Triathletes are insane

I can say that cause I'm one. Woke up Sunday morning to constant rain and very cold conditions - don't know the temp, but it was cold. Especially since the end of Nevember is the start of summer. Hello?!

I put all my gear in the car and drove down to the course at 7 (for an 8am race), fully expecting there to be noone... and far out if every single triathlete in Canberra was there, keen as. Sheesh. It was ridiculous. I stood my ground and until 7:35 was not going to race, but decided at the last minute that since I"d already paid, and everyone I knew was out there, about to race or volunteering for the race is some form, I should really just harden up and do it. So I did.

The swim (in the lake) was okay - it was freezing, but I felt strong and my shoulder didn't give me any grief. Coming out of the water I had no idea where in the standings I might be, the entire bike transistion looked empty to me, so I was convinced I was last out of the water. (Not entirely true). In my rush to set up transisiton before the race I forgot to leave out a pair of socks (they would've been soaked in any event cause of the rain) so I had to put my shoes on with no socks for the ride and the run (but no blisters, which is good!).

Headed out on the ride (18K) and it was okay, but freezing in my tri-suit. Had a gu at the start of the ride and it went okay - felt like I was slogging through most of it (a 4 lap course can get repetitive). As I started out on the run, my toes, which had been frozen in the lake, were still numb having not participated much in the cycling portion, and they stayed frozen for the entire 4K! Usually there is pain off the bike, but it eases as the Ks tick by, but my feet were ice blocks the entire time! Not such a fun feeling, but I think my last 2Ks were faster than my first 2, which is a good sign.

All in all, a good race in crap conditions. I got home, cleaned the bike, cleaned me, fed me, and went to sleep. Went to an indoor soccer game - usually I can back up a soccer game to a race, but not yesterday - I was dead. When I went to sleep last night even my ankles were exhausted. I slept very well! :)

Next race is the Olympic Distance (1K swim/40K bike/10K run) at the end of January. Luckily I have a 4 week training camp in CA leading up to that... so all should be good!! (yes, I just called my holidays a training camp...)