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Race Completed
Sep. 10th, 2006 01:56 pmHere's the official race report. I'll post the pictures/times in ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
adayinmylife and my journal tomorrow.
I was out of bed at 5am after lying awake since 4:15 when Muffin nudged me. I got up, ate some cereal and some coffee. I helped my sister give her emaciated, sickly, cat about 5 pills (he's on the mend now though!) and we hand-fed him.
We got on the road at about 6:25 am heading towards Mercer Island. It was cloudy, but I knew the sun would break out.
The swim:
From the beach, it looked really calm and not choppy at all. The sun broke out and it was really gorgeous out. I decided since I am feeling a little less fit than previous years to not go in the 2nd wave, which is where I usually place myself. I chose the 4th wave. This was a good and bad choice. The swim was pretty miserable. I think there were A LOT of first-timers. I felt like there were a lot of people panicking around me and I ended up having to swim way off to the side after I got punched. When I say punched, I mean PUNCHED. She had a full on fist to my jaw. I'm still not sure if it was on-purpose or not. I thought maybe my face was even bleeding, but I think it just hurt a lot. I had a hard time finding my pace at first. It was better in terms of spacing after the first buoy where I got between the 3rd and 4th waves. It was far more choppy on the way back though. I finished and scrambled my way over the rocks to start my run up "The Hill". It's probably only 200 yards from the swim finish to the transition area, but it feels like 5 miles.
I was really having a hard time breathing and I felt pretty rough at the transition. This has been an issue all season and I suspect I'm developing adult asthma. I felt it the whole race. My transition was organized and I was out to the bike course in a jiff.
The bike:
The bike was really the best part for me. I stopped wheezing and I just got comfortable held a nice pace. It's a neat course that goes through the I-90 tunnels and across the floating bridge and back. There wasn't much wind (this was sooo nice. previous years it has been ultra windy) and the air felt good. I had no trouble climbing hills and passing lots of people on said hills (don't worry they all kicked my slow ass on the run). As I came in from the bike I saw my sister and some people she recruited to cheer for me. That was nice.
The run:
The transition area looked like a dorm room floor when I got back and my stuff had been dispersed everywhere. I ate 2 cliff blocks (which tasted pretty good today!), mostly because I was desperately looking for something that would get me through the run. As soon as I started running I felt wheezy again. It was starting to piss me off. I ran the whole course except for one hill where I stopped and started a lot. Even though this is my third stab at this race, I have no recollection of a hill that big. It felt like a monster. On the way back I took a good look at the people coming up that hill and I know they didn't like it either. I saw a lot of walkers and general cranky-looking faces. Towards the last 1/4 mile I got a good adrenaline rush from the volunteers and friends which really got me moving. I wish I had waited though because there is one more hill right before the finish line. I tried my best to sprint but it was like my thighs had up and left me. I did finally hear my name as I crossed the finish line. I think my time was 1:31 something. I am not sad. My best time is 1:27. So with an extra 15 lbs and a case of the wheezies, that's pretty good for me.
adayinmylife and my journal tomorrow. I was out of bed at 5am after lying awake since 4:15 when Muffin nudged me. I got up, ate some cereal and some coffee. I helped my sister give her emaciated, sickly, cat about 5 pills (he's on the mend now though!) and we hand-fed him.
We got on the road at about 6:25 am heading towards Mercer Island. It was cloudy, but I knew the sun would break out.
The swim:
From the beach, it looked really calm and not choppy at all. The sun broke out and it was really gorgeous out. I decided since I am feeling a little less fit than previous years to not go in the 2nd wave, which is where I usually place myself. I chose the 4th wave. This was a good and bad choice. The swim was pretty miserable. I think there were A LOT of first-timers. I felt like there were a lot of people panicking around me and I ended up having to swim way off to the side after I got punched. When I say punched, I mean PUNCHED. She had a full on fist to my jaw. I'm still not sure if it was on-purpose or not. I thought maybe my face was even bleeding, but I think it just hurt a lot. I had a hard time finding my pace at first. It was better in terms of spacing after the first buoy where I got between the 3rd and 4th waves. It was far more choppy on the way back though. I finished and scrambled my way over the rocks to start my run up "The Hill". It's probably only 200 yards from the swim finish to the transition area, but it feels like 5 miles.
I was really having a hard time breathing and I felt pretty rough at the transition. This has been an issue all season and I suspect I'm developing adult asthma. I felt it the whole race. My transition was organized and I was out to the bike course in a jiff.
The bike:
The bike was really the best part for me. I stopped wheezing and I just got comfortable held a nice pace. It's a neat course that goes through the I-90 tunnels and across the floating bridge and back. There wasn't much wind (this was sooo nice. previous years it has been ultra windy) and the air felt good. I had no trouble climbing hills and passing lots of people on said hills (don't worry they all kicked my slow ass on the run). As I came in from the bike I saw my sister and some people she recruited to cheer for me. That was nice.
The run:
The transition area looked like a dorm room floor when I got back and my stuff had been dispersed everywhere. I ate 2 cliff blocks (which tasted pretty good today!), mostly because I was desperately looking for something that would get me through the run. As soon as I started running I felt wheezy again. It was starting to piss me off. I ran the whole course except for one hill where I stopped and started a lot. Even though this is my third stab at this race, I have no recollection of a hill that big. It felt like a monster. On the way back I took a good look at the people coming up that hill and I know they didn't like it either. I saw a lot of walkers and general cranky-looking faces. Towards the last 1/4 mile I got a good adrenaline rush from the volunteers and friends which really got me moving. I wish I had waited though because there is one more hill right before the finish line. I tried my best to sprint but it was like my thighs had up and left me. I did finally hear my name as I crossed the finish line. I think my time was 1:31 something. I am not sad. My best time is 1:27. So with an extra 15 lbs and a case of the wheezies, that's pretty good for me.
