I arrived in Albuquerque in time to go to REI on Friday night to get my packet about 6:45 and ended up waiting in line until 7:30. Now I know people usually gripe about waiting in line, but this was just a lovely time to visit with fellow triathletes and get to meet new friends. It was really fun when I got up to the check in station and the organizers said, "Oh, you are Patricia Miller, the AMAZING Patricia Miller that we've heard so much about." and we all had a great giggle about that. I guess Angie from Chasing3 Race Productions had been telling them about our Billy the Kid Tombstone Triathlon that we had in Fort Sumner, so that means we may get some more good entries next year. Of course now I will owe Angie some payment for the good publicity <grin>. After packet pick up it was off to VietQ Grill to meet Marcy, Lisa and Lisa's daughter for supper and great conversation.
As per our usual athlete ethic, we were in bed by 10 and up at 4:30 AM so we could hit Starbucks for skinny lattes and be at the race venue by 5:45 AM. We even got to park in the parking lot and had no problem getting everything set up in transition. The body marking and race organization were great. The event was held at the Rio Rancho Aquatic Center and was set up as a reverse sprint triathlon. We started with the run and went off in waves separated by three minutes. Marcy and I were in the first wave. The course is the same as the Patriot Triathlon and we start of going uphill and then we go off the paved path and go into the desert and run more uphill in the sand. I don't really mind the sandy trail running because it is easier on my knees, but the sand is challenging. I did love the downhill portions though, I felt so FAST. My pace was nice for this run and while it was not my best 5K time, it was not bad at 42:41. Last year when I did the Patriot Triathlon on the same route my time was 52:53, so that is a 10 minute improvement. Of course in the Patriot the run comes at the end, so a direct comparison is not very fair.
T1 was great, as always in a reverse sprint, and then it was off on the bike for a great hilly 12 mile ride. I passed so many people and it was hugely rewarding. I got to say, "On your left" to so many people. There were a number of folks who had not done triathlons before, so there were some folks who didn't know basic things like not riding two abreast or not to pass when someone is already passing someone. Since I am a fairly aggressive cyclist, I paid close attention to everyone else and did really well and was extremely happy with my bike split time of 43:15. The bike route does not compare to Patriot's route, but Chili Harvest has a 12 mile bike route and is much less hilly and it took me 45:45, so I am happy. I should be happy because I am really sore today, so my legs worked hard yesterday.
T2 went really fast too since it is just a matter of stripping excess items off and running to the pool. I did forget to take my inhaler out of my short pocket, and lost in the pool. The pool was a bit of a battle zone. I did a combination of backstroke and breaststroke and my time was 14:08, again an improvement and I passed some folks in the pool, and that is a novel experience for me. I am still a super poor swimmer and I am freaking out the closer we get to Elephant Man. That mile swim at Elephant Butte is making me tense, but I will just plug away because I know that I am a good plug away person. Frankly, the kayak people are always great about shadowing the last person in the water, and since I have LOTS of experience being that person, it will be okay. That is the positive self-talk I am using every time I begin screaming in my head anyway.
Overall, my time was 1:43:53 and that is 10 minutes faster than the similar distanced race in Socorro held just a few weeks ago. I was 202 out of 265, so that means I can in ahead of 63 other competitors, and that is the most people I've come in ahead of in any triathlon. Dance of joy moment! We all got great necklaces as we finished. My triathlon friend Paula gave me this really cool (operative word) neck bandana that I can use when I do the Yucca Triathlon and Elephant Man. It has gel crystals in it and it will help me not to get overheated.
Next up on the fun list:
- Hearts on Fire Youth Retreat with our FCA students on Sunday/Monday of Labor Day weekend
- Yucca Triathlon at White Sands on 9/10. This will be a different distance because it is a 7K run, a 45K bike, and a 400M swim. After the triathlon I'll head to Las Cruces and spend the rest of the weekend with our daughter and son-in-law. It will be great to see our friends in Las Cruces at the church there too.
- Cotton County Triathlon at Levelland on 9/17. I will drive over to Clovis and ride to Levelland with some of the Clovis triathletes. They tell me that this is a great triathlon, and I am looking forward to it and have never done this one before.
- Elephant Man at Elephant Butte on 9/25. This is an Olympic distance race, so that means a 1 mile swim, 26 mile bike, and 10K run. At the recent clinic they told the attendees to power walk the first mile in the sand up the hill on the run rather than to try to run it, and then when we get to the paved road surface we can start running. So glad they gave me permission to walk, giggle. Heat can be an issue for the slow pokes like me. Now the good news for me this year is that they are also having a 1/2 iron distance race, so my finishing time will be about the time that the finishers of the 1/2 iron distance folks are finishing--- yeah, I am truly that slow. Oh well, it will be my race and it will be in my time.
October will bring a duathlon at Santa Rosa, the Candy Land Triathlon in Albuquerque, and the Duke City Marathon, so it has some fun ahead too.
Living Well, Loving More, and DEFINITELY Tring Harder,
Patricia
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