It's been almost two weeks since I travelled up to the beautiful emerald green pacific northwest to the Lake Stevens 70.3 triathlon. I was super excited to head up because I love that area in the summer and I was going to get to hang out with some great friends. There are lots of race reports out there that describe the course and the beauty of the region. My race report is not one of those. It was a fabulous race but what I remember the most about the race is the Super Awesome amount of snot and golden nuggets that my sinuses and lungs produced. It was impressive! That would explain the pressure in my head the last 4 days. I swear there were buckets of extra body fluids being stored in my sinus cavities.
At the start line I knew I wasn't primed to race well. When you start coughing uncontrollably during a light swim warm up it is a pretty good indicator that your lungs aren't going to tolerate much heavy breathing. Thus, I settled in and had a comfortable swim racked only occasionally by coughing. Let's just say the lake water was clear when I started, not sure how it was for the waves behind me.
Onto the bike and I started to feel the sprinkle of some rain. No problem, if you are cold just go harder. Whoops, that doesn't work so well when an increased effort means an increased oxygen requirement. Look how fun it is to ride in the rain, at least it helps wash away the copious amounts of sinus drainage all over your snot rags-otherwise known as arm warmers. I saw a few crashes while on the bike ride, luckily they were in front of me so I didn't feel responsible for the slippery roads. Throughout the whole bike ride raindrops kept falling on my head, and I did me some talking to the sun, begging him to come out and warm me up.
I got off the bike, cause that is what you do in a triathlon. In transition I chatted with a few girls and then I decided to give the run a try. Right away the rain let up and it was dry. I knew on the first slight incline that my lungs were not going to tolerate an elevated heart rate but I had travelled all this way and I wasn't going to stop. Plus, I had an athlete out on course and what kind of example would I be by complaining and whining. The good news is, I wasn't dizzy, I didn't bonk and I finished the run course with a pocket full of unopened gu packets that I picked up out on course. It is pretty evident you aren't really racing when you ask what flavors are being offered and you get yourself a nice selection to take home. It was not the race I had hoped for, trained for and travelled for but cryin's not for me. I wasn't going to stop the rain from complaining. It was what it was and I still managed to have fun because I'm free and nothin's worrying me.
At the start line I knew I wasn't primed to race well. When you start coughing uncontrollably during a light swim warm up it is a pretty good indicator that your lungs aren't going to tolerate much heavy breathing. Thus, I settled in and had a comfortable swim racked only occasionally by coughing. Let's just say the lake water was clear when I started, not sure how it was for the waves behind me.
Onto the bike and I started to feel the sprinkle of some rain. No problem, if you are cold just go harder. Whoops, that doesn't work so well when an increased effort means an increased oxygen requirement. Look how fun it is to ride in the rain, at least it helps wash away the copious amounts of sinus drainage all over your snot rags-otherwise known as arm warmers. I saw a few crashes while on the bike ride, luckily they were in front of me so I didn't feel responsible for the slippery roads. Throughout the whole bike ride raindrops kept falling on my head, and I did me some talking to the sun, begging him to come out and warm me up.
I got off the bike, cause that is what you do in a triathlon. In transition I chatted with a few girls and then I decided to give the run a try. Right away the rain let up and it was dry. I knew on the first slight incline that my lungs were not going to tolerate an elevated heart rate but I had travelled all this way and I wasn't going to stop. Plus, I had an athlete out on course and what kind of example would I be by complaining and whining. The good news is, I wasn't dizzy, I didn't bonk and I finished the run course with a pocket full of unopened gu packets that I picked up out on course. It is pretty evident you aren't really racing when you ask what flavors are being offered and you get yourself a nice selection to take home. It was not the race I had hoped for, trained for and travelled for but cryin's not for me. I wasn't going to stop the rain from complaining. It was what it was and I still managed to have fun because I'm free and nothin's worrying me.
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