Great White North Half-Iron Triathlon 2012 - Race Report

Well, the crap weather seems to follow me wherever I go!  lol!

Last year, I went 4:58 at this race and I wanted to beat that time and go 4:45.  (I get a number in my head and I just focus on it, I don't really care if it too realistic or not -- I  keep striving for it because EVENTUALLY I'll get there...right?  Hee-hee!)

Swim:  34:56.  I took a minute off last year's time -- was holding 1:45/100m which is EXACTLY what I do in training so that is great!!  :)

Bike:  2:40:39.   Slower than last year, but there was a rainstorm...cold and blowing.  I stayed within my bubble and had a great ride considering the conditions! :)  I ended up eating 1130 calories on the bike!!!  (Coach Sara was surprised that I could handle that many calories -- but Mike wasn't.  lmao.  What can I say?  My engine burns bright!)

Every time I thought the cold would get to me, I kept thinking about how stinking hot it was in Mexico and felt *relief* that I was finally cool.  lol!  It worked!  :)

Run:  1:48:21.  Faster than last year so another AWESOME! :)  Ate another 660 calories in the form of powergels, and could have (ie should have) eaten another 110. 

I ate a big dinner afterwards too.  :)

Ended up with a total time of 5:03:44  Great day and great fun! 

THE DUCT TAPE CHRONICLES...

My new aero drink holder crapped out, so it was duct tape to the rescue.

Chafing from your bike shoe?  No problem!  Use more duct tape!  

 

 

 

 

It LOOKS like it is just a messy unmade bed....

But there are M&Ms hiding in there!! LOL!

Look Coach Sara -- BOTH feet are off the ground! YAY!!

Best buds 4 ever!  Tessa P and me!  :)

Wasa Lake Olympic Tri Race Report

I drove down to Wasa Provincial Park the day before the race and it was miserable outside!!  For us locals of the Elk Valley, there is a saying, "As soon as you go through the tunnel, the weather improves."

The "tunnel" is the one right before Elko.  And 9 times out of 10, the weather does improve when you pass through the tunnel.

But not that day!  The rain didn't stop and continued all the way.  YUCK.

Before I picked up my race packet, I went for a 30 minute spin followed by a little run.  It was so cold, I wore my big woolen mittens!  You know the kind -- the ones with that ubiquitous knit design?  And my MEC windpants.  LOL.  Those are the pants that don't quite reach to my ankle.  I don't know why they can't invent workout pants that actually REACH to your ankles instead of just above so you look like the biggest dork.  I mean how hard can it be?  lol.

It was cold after my little session and I kept hesitating and waffling about going in the lake for a swim.  I had quite the conversation with myself:

"Coach Sara says to do a swim."

"Yeah, but it is frigging COLD!!"

"Don't make excuses."

"Ok, ok, after I pick up my race packet, I'll try."

The community hall was filled with steamy humid air and crammed with just about every athlete that was registered.  lol -- something about staying out of the rain and people sort of lingering in groups.  Hahaha.  There was a whiteboard saying how cold the water was (I think it was 13 degrees C) and the current air temp was 9 degrees C).  There was talk that the swim might be shortened from 1500m to 750m.

Oh goodie -- that means it was COLD.  I HATE FRIGGING COLD!!  Have you ever done a race in cold water and then tried to put your helmet/bike shoes on after the swim?  It is almost impossible!  You are so cold and chilled to the core that your body simply refuses to respond to your brain.  You can tell it, "Put your hand on the shoe and put it on."  And no matter how hard your neurons fire, your body is like, "Nah.  I'm too cold for this CRAP.  I'm going to sit here instead."  lol.

Time of truth...

I drove back down to the lake and the debate continued in my head.  Should I even do the swim Coach Sara had posted?  Did it even matter, I mean really?  Surely to God she wouldn't want me to freeze up and injure myself (yes I was reaching here) the day before the race would she?  And plus, my wetsuit would get all wet and not dry out by tomorrow and then I would have to put on a cold, wet wetsuit on in the morning.  (You see I had ample excuses.) 

I am sure you guess what happened...

I trudged down through the rain with my wetsuit, shivering as I put it on and piled up my clothes and watched the rain fall on them too.  I have never been so reluctant to go for a swim before, I swear.

Another moment of truth...

I headed into the water and from the very first touch of the ice water on my feet I knew it was just as bad as I feared.  I ducked in and tried swimming and no kidding it was so cold my face was BURNING.  AAAARRRGGHH.  I stood up, thought about trying it again for approximately 1/16 of a second and then got the hell out of there.  Probably lasted about 15 seconds in there.  LMAO!

I seriously considered not racing it was that bad.  What concerned me was getting out of the water and then trying to cycle in the wind and the rain -- it would suck all the warmth from my body and I would just die on the side of the road.  lol.  But seriously, I really did wonder if I should race at all.

Well, I decided to just wait and see -- I was there after all!

