Saturday, January 19, 2008

Race Weekend

1.5 Mile Run, 3.3 Mile Bike, 2.5 Mile Run, 6.6 Mile Bike

I woke up with decent time to spare, but the morning sure did move fast. I was getting things ready to go and I felt rushed. It snowed 2-4 inches the night before so I had to make a quick decision about my bike. There was no choice. I grabbed my mountain bike and headed to the race.

When I got to Cherry Creek State Park, I didn't have much time. I quickly got ready and it was almost time to race. I didn't have a drink cage, so I decided it was time to put one on. It sure wasn't thinking when I put it on...I put it on backwards. I had to quickly change it and ran to the start line.

I was in wave "A". The race director combined several of waves. I ran with wave A and B. The first leg was 1.5 miles. My first mile was awesome. The half mile was a little slow. The snow (lots of powder) started to slow me. I was ranked 2nd or 3rd place overall. I was pretty shocked to see that I was in such a great ranking. I ran to the transition area. I grabbed my bike and off I went. Transition time was a little over a minute. I had my tennis shoes on so I didn't have to make a long transition.

The first bike leg was 3.5 miles (or so...). It was interesting riding in the snow again. I was certain I was going to crash. I am pretty familiar with the park so I knew where the downhill and uphill spots were. I only had one or two people pass me during the big leg. Not too shabby.

The second run leg was 2.5 miles. It seemed a little longer. I did well, but not as I hoped. There were several runners who passed me. My pace slowed quite a bit and I just couldn't keep a fast pace. The snow was hard to run on. I didn't know where I was going at first, but I finally found my way. Too bad I had to stop and waste time trying to figure out where I was going.

Transition #2 was faster. It was less than a minute. Again I grabbed my bike and off I went. This ride was two loops. I didn't crash and had maybe one or two riders pass me. As I was about to finish, I placed my bike on the rack and ran towards the finish. It was a 50 meter dash to the end. What a funny feeling it was...

I finished the race with a time of 1:10:57. My overall rank was 21st and I finished 12th in my age division. I was got a few more point for the overall standings and was happy that I only slipped a little during the run. No injuries!

No comments: