It was a huge crowd of people. Stepping up on the beach. Looking up at the skies. Wetsuit on. Swim cap pulling my hair. Goggle straps over my swim cap. Sand in between my toes. Hands shaking.
10....
9....
8....
7...
Heart rate starts to rise. Toes curl in. Eyes aiming at the sand.
6....
5....
4....
Everything slows down.......
3..............
You got this Rob. Don't think, just do it. The water is a bit cold.
2.......................
Holy cow! everyone is getting in there position. That guy up front looks fast. Crap!
1...................................
ROB! Get closer to that guy. Get in the water more! DON'T BE SCARED! It's now or never.
Eyes closed. Inhale deeply.
GO!!!
The swim begins. Punch, swing, kick, and you would think I'm talking about another sport. Nope I'm still talking about the race. Everyone wants to get up front, even if they are slow swimmers. What do you do when that slow swimmer gets in front of you? Punch, Swing, kick, and repeat. Please don't try to kill the guy on your next triathlon just because you read it here. I'm not telling you to commit homicide. Don't be scared. You have to be aggressive. You have to want to get in front. Be confident even if your not. Your mind is telling you to "slow down, you suck, that guy is way faster than you, just take it nice and easy. "
DO NOT LISTEN
I ran through transition. Had some issues pulling the wetsuit off, but when don't I. Slipped on my cycling shoes. Threw on my helmet and began to head out. I didn't know the cycling course too good so I just took it a bit easy in the beginning. The road was pretty flat with a few bumps here and there. I dropped down on the aero bars and began to crank it up. I was feeling good until about a mile or two. The legs were loaded with lactic acid and were getting hard to keep a high cadence. I just kept pushing my legs and mind. I pulled into transition happy that the bike leg was over but I knew that a tough run was coming up.
This is the first time I used my K-swiss running sneakers. It felt amazing and they are hands down the best running sneakers I've ever had. They rolled off smoothly with heel striking but when I picked up the speed it would really respond. For most of the run I just kept looking down . I wanted to stop so bad but didn't let myself do it. People were cheering. I saw my dad smiling. I knew I couldn't stop even with all this pain. In the last half mile of the race a guy passed me. He had a blue and grey tri suit. You can see he was in good shape, lean, tall, and he had some pop to his stride. I held on to him. I ran right up his back. I began to have confidence in my running. My chest was out. Eyes staring at his back. He sensed I was behind him and he picked up the pace. So did I. 100 meters to go and we started to sprint and I flew by him in just enough time to pass the finish line before him. Well that is what I was visualizing. It didn't workout as planned. He sprinted to the finish line. My legs had no power left in them. I was just happy not to stop.
That was my race!
Coming out of the swim!
Getting on my running sneakers
Finishing strong!
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