The highlight of the whole weekend was my fantastic homestay. Charlie Brown (and his girlfriend-- above photo) were absolutely awesome. They both taught me about their native Cuba, and I am so grateful they answered all of the hundreds of questions I had about their homeland. Charlie introduced me to many of his triathlete friends, and they were all so gracious and welcoming. Charlie didn't let me pay for one thing because he said he wanted to be a great host. That, he definitely was! I went to fun triathlete party, ate at some fantastic restaurants, discovered mango juice and Cuban coffee, and was taught how to be the boss when I am on a homestay visit. :) Thank you Charlie for being an awesome host!!!! The race started about 30 minutes before sun-up. Check out these photos of the swim start:
This first photo is the start of the women's race, and yes, we are in the water somewhere. It was just soooo dark, you couldn't see us. It was so dark, they had glow-sticks on the buoys! After I lost touch with the main swim pack (which was fairly quickly), I felt like I was an airplane coming in at night looking for the lighted runway. Swimming in a dark ocean looking for neon lights is just crazy!! I came out of the water toward the back (as usual), and then grabbed my bike for my favorite part.
I was reminded of my light training load this last month as I started biking. I really struggled to get my heart rate up to the range I am used to racing, and this time it wasn't because I was overtrained. I biked a 1:02 on a pretty slow course, so it wasn't as bad as I thought at the time. I was hoping to catch a few girls on the bike, but it just didn't happen today. We started with 9 or 10 girls, and I came in off the bike in 7th place. At that point, I thought about ditching the run because I sure didn't want to injure my achilles if I wasn't going to win any money!! I decided that if I felt really bad on the first mile of the run and it was slow, I was not going to risk my (already slightly tight) achilles. I came through the first mile in 5:48 and felt great! I felt better running than I did on the bike. I was able to pick off two people and ran one of my best triathlon 10K times of 37:58 rather easily and comfortably. Turns out, it was a pretty slow runcourse, and this was one of the fastest runs amoungst the pro women field. I finished in 2:04 and some change. That's not my best, but I can't complain given my last month of training. I was just happy to be back to racing! My focus over the winter has been on running, and I sure felt it in this race. It is probably the first time in the last few years that I felt more comfortable running than I did cycling! (Maybe next year I'll feel more like a swimmer! :) I was able to finish in fifth place-- and take home some prize money!! I also got to take part in a fun awards ceremony with champagne and lots of loot!
Me on the bike. 
Me at the (am I in Houston?) very humid finish.
My achilles held together fine, albeit it's still a bit tight. So, I am not putting any races on my race schedule until I know it's 100% better. It was interesting to find out that several of the athletes at this race (and several of the ones that cancelled at the last minute) are struggling with injury. It's early in the season, and an injury now will likely get worse as the season progresses. Early season injuries are not something to try to push through. I'd rather postpone my season than be dealing with this all year. Hopefully, it won't take too long to get back to 100%. I'm too tired to do anything today (and probably tomorrow too) anyhow! :)
1 comment:
Awesome race!
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