On to the bike....

So after I got all laced up, I hopped on the bike. It felt good to be doing something other than swimming, and I felt comfortable on my bike. I love my bike. After having done a race with "her" already - we were bonded. Many more participants had "tri bikes" or "racing bikes" which meant they had really narrow, thin wheels, special pedals/shoes/straps, and special handlebars. I didn't have any of those things - just me and my road bike. The course was pretty and scenic, along the Mississippi River, but I couldn't see much of it for all the trees. I also wasn't looking around that much. I was concentrating on where I was going and who was coming up behind me. Overall, the course wasn't too hilly. A few up hills that I had to work a little harder on, but nothing like a couple of the hills in the duathlon last fall.
Thanks to the cooler temperature and/or the amount of water I swallowed in the swim - I didn't take too many water drinks. I think I grabbed my water bottle twice for a couple quick sips. My goal was to finish the 15.5 miles in an hour or less - and I wanted to try to have an average speed of at least 15 miles per hour.
My time - 1:02:37
Average Speed - 14.9 mph
I felt pretty good about that.

After that, it was time to re-rack my bike. It was funny - when I came out of the swim to get my bike - it was VERY easy to find. On my entire side of racked bikes - probably 500 or so....mine was the only one there. Pretty easy to spot. When it came time to put the bike back, it was a little more trickier to find my spot. I knew this would be the case which is why I picked a towel laid out for transition that I would recognize quickly. Got my helmet off, grabbed a bite of a banana and a drink of water, and I was off on the run.
I knew it would feel "odd" to run after riding the bike so that wasn't shocking. I would say after the first 1/2 mile it began to feel more normal. That's they way it's been in the past and wasn't anything new race day. All of a sudden I was at the mile marker - and then suddenly it was 2 - and then I was coming around the last corner. The run went by very quickly for me, I was very relaxed and enjoyed it. I was about 1-2 minutes off my "average" mile pace, but - again - that's ok.

My run time - 32:26
Average pace - 10:28 per mile

The only thing that bothered me the whole race was how hard it was to let go of being in the water. For the first 6 miles on the bike - I was re-playing everything that happened in the swim. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I was remembering the swim, and the water, and the chaos. It made me very emotional and I cried to John as soon as he asked me about it at the finish. I have very mixed feeling about the whole race. I liked how I biked/ran. I finished the swim, and I know I should be happy about that - but I didn't finish it the way I wanted to. I'm not disappointed that I stopped at almost every noodle - I expected to do that. It was how I swam between noodles. I didn't get my head in water as far as I should have, my hips were dragging, my kicks weren't as effective, I wasn't side breathing. I wasn't able to apply what I had been learning and training for in the pool. Again, I chalk it up to inexperience. Now the question remains - do I want to gain more experience in this area or is it a "been there, done that" kind of thing.

I relate it to someone having a baby. As soon as they go through labor and have the baby if someone asks them if they want to do it again....most are going to reply with a very strong "Hell no." Then time passes.....