Update on Athletics Weekend

Y-Tri - February 1, 2009
I was in the first heat of the morning which turned out to be awesome, because we were allowed to set up our bikes ahead of time. This turned out to be a huge advantage as the rest of the heats had to adjust their bikes when they got out of the pool. My fifteen minute swim in the pool was a bit disappointing. I could tell I was just not going as fast as normal. I finished my fifteen minutes with only 14.5 laps. This is a lap less than the last tri and slower than my average training pace. I was disappointed but these things happen and I didn't let it bother me too much. My transition went smoothly and the five minutes seemed to fly. Here is where it would have been nice to have a later heat. I think I have a rower's heart - I really thrive when someone is cheering/egging me on. All I could think was "Where's my coxswain?" It was too early for the volunteers to be to enthusiastic. Sunny, one of the spinning instructors, was in my heat and she tried to encourage as she pedaled. I finished the bike leg with 7.36 miles which was respectable based on the sluggish feeling I seemed to have. Next came the most killer part of the entire race - walking up two flights of stairs to the track! Once up there, I handed my water bottle to my personal counter and started running. I was easily the slowest person on the track and the smell of soup/chili wafting up from the gym was unpleasant to say the least. I just kept reminding myself that I was gonna run a 5K in a few hours. I ended up running 22.5 laps on the track - about 1.5 miles which is my standard pace! Overall I was happy with my performance, but a little puzzled at my less than par swimming.

Mr. Ed's 5K
Right after the Y-Tri, Brian and I hopped in the car and drove to Buffalo for a 5K which started at 11:30. I was dressed but not convinced that I would actually be crazy enough to run another race today. However, by the time we had arrived, I felt recharged and ready to run. I figured, "Why not? I'm already dressed for it." We met up with a few of Brian's friends and got numbers, long sleeve ts, and timing chips. The first half of the course was on the road and the second half on the canal path. I forgot to take my asthma inhaler, again, but seemed to be able to push along well enough. As a matter of fact, I finished in 30:17! That's a 9:46/mile pace, right after an indoor tri! I was pretty pleased with myself and I have to admit that the beer and chili were an excellent end to my crazy racing day. On the way home, we found out that Brian had won the master's level of the tri, so we felt as though our day was very successful.