SEPTEMBER 15, 2024
On Sunday….I raced again! Fortunately, my age group started a little earlier than the day before…but, we still had to be there and set up by 6:20AM. I was up and ready to go by 3:30 because I couldn’t find my timing chip. I am not one to lose things and I had been dreaming about it all night. I was prepared to leave a little early so that I could get to transition and get a replacement.
Here she is......MIss America!
As Jen got showered and prepped, I zipped up my transition bag and slid it across the floor. Voila! My timing chip appeared. Apparently, the Velcro stuck it to the back of my bag so when I moved the bag, I moved the chip. When I picked it up off the floor, the Velcro kept it stuck to the floor. PTL!
Turkeys. (Note the deli meat for sandwiches on the cooler.)
Once again at Bader Field, I headed to transition to prep my bike. Jen stayed in the car and napped. When I got back – I tried to nap, too. The seats in the Sequoia were already folded down and we positioned all my cargo organizers like they were center consoles. We each had a side to completely stretch out. I used my wetsuit as a pillow and had even brought a blanket. We snoozed for about 45 minutes and then my stomach started growling too loudly to ignore. I made us both sandwiches and finally decided to start moving towards the start.
Once again, the swim was fast. I used my FORM goggles for the second weekend in a row and they make such a huge difference for me. I can keep my head down for longer and still stay in a straight line. I felt like there was a current with me the whole way – even though it was an out and back.
The winds on the bike were stronger on Sunday than Saturday and I was thankful that it was a shorter course. I was pretty thrilled with an 18mph average despite 20mph winds and 25mph gusts. Somewhere on the bike, I realized that my watch was in open water swim mode. I got off the bike and instead of trying to fix it by turning it off and then changing modes, I just rolled with it. I had completed the swim and bike in one hour and was determined to see if I could finish the run for an overall time of 1:30.
Jen's visor is everything.
My run actually felt good. It was weird. I knew I wasn’t blazing fast – but it felt easy. Maybe it was all the second-hand pot smoke. Of course, I found someone to chase and nicknamed her the pineapple express. She had three little pineapples on the back of her kit and her run:walk was keeping her just ahead of me. On the turn-around, I still had her in my sights. She was about 50 yards away and I started gaining on her. I knew she might stop at the next aid station, so I caught up to her. Sure enough, she slowed for water and I passed her. I picked up my pace until I got to the rise on the pier and slowed to a power walk. Once I got to the far end of the pier, I picked up my pace again and let gravity pull me down the south side of the pier and back onto the boardwalk. With the end in sight I looked at my watch – I had 3 minutes to finish in under 1:30 and I sailed to the line in 1:28:55. I averaged a sub 10-minute mile and I was PUMPED!
I was happy to be finished and ready to be on vacation mode instead of race mode. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the boardwalk. I had peel-and-eat shrimp at an outdoor bar and grill, we met Kitty at Bally’s casino, rode the ferris wheel at the Steel Pier, played craps at Resorts Casino, had dinner at Land Shark’s and finished with some casino games at Ocean. We even tried to get to the pool and hot tub – but it was closed by the time we got there.
Thank you, CoeurSports for the cute kit!
Let's go! I'm ready to finish and go play roulette.
All in all, it was a great weekend and I was pleased with my effort and the results. I am looking forward to an easy week and only one race next weekend.