Crabman

4:00am, I never get up at 4 to run. Today was different, forget about Sarah the runner and focus on Sarah the Triathlete (do you hear the ohh's and ahh's from the crowd). This seemed like a great idea until I watched them put out the buoy's for the 1/4 mile swim, they seemed further out and further apart than last year. I suddenly worried that I never wrote out that will to determine who would care for Stanley. Just before my wave started I took what could have been my last look at Joe, the hottest cheerleader on the beach. Why am I doing this as he is standing nearby...DRY?? My nerves did not dissipate until I hit the water and had to focus on not drowning. Although the swim is the most nerve wracking for me, it's my strongest leg of the race. Getting to the 2nd buoy seemed to take a while and was complicated by solar glare. And just like last year when I thought I couldn't swim any further I hit the buoy, took a sharp left and headed back to the beach. That's right, again I didn't drown and to me that makes it a successful swim!

Next up the bike. Here's the thing about the bike, I haven't been on mine since this race last year. Not smart but what can I say, I'm not a huge fan of biking. Don't get me wrong, a Sunday ride in shorts and flip flops for ice cream I'm there, but riding hard soaking wet after a swim really does nothing for me. I made it through the transition and got my bike on the road only to find it was broken. Yep, I should have checked before but I didn't. The chain fell off and was wedged in tight. After struggling for a few moments someone took pity on me and fixed it for me. So now my chain is on, but when I hit the minor hills I found the gears weren't working right. What the hell! Nothing I can do but laugh. 2 loops completed pretty quickly and back to the transition for the run.

I run all the time, and I don't always run smart. Yesterday I ran 13 miles so today's run sucked. Not only because it was during a tri and my legs were beat up but also because I wasn't recovered from yesterday. Again, all I can do is laugh. Last year I figured out that no matter how slow it feels like you are running, the punishment is over quicker if you keep trying to run rather than resort to walking. In addition to being in pain from the long run yesterday and swim and the bike ride I finished, it was friggin HOT out. There was no shade on the course, although lovely ocean views.

Finishing was oh so sweet, sweeter than finishing most running races if you want me to be completely honest. There is just something about finishing a tri that is amazing. The sense of accomplishment is overwhelming. Not that I trained for this or had an amazing finishing time but think about it; I swam in the open ocean then hopped on my bike then went for a run...all before breakfast!

Notes for next year:

tinted googles to help with sun glare

check bike before run to ensure it's not broken and ride bike more than annually

find someone else to complete running segment as it's the most uncomfortable!

Miles trained today: 1/4 mile swim, 11 mile bike ride, 3.2 mile run