Really, we had no game plan until the night before. We decided that Sue would start off the first swim, then I would bike, she would run. The next triathlon, I would swim, Sue would bike, and I would run. We alternated like this all 8 hours. This worked well. The distances are one-tenth the Ironman distances, so today the swim was .24 miles, bike was 11.2 miles, and the run was 2.62 miles. We thought the that after the run, having to bike so close would take it tolls. I think we were both fine. If we did the 24 hour that way, that could have been tough. So the whole group starts shortly after 7 AM this morning. Our first team-Team Tri Smart came out the leaders, then team Tri Buddies followed, then my teammate, then our solo teammate. I got started on the bike and I was like oh man, I have to bike this again today. The course was a little bumpy and had a lot of gravel on the turns. Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate gravel on turns. I totally slow down. To make matters worse, all the sudden my aero handlebar on the right is lopsided, you have to be kidding me. I fixed it in transition the first time. Also on the first bike our solo athlete passes me. My thoughts were , umm, am I that slow on the bike or did he go out too fast? Needless to say we got back to transition and off Sue went on the run.
The next time I swam and ran. So I get ready to go into the swim. I opted out of wearing a wetsuit because mine currently has a hole in it and I didn't want to try to put on a wetsuit all sweaty. Sue gets back from an awesome run leg and I head down to the lake. I get into the water and my first thought was whoops, probably should have brought that wetsuit, but after swimming a little bit, I was like, okay, glad I didn't bring the wetsuit. I caught up with our solo athlete and after taking a few detours on the swim, I was out. Sue took off on the bike and I started to get ready for the run. The great thing about our team, is that we are just that. We had the Tri Smart team tent set up in transition along with a ton of food. We had a bike rack for our bikes. It was awesome. Sue came back from the bike and off I went on the run. The run is 1.31 out and then back. It is mainly on the sidewalks of the park area and then the neighborhoods. I felt good. I was wondering how I was going to feel with all the stop and go stuff.
The next triathlon I was just biking. Well, I thought I had fixed my area bar, WAY WRONG. As soon as I hit a bump I was riding lopsided again. REALLY, come on. Oh well, it is 11.2 miles, suck it up Simon. As I get to the turnaround on the bike, it is really tight, so again being a girly I unclip my foot out of my bike and start to turnaround. I think the nice man at the turnaround gave me a little extra credit, he told me I earned a 6 on that turn. It was more like 3 or 4.
I get back and decide that I am going to see how Sue and I are doing. I look up the current results, wow, we are in first place in the 2 person women's division. Okay great, we were 7th overall at that time of all the different teams. That's great. I kill a little more time in the tent area and then get ready to swim again.
I felt the day went pretty fast, before I knew it we were going in to hours four and five. Wow, okay I like this. All through the day Tri Smart members cheered each other on, as did most of the other participants in the race. We supported one another and helped each other. That is probably one of the main reasons the day went fast for me. I was having so much fun the whole time. I think about the only time I had anything bad to say was when I heard the race director announcing that there was a cop driving around threatening to ticket us on the bike for riding through stop signs. I know this is a safety issue, but I also know that many of us slow down drastically at intersections. My friends from Team Tri Buddies told me this guy was in an unmarked car and his idea of stopping was unclipping out of your pedal and putting one foot down. Glad he was gone by the next time I got on the bike.
By the time we got to the last hour and fifteen minutes. I had one run left. I figured at this point we could start our 7 triathlon, but we would only get through the swim and the bike. Sue went off to the swim and I waited for her after I was done running. I failed to mention earlier, only one person from the team can be on the course at a time. Sue quickly swam the .24 and then I was off. Most of the last ride was uneventful, but at the turnaround I saw a lady who was the winner of the 24 hour solo triathlon. Now we are not even in the same race, but I just felt that I should not get caught by her, so I worked as hard as I could on that last bike. When I got to the finish, Sue was waiting for me with our other Tri Smart teammates. We got some pictures as everyone was coming in and then wait for awards.
Awards came and Sue and I won our division. Team Tri Smart also came in first and Tri Buddies came in third in the co-ed division. Our solo athlete came in third in the men's solo. I got a little chuckle at the end when I finally realized that Sue and I were able to get in 6 and 2/3 triathlons. The winners of the men's 2 person team did the same amount as us. Way to go us!!!!!!!!! I had so much fun at this event. It was great to be around my Tri Smart Teammates. The people volunteering and organizing were a lot of fun and very supportive. All and all it was a great time had by all.
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