New Season

So, trialthon season is starting back up. Training is getting into full swing.  I have actually already competed in one race thus far.  The UCSD Tritonman on Mission Bay in Southern California.  I was actually very excited about this race, my training was going well and I was hoping to set a sprint PR.  And then a week before the race I got sick, the kind of sick that knocks you on your butt for 48hrs and you're so weak you can barely stand.  I was MISERABLE.  I finally was over the cold on Friday, which I spent the majority of traveling to the left coast. Saturday was a bit rainy so I picked up my rental bike and got a very short familiarization ride in.  Sunday, I showed up at the race site fairly early.  It was raining and mildly cold.  Good thing I had very little cold gear, which is a perfect mix for someone who just got over a bad cold.  To my slight disappointment the swim was cancelled, which is my strongest event.  They turned the race into a duathlon (run, bike, run).  I was disappointed because normally the swim gets me out in front of even some of the strongest competetors on the bike so I can finish strong.  After a broken foot last year, my run is not exactly where I would like it. 

The race started out strong for me, I was making about a 9:20 pace on the 2 miles out.  The bike went well for the first 2 loops and the third and final loop I was pummled with rain and pretty nasty wind gusts. The final leg of the race was the same run as the beginning, with the exception that one of the miles was now in 2-3in of mud.  I finished with a 1h22m, which should have put me in for 3rd place but alas my timing chip wasn't counted and I went back to my boyfriend's soggy, tired, and slight dirty.  Regardless of all the negative points, it felt good to finally get my feet back into the sport.  After only doing a relay in Nov, it was the first multisport event I have gotten to compete in since April 2010. 

My next race is a 8k run this Saturday with some close friends down in Virginia Beach.  I'm pretty excited about it.  The weather is supposed to cooperate and be a sunny 60 degrees.  I am very much looking forward to running on the beach.