Have I become Mr. Big?

On Sunday I did the Mermaid Triathlon in Santa Cruz. I was looking forward to this event because it is put on by the group who helped me train for my 1st half-iron. Mermaid events are awesome because they are all women, super supportive and you get great race t-shirts and finisher necklaces.

This race, however, was not my best effort.

I don't know what the heck is going on with me---but my motivation is not as present as it has been in the past. Since the Big Kahuna 3 weeks ago, my training has been pretty non-existent. I just look at my bike and think, "ugh!" Isn't that terrible? I am like a bad boyfriend. I loved my bike when it was shiny and new and jazzed it up with pink handlebars and accessories. I worked hard to get better, but I didn't work as hard as I should have. I didn't take the time to get to know my bike, to know how to ride it safely. And once things got rough and I had a bad bike crash, my feelings for my bike started to fade.

Have I become Mr. Big and is my bike Carrie?

Anyways--back to Sunday's race. My coach suggested I sign up for the Mighty Mermaid which is the same course, but you do it twice. Of course I signed up for it because I am stupid and do things without thinking about them. That is how I found myself jumping off a ferry near Alcatraz.

Here are some highlights from this race:
1) Swim was good. I didn't maul any sea life this time. Doing the course the second time is kind of strange. I had to exit the ocean, run under the pier and then jump back in. I miscalculated the depth of the water and landed on the sand. ouch.

2) You have to run up a bunch of stairs to get to the bike transition after the swim. THAT SUCKED! It must have been 180 stairs. ugh!

3) The hills on the bike were tough but I powered through them. I still hate that feeling of finishing the bike and seeing all the other bikes on the rack. Oh well.

4) The run was ok---I just didn't have my fire. Where did my speed go?

Fortunately I didn't set unreasonable goals for this race. I wanted to have a good time, cheer my friends on and be inspired by women of all ages and sizes challenging themselves.


I have decided that my last triathlon of 2008 (Catalina in November) is going to be the race where I push myself. I am ready to finish strong and fast!

So...that pretty much means peeling myself off the couch. Rats.