all things cbl

So I just got back from the 2008 SGTri. Actually, it was more of a duathlon for me. Here’s the scoop on my take.

Olympic folks started a little after 7am.. my wave was supposed to start at 7.30am. There was wind. And not just any wind. A LOT OF WIND. I’m probably exaggerating, but it felt very windy. Enough about the wind. So the three olympic waves went.. and it before the 3rd olympic wave got going I was in the water trying to get used to the cold. Yes, it was cold. And not just any cold.. COLD with WIND. I had to keep my feet moving so I didnt lose any feeling in my feet. It was pretty bad. So 7.25am rolls around, we get out of the warmup area and proceed over the Milliseconds timing line so they’d record us. Then we wait in the water for what seemed like an eternity. While we wait a helicopter flies overhead a bunch of times recording what is supposed to be the start of our swim wave, they hover pretty low hoping to catch us in action, but no such luck today. Also, the Search and Rescue boat brought about 8 swimmers back to shore each trip. I saw them make two trips… So it turns out they ended up canceling the swim portion. Yes it wasn’t fun at all being in the cold water for 30 minutes..with wind blowing.. waiting for something.. and then finding out swim portion has been cancelled, but better to cancel it than my legs cramp up or hands lose feeling or whatever.

So with the swim portion cancelled we all made our way back over to the ramp where people come in from the swim.. our wave hung out at the bottom and then had to race to the top like we finished the swim.. people were confused..in the way of our wave..very unorganized, but what did we expect with the swim being cancelled.

The bike, well was windy too. There is a portion where you cross through the sand dunes.. with the wind blowing, it was blowing sand across the road.. into the riders faces.. (note to self: must not breathe in when biking through blowing sand). The scary hill was well, scary.. pain in the but to climb up with the wind blowing in my face, but I did it.. mostly. The ride down was quite scary for me.. since I had crashed crossing the cattle guard my last race on this course. So yeah, I was nervous that I’d do it again.. I’ve had many a nightmare that I crashed again, etc… coming down the hill I noticed two ambulances and a cop car and another vehicle.. all with lights blazing.. so I figured someone met the same fate I did today, only not as lucky to land in the sand on the side as I. I slowed waaay down when crossing the mats.. just out of fear.

The run for me was ok after half way through. My quads kept feeling inflamed and it made it hard to run on the sand.. but after climbing the sand hill of death, the rest was flat, smooth and easy. Easy to keep a nice steady jog on that part. The first half though, was impossible with my ankles to keep a steady run.

So there you have it. The St. George Tri/Du..err..whatever. Would I do it again? Of course. Do I know my times yet? Nope. Later this afternoon though.