Okay so here is my story. The Kinetic Half.
Pam came out to Reston in true Pam fashion – late from bypassing Reston and going to Manassas and loaded with lots of luggage. Gotta love her! When we finally got to Lake Anna we both decided to tough it up and test the waters that everyone had been fearing. BRRRRRR. 53 degrees is REALLY cold. I swam around for a good 30 or 40 minutes and realized I couldn't find the shoreline which was like 10 feet in front of me. Yes, I ditzed out more than my usual self and was starting to suffer from hypothermia. Pam and I headed to the Fishermen's Inn for the evening while I battled out the idea of how I might be able to pull the swim off. Oh - and yes, we roomed with Bubba Joe, Billy Bob Bass Man , Catfish Catching Charlie and a hand full of bed bugs.
RACE DAY! I felt others' choices to swim as a huge pressure, but after a much needed confirmation from Pam and * invisible * Noah via cell phone (which what the F - I only got reception at the water!?), I knew that I was making the right choice to opt for the run bike run. I was sad, but really, hypothermia was not really something that was in my race plan. As I made my way up the hill to meet the other Duathletes, to my surprise, there were many of us. I was absolutely comforted to be with EB and see another vet, Tracey. Both had made the choice with confidence. Maybe I am just boosting my ego, but in a sport where everyone always has to one-up each other, I feel it took major chutzpa to do that swim, but even more not to.
5K - I hate running. But this was actually REALLY fun. A bunch of us stuck together and started realizing how nice it was to actually be able to talk for the first leg of the race. There were definitely some pluses to doing this run, like cheering on the first people out of the water, scoping out the set up of the aide stations first, we got acclimated to the weather fast, we didn't have numb limbs, and so on. What I now know was bad was that I was WAY too warmed up. I was in upper Z2 for the 5K and that was the last I saw of that.
BIKE - 2 loops, 56 miles and no potties. Heart rate...yikes Z4 the ENTIRE WAY. The sun decided to shine, making things hot and tough. I think I just got too comfortable this season with the cold, wind, rain and blizzards that my heart could not handle sun and 60 degree weather. I played leapfrog with a few of my girls including Trusty Linda and EB. Poor EB - some crazy lady almost turned her into roadkill at a bottle drop - honking, yelling and tailgating EB for "littering". Luckily the course was armed with tons of FBI guys in suits - I couldn't tell if they were fans of all of the new secret service Team Zers or if maybe they were with for Mayor Fenty.
RUN: Yeah. Can you say Zone 4+++?? How about a shout out for Zones 5a and 5b!!! I saw Angel EB about mile 3 and luckily caught her...well I think she actually waited fro my fat ass. Thank you EBs, this angel bonked long ago. You truely are an Angel. For the first time I went back down in zone 2 while under the watchful eye of EB. We cruised through all of the water stops, EBs making sure I stayed hydrated while I searched for lip gloss. No, gel does not make good lip gloss. The Team volunteers were awesome - It's amazing how many were out there in the draining sun and I can not believe all of the Sprinters that were out there Saturday sacrificing their rest. Shout out to all the newbies, Marlene, Jenn, Nick, Anouk, Keri, CJ, Tom and on and on. As the run went on, I got more and more drained. Had I been alone I am sure I would have walked back slowly. With about 3 or 4 miles left, EB and I met back up with Marlene and we headed to the finish line for what I think has to go down as my favorite finish next to Miamiaman. I was absolutely drained and hyperventilating (mostly because I wanted to cry and tears couldn't come out). Marlene ran us in to the finish with pirate gear, sword in hand, her keen shoes and bad a$$ stereo in a shopping bag. We sang out way to the finish!! Yeah!! Beautiful Day, Extraordinary Machine, Walking after Midnight, Groove is in the heart!!! YEAH! Dan got some pix and I am dying to see them. I don't think I can describe how happy I was about that finish.
I snapped a couple of photos each day. Note my fav- the one with my watch and a cup o' DD coffee. Note: The race started at 8.
http://picasaweb.google.com/helen.honeywell/KinticHalfAndSprint0421And04222007?authkey=b576nW1itJg
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