It's hard for me to believe it's been a whole year since I completed the Huntington's Disease triathlon and truth be told, I was looking forward to the race to see just how far I've come over the last year.
Cut to me standing on the beach Sunday morning at 6:45 am in the rain and wind while small waves crash in on the shore. My hopes of seeing how far I'd come in the last year slightly dashed.
Fortunately the rain soon stopped but there was still a slight chop on the water. The starting gun went off and off I went on my quarter mile swim. I was leading my pink cap group until the last 25 or so yards when a wave caused me to swallow an ungodly amount of water. It tripped me up a bit but I emerged from the sea in 2nd place and I was feeling good. Time: 8:29 vs last year of 7:21 (see how conditions can affect the race)
On to the 13 mile bike. I was feeling okay until I made the turn back and realized I was going against the wind. But I pushed on through and finished in 41:59 (last year: 44:56). Definitely could have gone a bit harder but still was in great spirits.
Finally I hit the pavement for the 3.1 mile run. The weather was just perfect and I was feeling fabulous. One girl in my age group passed me but I was able to keep her in my sights and make a strong finish with the help of Tony as my rabbit (who by the way was doing the Olympic distance and passing me!!) I'd also like to note that "Team Gizzie" came to support me so it made the finish even more special!
My time. Get ready for this...get ready... 25:32. It's the fastest I've ever run in a race. WOO HOO! (last year: 28:21. You all know I hate the run so this was a really big boost for me. Perhaps my hard work is paying off.)
We cheered on my other friends and waited for the results to be posted. I was pretty sure I came in either 2nd or 3rd for my age group because only a few people passed me that I noticed. And I was dying to know what my official time and splits were. Finally they were posted. We go to look at my age group and lo and behold my name is not there. I won't lie...a moment of devastation came over me because I thought maybe something happened to my chip and my time was not recorded. And I felt like I had raced so well. So we look again. Still not there.
It was at that moment that I noticed my name was on the very top of the list. Turns out, I came in 3rd overall for females and apparently they put the top 3 finishers on the very top of the list. (Who knew?? Clearly not me since I've never had something like this happen before.)
So all in all, a great day. I was beyond pleased and am looking forward to my next race in late August.
Oh, and one last thing. It should be noted that this race is smaller than other races I have done. Had it been bigger I surely would not have placed that high. But for now, I'll just relish in the fact that I was on the top of the list. Even if for only a fleeting moment! :)
