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Good morning. Congrats to the weekend racers -- Bob, Litch, Mindi, Maria. Even if your times weren't what you hoped for, congrats on getting out there! The more I do this, the more I realize how courageous we all are for doing it. Seriously. We put ourselves through so much pain, anxiety, sweat, tears (sometimes). All in the name of fun.</p>
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<p>Anyway.</p>
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<p>My tri was OK. It was a cool morning but rather windy b/c of Earl. I felt good in the swim and emerged from the water about 15 seconds faster than the same course in July (during the Splash and Dash from hell... or rather IN hell since it was 104 degrees that day!). Took off on the bike and was averaging 20-21 mph the first half of the course... until I turned a corner into some MAJOR wind! Egad! I went from holding 20+ mph to barely maintaining 15-16 mph in a snap. So much for my average pace! I passed lots of people, though, and felt really good out there. Reracked my bike and started out on the run. Now, normally I TEAR IT UP the first running mile of a tri. All the adrenaline, the joy of finally getting to the run and doing what I'm most comfortable doing... I come out of T2 like my shorts are on fire. Not this race, though. My legs just didn't have anything. I have been trying to figure it out the past two days. Poor nutrition? (Very possible since I left the house at 5:35 a.m. and couldn't force myself to eat my oatmeal before leaving.) Poor training. (Ummm, yeah. We all know that's at least part of it!)

Worked too hard on the bike? (Also possible.) Whatever the reason, I started off at about an 8mm pace and slowed down from there, clocking in at 26:32 for the run and 1:15:28 total time. (I was hoping for about a 1:11 or 1:12, so I wasn't that far off. Still, that run was just embarrassing.)</p>
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<p>Overall, I was 10/28 in my age group. Remember I said all the really speedy chicks were signed up for this race? I looked up one of them yesterday. 1:03:xx!!!! HOLY CRAP!! <br>
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