Tri in the Pines

I couldn't tell if the butterflies in my stomach were a product of the hills we were driving up and down or if anxiety was finally creeping in. Either way by the time Heather and I pulled into the fancy Holiday Inn Express in Show Low I was feeling a bit nervous about our first triathlon at elevation and on a hilly bike and run course. Heather and I were both a bit surprised about how difficult the swim was due to the elevation making it harder to breathe. I was literally gasping for air every other stroke during the last 3 or 4 laps. A bigger and more dissappointing realization for us was that they had placed us in separate waves which meant for the first time we were on our own. Heather's wave started 15 minutes before me and there was no way I could make up that kind of time on the course to catch her. I thought my new Queen of Hearts suit would bring me luck though...


Unfortunately, the luck of the suit could not overcome the curse of my bike. In my first lap on the course my chain slipped when I was shifting gears. Alas, this would happen again during lap two not once but 2 more times!! I clipped into my pedals (which lock your bike shoes in) after my second slipped chain and as I pushed forward the chain came off again but with no traction and being locked in I came crashing to the ground on my side. Fearing that I ruined any chance of finishing the race with a respectable time I hopped back in the saddle and pushed on. At this point my left elbow and knee were scraped up and blood was trickling down my leg. Two of the women in my wave passed me during the bike break down. I forged forward with the fire of competition pushing me forward. As we came up to the last leg of the bike course I surged past one of them and headed on to catch up with number two. I headed out of transition #2 with lightning speed and was running into the park with the second girl who had passed me. As we headed into the hilly park trail the first leg was mostly downhill but within the first quarter mile the killer hill on the course presented itself. I took this hill as my opportunity to prove that my 7 day a week training was not, all for not. I kicked it into high gear and left her huffing and puffing up the hill by herself in my wake. Although I was feeling strong enough to pass my competitors, the first mile of the run my legs still were a bit like bricks. With two laps left and seeing Heather cheering me on at the sideline I dug in and finished up the race. I would like to say that this race was a PR but with the elevation and equipment obstacles it put me 4 minutes behind being a PR. However the lessons learned are invaluable. Timex Triathlon here I come!

Can you see the blood dripping down my knee? Hot business!!