Eric’s birthday was on Saturday, so I was happy to take my mind off the race the next day by hosting a paella party in his honor the night before. Everyone in the house was up by 6:15 on Sunday and we headed to Raleigh to get my bike and transition station set up before the 8am race start.
My swim time had me starting at 8:47am, so I knew there would be some waiting involved but only about 200 people made it into the pool before thunder halted the swim portion. Those who started the swim were allowed to finish and, ultimately, complete the entire triathlon. However, after well over an hour and with the thunder (and pouring rain!) still going strong, the race officials had to scrap the swim portion and have the remaining three quarters of the field (including yours truly) do a biathlon instead.
Many people left during the wait and even more decided to skip the race altogether once they announced the change, but I paid good money to participate so I decided to tough it out.
My shoes, socks and bike helmet were absolutely soaked from sitting out in the transition area, so I spent the whole bike ride trying not to slip off the pedals and frankly, just stay on the bike. The course was hilly but not too difficult and even though I didn’t get to swim in my new trisuit, I certainly experienced riding a bike while soaked to the bone.
coming in from the nine mile bike ride
As expected, my legs were pretty tired from the bike, so it took a little effort to get them moving for the run portion. I ran the entire two miles without stopping and even had enough energy for a smile at Eric and a burst of speed at the end.
starting the second lap of the run
finishing strong! (note my muddy shoes and legs)
I have no idea what my splits were yet, but I’ll post them here once the official results are up. I’m pretty sure I fell within the range of my goal despite the conditions.
One thing I did notice: people do not accurately submit their swim times. For example, I saw several women breast-stroking at the beginning of the race, so clearly I need to drop my race time as I could have passed several of these sub-200 starters and I was seeded at #480. Next time!
Race Results: I placed 212/322 overall – 47:03 for the bike and 20:39 for the run for a total of 1:09:07 with the transition. This means I would have easily met my goal of 1:20 had the swim been possible. Success!