So in preparation for the race i have been working really hard over the last few weeks to be prepared. However, i spent most of my time preparing for the swim since people tell me that is the most difficult part....So i went into the race feeling super confident with the swim...and kinda just knowing that i would get by with the rest (i mean i know how to ride a bike, and I've ran marathons....cant be that hard right)....wrong. The day of the race we show up to our registration and they inform us that the water temperature is too cold and therefore too dangerous to do the swim. Basically my triathlon changed to a duathlon....I was not very happy seeing as that meant my race now only constituted of biking 10 miles and running 3....I DEFINITELY didn't come all the way down to vegas to do that....so me being the competitive person that i am decided to upgrade to the olympic course which nearly tripled my bike distance, and doubled my run distance. Remember how i said i didn't train for either of these.... very rational decision right?
But regardless i came to accomplish something difficult and if it meant doing the olympic course so be it. Boy did i not realize what a dumb decision that was at the time. Sitting at the start line i was making small talk with a fellow racer. She was familiar with the course and i asked her if it was difficult....she just laughed at me. I didn't know how to take it. I later found out what she meant. The 27 mile bike ride was literally ENTIRELY UP HILL. It was like the never ending nightmare. Normally that distance on a bike for me wouldn't have been a problem but the course itself (what i later found out) is one of the more difficult olympic courses. There were plenty of participants off their bikes walking the entire thing. I am happy to report that i never walked my bike (even though i stopped to ball my eyes out to Brody about how hard it was....and the fact that it took me almost 3 hours to complete). I completed it and i am proud of myself for that! I kept thinking in my head "i have done more difficult things in my life".....but half way through i realized that no, i hadn't done anything harder than this.
The 6 mile run was a breeze compared to the bike. It still took me a little longer than i had anticipated but that is because my body was about to give out after the bike ride. In the end though i had finished an olympic duathlon course with an insanely difficult course. It took me about 4 hours and i didn't finish until after the sun had gone down. I couldn't have done it without my support team there to cheer me on... (especially Brody who kept me going when i was in so much pain that i could barely stand up, let alone continue to ride my bike.
Lets just say i will be staying away from the "B" word for the next little while...bike that is....what were you thinking?
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