What surprised me is that she misses the training and the racing too - I thought she'd be so wrapped up in nesting and whatever else you do to prepare for her little (now cantaloupe sized!) bundle of joy that she wouldn't really be missing all the triathlon stuff - but she totally does. So, because swimming is the one thing she can safely and comfortably do, we signed up for the relay race at the Small Texan out at Boerne Lake - with Shelly as the swimmer, me as the cyclist, and Orissa as the runner. The original Iron Whiners in action at this (sort of) Olympic distance race (1500 m swim, 45K bike, 10K run) under the name "San Antonio Smash."
All three of us talked about this being "just for fun," (ahem, isn't it all!?) but when race day came, of course we each had our goals. Shelly and I drove out to the lake together and met Brian and Orissa there. I have never done a tri relay before and it was quite a different feeling. Not the same pre-race butterflies as usual. Of course, because she was going first, Shelly had all of the butterflies racing around in her belly along with the little one.
We set up in transition and chatted with friends. Attended the pre-race meeting at the lake front, and the men's wave was off. Orissa and I hugged Shelly and sent her down to the water's edge. We watched from the boat ramp as the women and relays took off swimming 5 minutes after the men. Go Shelly! Her little yellow cap went off into the distance among all the green caps - there were only 5 relay teams for the Small Texan.
Orissa and I ran a quick (and exact) three-quarters of a mile to warm up and then we set up inside the transition area. Orissa would grab the chip off Shelly and transport it to my leg, and then I'd run out with my bike. As we stood there, the first racers started to come in. What a different experience that was! Some people are crazy and rushed and panicky in transition; others are smooth and quick. Some sit down and chat for a while. We saw one of the other relay people standing at the other side of the transition. I joked with him that I would chase him on the course later. Roland ran through transition so quickly that he forgot to take off his swim skin - Orissa and I screamed at him to take it off and grabbed it from him at the bike mount line before he took off to ride. Apryl ran through in first place. And then came Shelly! She had crushed the swim and made it up the long boat ramp and into transition in 31 minutes! We were in third place and it was my job to keep us there.
Off onto the bike! I ran out of transition and rushed onto my bike, smiling for Brian's photos and yelling at Linda and Heather who were cheering (so cool to have a cheering squad!). Out onto the I-10 access road and down the route that we used to ride every weekend when we were newbies a few short years ago.
The road was familiar with its chip seal and bumps. My heart rate was high and that was okay - even though Coachie had told me that I should plan to run afterwards, I knew that if I raced the bike right and treated it like a time trial, I wouldn't have anything left for a run and that was okay with me. I was flying. Racing past people and feeling super confident. The road was bumpy - it rattled my right elbow right out of my bars twice! My aero helmet felt hot at first but then I stopped noticing it. The route took us straight out to the Waring general store, and then we turned back towards the lake. Right before the turnaround, I caught a glimpse of the relay rider that I had joked with earlier. He was already coming back the other way. I yelled "I'm coming after you!" or something ridiculous like that, and made it my plan to catch him.
I love out-and-back courses because you can see where everyone is. You can also get encouragement from your friends - I enjoyed exchanging greetings with Carlos, Roland, Apryl, and others that I recognized as we flew by each other. The way back to the lake went by quickly as I picked off more of the riders in front of me.
Then, instead of turning into the lake, we had to ride past it, down a road that I've run on a few times but am not as familiar with. It turns out that there are some pretty nice hills out that direction too, and after hammering it back down the access road of I-10 and expecting more flat-ish terrain, it's a nasty surprise. But never mind, just keep on pushing because you don't have to run afterwards. I raced back into the lake, and as we approached the last half mile, I saw the relay rider...and he was sitting up and slowing down. What? Who does that? I flew past him, screamed and fist pumped like Mark Cavendish winning a sprint finish, and hustled into transition. I think I probably looked like an enormous fool, but it was sooo much fun. I never saw the relay cyclist who was in first place, but I was happy with my time - an 18 mph average! My fastest ever out in Boerne.
After I handed off the chip to Orissa, it took some time for me to collect myself and I barely had the energy to walk to rack my bike. "I'm not running," I told Shelly, Brian and Linda. Brian and I took a dip in the lake and cooled off. Then it was up to the top of the reservoir to cheer Orissa in.
Orissa crushed her run in the ridiculous heat on a course with no shade. She outran the relay runner behind her and put us in 3rd place by 40 seconds. Yahoo! I could tell that she was totally spent just like I had been. AND! She achieved her goal of a sub-9 pace. I poured water over her head and we all screamed excitedly at each other about what a great day it had been. Orissa dipped in the lake and then we went to eat some delicious barbecue. They even served beer!
I found the relay cyclist that I had been chasing and thanked him for motivating me to ride faster. He laughed and said he somehow could tell I wasn't joking when I said I was coming for him. It turns out that their team won first place in the relay division because their runner ran a 35 minute 10K. Amazing!
The girls and I agreed that being beaten by a relay team of 3 male Marines was not too shabby. The second place team ahead of us was quick and strong too. We were proud to be the only all-female team. And then when the awards ceremony came around, it was even more fun to be recognized as the only 4-man relay team, with Shelly's little cantaloupe joining her on the swim.
What a fun day! If you haven't done one before, you should try it. If for no other reason than to just smash yourself on the bike and see what you can do when you don't have to save yourself to run. It was a fantastic day out at the lake with great friends at a great race. I would definitely do this again - we don't even need to have a baby along for the ride as an excuse!
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