 days until Racine and 41 days until the biggest race of my life in Boulder, Colorado!
Thanks for the read,
Catch Me If You Can!
Oh and thanks Vinnie for all the great pictures, I hope it was an awesome first Triathlon spectating experience!
 |
| Vinnie (R) and Blake (L) with a dog at the race. |
