4 PRs, 5 accomplishments and a bottle of Tennessee whiskey

The first tri of the season is now history.  And what an historical occasion it was.

It was also my first tri since Cedar Point 140.6 in September 2012.  I didn't think I'd have forgotten how to race, but did find myself retrieving myriad race-related items from around the house and hoping I was using the right packing list.  I was also a bit nervous - just as I was five years ago - about putting it all together so early in the season.  And of course, training has been crap.  And finally, the weather forecast was calling for 84 degrees and thunderstorms.  But I figured it was going to be what it was going to be and, besides, it was a training day, right?

Hilary and I spent an inordinate amount of time in traffic, and were happy to pull up to our cabin at the campground.  There were several men hanging out in the cabin next door and as we got out of the car, they asked us where we were from and if we were supporters of DC's football team.  The second thing they said was "We've been drinking all afternoon."  Good to know!  That's when I noticed the bottle of Tennessee whiskey that was as big as my head.  The boys (Rudy, Lonnie, Steve, Chad and Rob) proved to be highly entertaining, even if I was able to answer an honest "No" when Rudy asked me the next night if at least he'd been a gentleman.  Such a pity I'm married.

I'm not going to go into a blow by blow account of the race itself.  Perfect race conditions (overcast, little bit of rain on the bike, more on the run), calm waters, good road conditions.  Here are the highlights:

After all the long distance swimming I've been doing, the swim felt like a walk in the park.  37:59 - PR by about 2 mins and (hilariously) 4th in my age group - a number I NEVER thought I'd see.

So cool to get best wishes from Coach T!

Transitions - I still have it!  Long ago I pared my transitions down to two numbers - 3 and 4.  Three items for T1 (shoes, helmet, glasses) and 4 for T2 (socks, shoes, race belt and cap).  I added a fuel belt to T2, but connected the fuel belt, race belt and cap together so only had to grab one thing.  After so many years, it's become second nature.  3rd and 4th in my age group, respectively.

Scarlett acquitted herself very feel indeed.

Bike. I tried.  Really, I did.  I've been preaching Z2 for months now, so fully intended to ride the whole thing in Z2.  And I did see Z2 twice when "2.9" flashed momentarily on my Garmin.  Instead, I rode comfortably and easily within myself in low-mid Z3, singing "I am flying" and a couple of national anthems to keep my HR down.  3:08:54, PR by about 8 mins over Musselman 2012. 10th in my age group.  But better yet, negative splitted by about 1mph.

Run.  In retrospect, I love the Kinetic run course.  It's challenging with some long steady hills, but rewarding with some equally long steady downhills.  And with three loops, you know what's coming and can count down the hills (six in all) rather than the miles (significantly more).  And the final mile is all downhill, including a beautiful, shady, steep descent through a forest.  Don't get me wrong.  It hurt.  A lot.  Especially the bitch of a hill at the beginning of the third loop.  But copious amounts of water and ice down the bra did wonders to keep me moving forward.    Final time - a 3 minute PR for a half Ironman half marathon - 2:12:16, 6th in my age group (all that singing paid off!).

Final time:  6:03:47 - PR'd the distance by 32 minutes.  Holy shit!

Despite hangin' with the boys the night before, I arrived at the race site ridiculously chipper.  It was the first tri of the season for Team Z and there were so many old and new friends there - nerves, reminiscences of previous races, and lots of laughter.  And the weekend overall didn't disappoint.  Loads of people had PRs - some by a few seconds or minutes, some by massive, giggle inducing margins like mine.  But more importantly, for me, were the accomplishments that weren't time-based:

• "Mary Mary!  I did something I've never done before!  I got to say "On your left" to someone - I've never passed anyone on the bike before!"
• A teammate I hadn't seen for a while admitted to having disappeared due to depression, but now she was back and enjoying the day.  When it's challenging to get out of the house, it's a huge deal to turn up to a race.
• Someone to whom I passed along a (PRR) tip about running downhill put it into practice on the half marathon and reported no pain in her quads the next day.  And then turned around and passed along the tip to another teammate.  
• A teammate who had forgotten her bike shoes, so borrowed a bike that was too small for her and rode 56 painful miles on it.  Yet never once complained and was her usual cheerful self at dinner that night.  That's guts and character.  
• A friend who was just BURSTING to tell me about her PR.  I don't think sandpaper could have taken the smile off her face.
• Grilled corn in the husk.  

As always, the weekend was inspiring, supportive, hilarious, emotional (you know who you are who made me cry), testing, triumphant, and just plain fun.  

The weekend also was the beginning of one of the most packed athletic months I've ever had.  Next up, Mountains of Misery in two weeks and Chesapeake Bay Swim two weeks after that.  Bring it!