My first foray into the real world of triathlon! I am so glad I was able to do it as a relay participant...what a great introduction to the competition without actually having to complete the entire thing! We had a great time despite being nervous (that would be Craig and me being nervous....if Glen was nervous, he was nervous about the two of us!). The swim start was eventful and really fun to watch...I was so glad it was Craig today and not me, but I know it will be me soon enough. Craig did a great job finishing in 24:54...he later told me that he found himself way out ahead at one point and then realized he was swimming too far away from the buoys! That sighting comes in handy I guess. He switched the ankle chip to Glen in our transition zone and off Glen went, looking very determined to kick some butt. It was hard to wait over an hour for Glen to return, and I found myself feeling kind of wimpy doing only one leg of the race. I started warming up about 25 minutes before Glen was due back, and I must have taken at least eight trips to the outhouse during that time (there is no way I drank that much water!). Many sprints down the transition aisle later I discovered that the other runner warming up near me was a relay competitor, and he was 15 years old and about a foot taller than me! I tried not to let that shake my confidence, but come on...I am 25 years older than this child with wiry legs! Craig came to warn me when Glen was dismounting, and I grabbed (rather, RIPPED) the ankle strap off him the minute he made it to our transition zone. Then, off I went into the starting chute feeling the adrenaline surge and planning to pass as many people as I could. I did fairly well over the Hawthorne Bridge and onto the Esplanade on the other side, and then this woman in an IronHeads tri suit whizzed by me (they are apparently the hard core triathlon club in Portland). The only thing that made me feel alright about that was the number on her calf...she was 25! In any case, I did keep passing more people than passed me, and coming around for my second loop at mile 3.2 I felt really strong. It was fantastic to hear all the cheering and cow bells (Coach Julie, Coach Glen, Julie Zavin, Pascal, Charles and the boys, and Craig were ringing in my ears!). The next wonderful surprise was that I stepped into pace with this guy (36 year old....gotta love the age branding on the calves!) whose legs were as tall as my head, and we ended up running together for the entire rest of the race. I think we both pushed eachother....we tried to chat a little bit, but breathing was way more important at that point. At one point he told me that he was pretty sure we were doing around a 7 minute mile pace...I almost choked in disbelief. We ran right into the finish chute together, but then I had to pass him because Craig and Glen were waiting to run across the finish line with me. I absolutely loved those last few moments...what a rush to have them with me, holding hands crossing the finish line. I felt super strong, and happier than I can remember in a long time....and so thankful for all the training I've been doing. We finished under 2:30....our actual time was 2:27:29 for second place in the relay! And, that is with Glen having to change a flat and riding the second half of the race with broken handle bars! My split was 44:21 for an average mile time of 7:08. Way, way faster than I expected.
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