Race morning wasn't as cold as it had been the day before, and when I went to "warm up" in the lake for my pre-race swim, my face didn't burn -- it was just frigging cold.  I decided to implement a new pre-race swim strategy too -- the water was so darn cold, that I couldn't (or maybe didn't is the more accurate description, lol) just keep on swimming.  What I did was walk in the water, swim for a bit, then turn around and then walk back onto the beach.  And then repeat.  I found that every time I walked back in, the cold was a bit more bearable and dare I say it....I grew a bit more comfortable with it.

Still cold, but doable.

Onto the race:

Women started 30 minutes after the men.


Swim -- only 750 m -- race organizers decided to cut the swim (THANK GOODNESS):  14:33
It was cold and my right hand started to claw up about half way through.  I don't know is you have ever experienced this but it is BRUTAL.  My hand was like a claw and I couldn't unfurl it -- so I just muscled my way through the swim with my clawed up hand.  lol. I had no feeling in it -- and just threw it forward and brought it back on some kind of swimming motion.  Hahahaha.

Bike -- 1:12:53
This was a first -- I decided to use my winter mitts!  Take a look at this sweet shot!  LMAO!!  Aero helmet and winter mitts -- BOOYAH!!  LMAO!!!!!!!!

 Run -- 46:49!!! YAY!!  This is a PB for me!! :D  :D :D

2nd place in AG group!  Yahoo!! :)

Total:  2:14:13

That's all folks!  :)

Oliver 1/2 Iron Race Report - 2012

Thank God for Gord.

Gord my bike guru.  lol -- got in to see him and he fixed all manner of things with my race wheels and my bike.  Yes I had just taken my bike in to Calgary, but they didn't do all those extra things that Gord does for me.  I think I am pampered because I feel if I have forked over $500, my bike should be good to go.

Not so.

Anyways, all was soon good to go and my Momma and I headed to Oliver, BC!  :)

We decided to stay at a Super 8 in Osoyoos -- right across the street from a Buy Low foods.  I like being close to a grocery store so I can load up on rotisserie chicken.  :)  Except the first chicken we bought bled when we cut into it.  This was after I already had a mouthful of chicken.  Shudder.

We took the chicken back to the deli and the woman behind the counter told us it was "because we cut into it wrong."  WTF?!?!?  AVOID THE BUY LOW IN OSOYOOS!!!!

Okay onto the race details!

This was my first time racing the Oliver 1/2 iron and I was looking forward to some nice weather!

Swim 2km:  39:38
 All the swim times were longer than usual:  the top male pro time was 31:59, so that gives you an idea of how much longer!  lol. 

The men had a 7 minute start on the women..I think it was 7 minutes anyways!

The swim start was really weird...I had a warm up and thought I was good to go, but right as soon as we started, my body felt very sluggish.  It was like I couldn't make my body go!  And my chest/breathing felt like it was getting exponentially more difficult.  It was the strangest sensation observing how my body was almost shutting down.  So weird!

Before the race,  Coach Sara had sent me an awesome email -- I recalled her advice of *doing what needs to be done at the present moment.*  I could feel a rising panic inside me, and I knew that one thing I could do was control my breathing.  Concentrate on even breathing.  It took about 800m until I started to feel a bit more normal.  So very weird!  I have never experienced anything like that before!

T1:  3:44
The run to transistion is hilarious!  Up stairs, on roads and pavement, then up and down this carpeted hill and then across a grassy football field.  LMAO!  So awesome!

Bike 93km: 2:46:21
Since I have had my new aerobars installed, my bike position feels f$cked.  That is the best way to describe it.  My aero bar pads are higher than my old ones...and after the race, I thought to fiddle with my seat and raised it by an inch and it felt better.  But c'est la vie, eh? 

And one thing I learned about training/racing in Mexico is you give it all with what you've got!  You can borrow a bike, have something duct-taped on, whatever -- you just make do with what you have and have fun and race.  So, although I felt off, (and I wrote emails to my good friend T as well as Coach Sara about it after the race) I was also just excited to get out and race, push myself and have a blast doing it!!  :D  :D

I had to buy new tri shorts at the expo before the race because all my other ones were too big.  Luckily I found a couple of pairs of Desoto tri shorts and I bought both.  I am a big Desoto fan -- love their shorts, they fit me really well, so I was tickled to have found them at a bit of a discount too!  YAY!

Okay, onto the bike course --

The weather was way cooler than what I thought Oliver should be -- lmao!  Like 15 degreees Celsius maybe?  Maybe it got a little warmer, but I knew from past experience that I would have to eat more on the bike.  When it is cold, you need more calories.  So, I loaded up on what I thought was a great quantity of lifesaver gummies and gels in my bento box.

I went through my gels/gummies at an alarming rate!  Holy crap I was worried that I was going to run out (and I did!)  There were only 2 aid stations (forgive me if there were 3, but my race brain only remembers 2) and I kept thinking that I better get a gel at the next aid station.

Well, as I come up to the aid station, my mind is shouting GEL, but my mouth shouts WATER.  WTF?!?!?!  LMAO!  So there I was with this bottle of water and I am looking at it and thinking, how can I magically turn this into a gel?  LMAO!

