Shoulda remembered it was a 'C' race...

Then, maybe I would have been less disappointed when the day turned into a comedy of errors.

The main thing, and what set the tone for the rest of the race, was that I got lost on the swim. I was swimming happily along, when suddenly a kayak appears out of nowhere and politely informs me that 'honey, you're way off course.'

The problem was that the sun was right at the horizon line and I couldn't see jack shit, to put it nicely. Once getting met by the kayaks, I decided to take off my goggles, and things were better. Next time I'll know that goggles don't necessarily help. When I first started doing triathlons, I rebelled against goggles and would just swim with my eyes open...I'm thinking it might be time to go back to that philosophy.

In any case, my nice little detour cost me at least five minutes, and probably more like eight. The bummer of the whole thing is that I felt totally awesome swimming, and I think I would have had a really great time. As it was, I swam it in 36 minutes, which is actually only 2 minutes off of my Wildflower time, which was with a wetsuit...

So, I was kind of cranky getting onto the bike. I had forgotten to start my watch at the start of the race (what? me forget my watch? this is a definite departure from my usual 'type a' status), so at that point all I knew was that my swim sucked. I didn't know if I had taken 35 minutes, or 45 minutes...and so I pedaled my ass off. I've really never biked that hard, probably ever. My computer wasn't working, so I didn't know how fast I was going, so I just kept pushing harder.

But I still was passed, passed, and passed again. I think I only overtook 1 person the whole damn time and SO many people took me...even with that crap-shoot of a swim. UGH. But, I was working hard, and really biked as fast as I could, so I can't be too bummed about that. I simply have to get out on the bike more, because racing once a month just doesn't cut it for bike training. It's an amazing discovery, I know.

The only other thing of note that happened on the bike was that my chain fell off about 2 miles from the end, so I had to stop and fix it. It only took about 30 seconds, but it still just made me mad. Oh, and throughout the whole race, my bike was skipping some middle gears...it would go into the gear, and then just pop out...totally annoying, considering I just paid to get my bike tuned up last week. Don't worry, I'm going to bring it back to the store today.

And so I starting running.

Okay, you know how people always talk about the bike-run transition being so hard? I never really understood that. I always felt great running, and was just glad to get off the bike. Well, not this time. When I got off the bike and started my run, my legs just refused to move...and I realized that this was the first time I had actually biked like other people bike. I was still slow mind you, 17.2mph on the bike is nothing to brag about, but it's still fast for me (for now! I'm going to get faster!).

But the consequence is that my run was just plain hard. My legs finally loosened up around mile 2, but that was about the time when I started overheating so much that I got goosebumps. Never a good sign, ya know? So, I just slogged through the 6.2 miles, averaging just over a 10min/m, and finishing in 3:08, more than 8 minutes over my PR, and pretty much just sucking it up age-group wise. To be fair, the race was a regional qualifier for the National Age Group Championship, so it drew a really strong group of people...but still...I was (am) kind of down about it.

The bummer of the whole thing is that if my swim had gone better, I think I could have PRed, even with my bike acting up and the run being a hotter-than-hell-humidity-fest. I would have biked the same way (which was actually faster than ever before, I hate to admit), and I would have pushed myself on the run. But, because I knew my race had gone to hell, I just kind of ran it without any goals in mind. I was doing 'my best' but I wasn't pushing past that, you know?

So, I finished, and it was totally awesome having my parents around at every single transition. They took SO many pictures, and it was just great to have them at the finish line. I just can't help but be a little bummed about my performance. But, I guess I just need to remember that I signed up for the race on a whim and just did it for fun. I didn't train specifically for it, and I didn't taper or do anything else race-specific aside from eating lots of pasta the day before (which isn't really a departure from the norm, if I'm at all truthful).

So how could I expect an amazing race? I guess that because I'm still relatively new to this sport, I'm used to getting better with every event, almost without trying. Maybe it's a good thing that isn't happening anymore; it means I'm not as much of a newbie!

In any case, I should be more realistic with grade-labeling my races from now on. So the next 'A' race? Timberman 70.3 in New Hampshire on August 18. It's not that far away, I'm realizing...I'm going to make a training plan this week, and then get with the program!

Today I'm bringing my parents to Houston, where they're leaving to go to Europe for the next 2 weeks. My sister and I have the house to ourselves. PAR-TAY! (As if...I'm the lamest person in the world.) And so, tonight my parents and I are going to dinner with Greyhound and his wife...my mom and his wife (and me too, I guess) are all flutists by profession, so there should be plenty to talk about, as long as we don't start fighting and pulling out each other's hair (because flutists are known to do that).

And, for anyone who wants to see a plethora of pictures of me racing, here they are. (Click on the album if the slide-show isn't working on your browser.) The quantity is almost embarrassing (and I didn't even include the bad ones!), but embarrassing in a really good way...

Indian Creek Triathlon