I finished the race in 2 hours 14 minutes, 10 minutes faster than last year. When the morning started I thought I might be able to beat 2 hours, but the fact that I was sick this week destroyed that hope. 200 meters into the swimm I knew it was gonna be a long day. It's never good to be weezing when swimming. I have had some type of allergy related cold thing going on this week, and I just couldn't get any air in my lungs. Any deep breaths were answered by fits of coughing, which doesn't help create a steady pace when swimming. So, the swim took 10 minutes longer that planned.
Coming out of the water I was considering calling it a day. But, I hate to waste an entry fee and since my brother took time out of his busy schedule to go to the race I figured I would go as far as i could. So off on the bike I rode.
2 miles into the 18 mile ride I was passed by a 50 year old lady. I don't mind being passed by women or people older than me, I go in with a plan and stick to it. today however, the plan was scrapped shprtly into the swim. So, I decidied to try to keep up with this lady. She was hammering away at a decent pace(in my mind I started calling her "the hammer") and i knew that if I did the ride on my own I would lose momentum. I would follow herfor the next 14 miles. She set a great and steady pace, I got about 15 yards behind her and held on the best I could.
About 3 miles from the end of the bike I passed her and gave her some words of encouragement and praise. she returns later in the story.
I made a quick transition to the run and got on my way. still, there was no air in my lungs and my legs felt like sandbags. But, I knew I could bang out the 3 mile run, I kept telling myself that its just a lap around the neighborhood. A mile into the race "the Hammer" caught me. When ran together fo a few minutes and chatted, it was a nice diversion. Then she pulled ahead and I was proud of her for doing so. A lot of guys might be disappointed or take a shot to their pride when passed by an older woman. Me, I was proud of her. "The Hammer" Kept me going yesterday. Here's to the ladies!
As I approached the finish I thought about future training and races, the training I've already done, the events of the past week, and the beauty of the day. As I crossed the line I high-fived my brother and thought to myself, "today I am victorious, I stayed the course, fought the battle, and finished the race". Isn't that really the goal of it all? I can and will improve my fitness and finishing times. Most of all, I will never stop fighting the battle I love.
Congratulations! That's wonderful that you powered through!
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