HY-VEE TRIATHLON RESULTS

Cliff Notes:
Up at 3:30am.....Swim....Bike....Run....Get stranded under a tent in ankle deep mud during flash flooding thunder storm......Bike in the freezing cold rain back to the car.....Stand under hair dryers in womens bathroom for far too long.....Get free stuff from a million sponsors.....Watch the pro-womens race.....See Emma Snowshill take an incredible victory....Roast in the 95 degree sun.....Watch the pro-men race....Gauk over the really hot Italian pro dudes.....Drive 3 hours to venue #2.....Be very happy.....Fall Asleep.

Extended Version:
Super Early morning.
It was dark out when I woke up, but light out when I went to bed.....
Got into transition area at 5:43am - Got kicked out of transition area of 5:45. Talk about a lightening fast set up and gear up.
Headed down to the water - learned that the course had been modified because of incoming severe weather. Was pretty bummed that it was shortened - but became intensely more competitive and focused to really do well.

Swim - Crushed people. Literally. I haven't felt that strong in the water, since....err.....high school swim team? Finished in 8:06. Was the first in my division out of the water - and was ranked 96th swimmer out of 1,600. Yeah. That's right. Suck it.

T1- Really Fast. So much better than Florida. My new tri-suit that I scored for $15 is sick. Went sockless and shadeless for the bike, good choices - made getting out faster.

Bike - Passed upwards of 60 people. Average 20.2 mph - 38 minutes and some change for a 14 mile ride. One woman and I played cat and mouse the whole course, taking turns passing eachother - It was awesome because we pushed eachother to work harder. She was in the next age group up.

T2 - Happy with it - No need for a visor, just a shoe switch. Grabbed my number and ran through the massive carpeted arena to set out on the run course. We're talking big screen TVs, announcers, media everywhere....super super cool. They even had a helicopter doing aerial coverage.

Run - HELLOOO I love 5ks. Maybe its because its the best distance to be able to push yourself to the point of puking - but not actually puking. If that makes any sense. Last 1/2 mile me and 2 other ladies (in the 25-29 age group) ran together (but not in the friendly, social way - more like the, 'i'm going to crush you, you little bitch' kind of way) neck and neck. The last 1/4 mile was an all out sprint as we made the turn and entered the arena and raced for the finish line. I passed one of them - it was pretty intense. Definitely the most exciting finish I've been a part of. 21:05 Time.

Results:
1:10:13 Final Time

2nd out of 30 in my Division (20-24 Females)
29th out of 430 Women

Very Pleased. Can't wait for Next Saturday. And then the Next Sunday. : )

Countdown:
Quad Cities - World Champ Qualifier - 6 Days
Nationals - 3 months, 10 days.

Quote:
"Winning isn't everything. Wanting to is."

Here's To Peace, Practice & Performance,
Aubs

P.S. I've been here so long that I can visually see how much the corn has grown. And it's a lot.