Interesting Race in Loo-Ray . . .

Our departure for the Luray Int'l Tri on Friday was pretty dreary. I was EXHAUSTED from getting a total of about 3 hours sleep on Thursday night -- which is when we had one of the worst thunderstorm in history and Booger was throwing up all night. Luckily by Friday morning, she seemed to have kicked whatever it was that was ailing her so we were off by Friday afternoon.

We rented this cute little cabin in Luray that was about 5 minutes from the race site. I was really looking forward to spending some quiet time with the kids and the cabin was the perfect place for that. Unfortunately, though, it only had a small a/c wall unit and the bedroom we were sleeping in didn't receive much of the air that it eeked out. So. the night before the tri I, again, got about 4 hours of sleep. By the time I woke up Saturday morning, to be honest, I didn't give a crap about the triathlon. I simply wanted to get it over with so I could go back home and get some sleep!!!

I sludged out of bed and into my tri-suit and sat there trying to get a coffee high while Derek loaded my bike. By the time we got to the race site, I was still feeling like I was sleep-walking. To make matters worse, it was also the first day of my "Cybil week" (you know the one? we all have it once a month? Yeah, TMI, sorry.) Anyway, at that point I resigned myself to treating the day like a regular training day. I was going to clock the miles, but not "race" so to speak. I was just so damn tired!!

During the swim, I managed to shake off a little of my uber-negative mojo but I was still not in the race groove. When I got out, I didn't even need to look at my watch to tell my swim time wasn't very good. And, when I looked at Derek he confirmed it. Without me having to say a word, he simply shouted out "Don't worry! It wasn't your best time. You'll get 'em on the bike!" As it turned out my swim time was 33:07 -- which is not horrible but was pretty disappointing considering I swam a 1500 in 26:13 at the Charlottesville Tri 3 weeks ago.

In transition I added to my usual clumsy attempts at getting myself together by messing with my helmet. For some reason it was completely cinching my head!! I kept trying to jam it onto my head and it just didn't fit right. I pulled my hair down to make sure it wasn't stuck inside the helmet. I tried to loosen the grip thing in the back. I checked to make sure I wasn't putting it on backwards (thank GOD that wasn't the problem!!) In the end I couldn't figure it out so after almost 3 minutes I just jammed my big ol' head into it and took off. I have a bruise on my forehead now.

The bike was nice and had some quick downhills. We were on what I call a "lollipop course". You go up the stem, make a loop and then ride back down the stem. The only difference here is that you make two loops around the top of the lollipop. I was so NOT in race mode that somewhere around mile 8-10 I pulled over to see if a rider who had a flat needed help. He yelled at me. What is it with guys yelling at girls who ask if they need help?? Anyway, I'm glad he yelled at me 'cause it pissed me off. And being pissed woke me up and got my adreneline going. And that's is apparently what I need to find my race mojo. From that point on, I was in race mode (don't worry -- I know that there's no real noticible difference in my kicking into "race mode" -- but it does mean that I stopped thinking I was going to spend the whole ride chatting with the cows and enjoying the scenery!!)

By the end of the race, I was pretty happy with the overall results. My swim wasn't great, my bike time was hurt by my lack of dedication during the first 8 miles or so but my run time was the best it's ever been in an Olympic tri. And the run is where I hurt the most so that in itself was a happy little accomplishment for me!! Overall, I placed 6th in my age group and got my ass thoroughly kicked by the first 2 in my age group!! They finished 30 minutes ahead of me and one had a crazy 10k time of 43 or something like that!! They were some kick-ass athletes and I didn't mind one bit that they stomped on me!!

I really loved watching some of the other TriGirls race. That was the one thing that I liked about the double loop. I managed to see everyone on the run and/or bike and it was fun to check in with eachother. Megan came through like a rock star and Zona was amazing on her bike -- especially since she was riding a mtn. bike!!

At the end of the race, I lazed under a tree with Derek and the girls and then went back to the cabin to take a really WONDERFUL nap!! Next up . . . Patriot's 1/2. Gulp.