nats

very mixed emotions about this past weekend. it was challenging in more ways than i ever could have anticipated. first off, i was going myself. now that normally doesnt phase me as i've traveled overseas alone many times and well just know that i can figure stuff out. BUT that doesnt mean that i get screwed up (very) getting there. and well the race didnt start out the way i wanted it to and it took a lot to keep going and going hard. i had some high expectations for this race, especially after the ups and mostly downs that have plagued me this year.

flying into birmingham was pretty normal and i picked up my posh rental (chevy impala) and after the dude shoved my bike into the trunk -hard-, i was ready to roll. first order of business was go get my packet. i had google maps and my magellen so i was set. well mostly. when the device says "you have arrived" and well you dont really know which of 5 buildings or parking lots it is referring to, the adventure begins, and it began with a BANG as i kind of knicked another car while trying to read which parking lot i had entered.oooooopppps. everyone seemed elated at the backpack, hat and other stuff we got, but ho hum for me, it was a duplicate of the stuff i got at du nats in richmond. (so i cemented a friendship with my gear instead!) luckily i got caught on film checking in....ha!



after a bit of a misadventure putting my bike together, realizing i forgot my skewers.. and a quick side trip to the local shop (where i was a total stalker and ran into and told aLONG from SC that i knew her.. well kind of...ha!) i was ready to do the drop off. a quick and early bird dinner with the shutts and time to hit the sack (a side note THANK YOU to mr. harrington - such a super nice guy. really).

sat morning i was up and ready to go. got to transition super early. and the benefit of that people is being the very first one to use the port o john. actually not a bad thing. AT ALL. made a bunch of new friends. everyone in transistion was so super friendly. saw some people i had met on the plane and was happy to discover that the guy who was supposed to rack his bike across from me didnt show so that gave all of us a bit more room. sweet.

got my stuff set. did a warm up and was ready to go. now just the wait. an hour till my start. and i guess this is where experience will come in handy as i race more. but i did see that the IM champion in the first wave swam about 32 minutes and it kind of seemed odd ot me, but then i thought he is over 50... but... that should have made me pay more attention to what was happening in the water.

i always freak out the first 200 m or so. no matter what. it just takes me some time to get into a rhythm. when i got to the first right turn and noticed that i was drifting WAY left i thought geez- swim straigt! little did i know that the current was pushing me.. and push it did. i kept thinking, man i've been out here a while. but i felt like i kept swimming hard and a few guys from the next wave passed me but that is normal. i drifted way off the finish too and i thought (again learn to swim straight!) and was shocked and dismayed and literally stopped in my tracks when i got out of the water and my watch said 39 minutes. i had to look and check to be sure that the numbers were correct. oh SHIT i thought. i'm last. i am in LAST! how the heck did i teleport myself into the future without moving? i thought time had sped up. no really i was questioning quantum physics and time travel and looking around for Doc Brown and the delorian... (come to find out later that everyone's times were off by about 10 minutes due to swimming against the current, but mine was probably a good 15 or so.. maybe.. still..) anyway i was pissed. so mad at myself. how in the heck could my swim be so bad???

anyway i hit transition so fuming i just got on my bike and rode. i was trying to look at the racks to see if anyone was still out on the swim but for some reason my vision was blurred (maybe due to rage! ha!) and i could not for the life of me determine which way bikes were facing. probably went out too fast but i was determined to have one good split of the day! and ended up happy with my ride. both loops were pretty consistent time wise. my bike did not let me down!!! i've got to learn to push on the flats more though...on to the run.

i did pass quite a few people on both the bike and the run. and tackled some pretty good hills. i rememberd something marit told me - when passing someone in your AG quiet your breathing so they think your run is so effortless as you pass they wont try to keep up with you! it worked. love it! so over all a finish in 12th place. not top 10 as i wanted and knew i could do. stupid swim. (dont think i wasnt right back to masters monday!) BUT huge lessons for next time. it was a great first experience at nats so i'll look forward to next year and a better showing!!

some pics i stole off of brightroom:

this had to be before i looked at my watch. there is no look of utter bewilderment on my face yet...


doing my best to hammer out frustration on the bike.





oh and the icing on the cake:


some VOL pride deep in the heart of BAMA