Thursday, April 7, 2011

First Race of the Year Report -Mesilla Valley Sprint

It sure has taken me a long time to get to writing about my race on Sunday. It's not because I had a lot to complete, either. I'm just being lazy. We went an hour south to the Mesilla Valley Sprint Triathlon for the first race of the year. It is what seems to be standard order around here: run, bike, then swim. I knew it was a 5k run and a 500m swim, but couldn't remember the distance of the bike until I got to the starting line and asked a woman standing next to me. Something like 15 miles. A mass start of about 220 people was uneventful. I watched for a few women who quickly got out ahead of me, recognizing one that I knew to take off jackrabbit style and slow down later. The first half was slightly uphill to the turnaround. The race started at 9:00, so I was already getting a little toasty by the aid station. I grabbed a cup of water and promptly poured half over my head, then swigged it. Ahhhhhh, powerade. Guess I should've checked before dousing myself with its stickiness. I could even feel it on the backs of my knees with every step. 

I pulled into T1 right with the 2nd place jackrabbit girl, happy with a 6:50ish pace. I find it really hard to pace a run with the thought of the rest of the race in mind. I'd slow down to conserve, then decide to push harder, then remember the bike, etc. The girl just ahead of us must've had a slow transition, because I came out right with her. She and jackrabbit proceeded to pull ahead of me, but since that's just not my style (I can't sprint anymore), I stayed calm and rode my own pace. I was surprised a few miles later when a couple of other girls came by, but only one was really flying, so I just kept my eye on them. My husband also came by me, and I was plotting my repass of the whole lot of them.

Then, a few hundred yards from the turnaround, I heard the hiss of a flat tire, and realized that it was indeed MY tire. Of course I hadn't taken a spare tubular tire in a sprint race. I have never had a flat on tubulars, this was a brand new tire, and besides, I don't have a bit of practice changing them. My race was over. I walked to the turnaround where I spent over an hour directing traffic, cheering, and chatting with my new friend Fred. Luckily I've had lots of practice at the Los Locos Du doing precisely that job. 

Jeremy ended up having a good race, but he still doesn't have a win over me yet. :)

Since I got less than a decent workout Sunday (7 whole miles on the bike minus warmup), we made our Tuesday workout a little harder. We rode halfway up the back side of the mountain. I kept my heart rate super high with the thoughts of stalking mountain lions, with which I have become a little obsessed. I met a guy last week whose brother knew a guy killed by a mountain lion while riding his bike in California. I know that's a few degrees away from me, but nevertheless, it's a connection. Sure enough, when we dismounted to cross the creek, I saw a large track in the gravel. Jeremy swore it was a dog track. 

I'm getting really good at identifying the differences in canine and feline tracks now, so when people come to visit for training camp, I'll be prepared. I might even have poop-IDing ability by then. And some good pepper spray. Or a hand grenade.


Does this look like lion country to you? Don't answer that.

2 comments:

  1. Way to stealthily let the air out of the tire just after J passed you. Very sneaky.

    Lion country looks like a great place to ride!

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  2. I'm sorry, but did you just say A LITTLE obsessed with mountain lions??? :-)

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