The bike portion was hilly and windy and fun.  Not much else to say here other than when I crested a hill a spectator shouted out, "Well, I'm cold too."  Nice -- always the nipple comment.  lol.  (I know this is karma for all my years of relentlessly teasing athletes who have the luck of wearing bib # 69.  Oh yes I am so brutal!!!  lol!)

T2:  1:16
I love passing people in transition.   :)

Run:  1:51:36
My quads were in absolute pain/cramping from the get go.  So was my back.  I hurt so much but I could still run, so I thought to myself, "What the heck!  Just go like stink!"  Hee-hee!  Thanks to Coach Sara and all the training I've been doing, I knew that even with pain, I was going to have a solid run.  I *knew* that I was going to catch and pass people in the second half of the run. 

So, I have this unique way of carrying my gels -- I stick them all in a little ziplock baggie and shove the lot down my bra top.  It looks sort of weird at first when I have a bunch of gels in there.  Hahahaha!  You know when spectators suddenly grow quiet and look at you....lol.  But seriously, I really like having access to them there instead of faffing around with crap on my waist.

In fact, I even have a couple of Under Armour sports bras that have a sort of cross-over detail at the front and it is the PERFECT place to hold gels.  It's just too bad they aren't constructed for tris -- ie, too much stitching, superfluous stuff = chafing.

THE BRIDGE
There is a bridge on the run course that you have to climb stairs up and then down the other side.  You cross this bridge twice.  Holy sweet mother.  I have never felt such cramping pain in my quads -- lol.  It must be because the legs are doing one sort of repetitive motion (running) and suddenly throw stairs in there and the muscles just say NO WAY!  Hahahaha!

I honestly thought my quads were going to seize up and I would tip over in slow motion like the first time I rode clipless pedals.  No kidding!  When I climbed down the stairs on the other side of the bridge, I swear I was on the cusp of lockdown and tipping point.  Hahahahaha!

My quads were so sore and cramping, but I just kept on trucking and made sure I drank a lot of water at the aid stations and kept fueling myself with gels.  And I had the rest of the first lap to devise a strategy to get up and down the stairs for the 2nd lap....Muahahahaha.

Here's what I came up with:  If I bent my legs at all in a direction other than a running motion, my quads cramped.  So, if I could somehow get up and down the stairs by keeping my legs straight as possible, I should be great, right?  But how to do it?

The stairway is small enough to have handrails on either side that you can grab.  So here is what I did:  I used both handrails to lift myself up each stair.  I hopped off each forefoot and sort of rocked my way up the stairs (and then back down again)  -- it totally worked!  Hahahaha!

The last few kms were painful and I was feeling a little pukey, but I also knew I had the strength to keep going.  It is very heartening to pass people during those last few kms.

The finish line sits at the bottom of this steep little hill.  I resolved I was going to run as fast as I could down that hill and if I locked up and came rolling down, then so be it.  Hahahaha!  My legs felt like they were going so fast that I had no control of how I was running.  I could feel my face jowls bouncing up and down so hard and I was thinking to myself in those few seconds, "Well, here goes nothing!"  Hahahahah!!

Total time:  5:22:33
4th in Age Group
14th Woman Overall

More importantly, I secured an Ironman Canada spot at this race!  I didn't sign up for it last year and then had a change of heart...this is one of the 1/2 iron races that offers IMC spots, and I was happy to earn one.  I heard in years past, this race had plenty of IMC spots and basically you just showed up and you got one.  Not this year!  They didn't have enough spots to meet demand, so I am doubly happy I got one!!  :) :)

Back Home!

I am back home in Canada! Back home with The Nut and Mandalay -- life is truly so much better when you can grab a cat whenever you want to for a cuddle. :)

My flight arrived in Calgary at 10:00pm Friday, so I made arrangements for my Dad and I to stay at a motel -- I had to bring my bike in to Bowcycle the next morning for some serious TLC and to pick up a new helmet, new pink water bottles, and more gels.

Now before I left Cozumel, I kept joking that since I was now used to such heat and humidity, I was going to be such a cold weather weenie when I returned. Saturday morning I went for a run and was going to find out just how cold I would feel. I did have a long sleeve shirt in my luggage that I wore, but no capris or pants -- just shorts. 

I looked outside our motel room and saw bits of frost, but "bucked up" as my sister and Mom say and headed out. Oddly enough, immediately it was awesome. AWESOME. I was a little cold but man, the first word that sprung to mind was: relief . Hahahahahaah!

Everyday in Coz, the weather report would be:

• 27 degrees Celsius
• Relative humidity of 80%
• Feels like 37 degrees Celsius

Did you catch that last bullet point?

FEELS LIKE 37 DEGREES CELSIUS.

And it did.  Every day.  One day after I returned from a run, one of the security guards at our condo asked me if I jump in the ocean to swim and then run back.  Because I was always literally dripping wet.  Soaking wet.

Biking was the same way -- my cycling shoes would squelch with sweat and moisture. 

Mike and I would line up our shoes outside our condo rental, until the day that I lifted up my shoes and a million bugs (and all their friends) were having a party underneath and all around my sweaty shoes.  I felt so embarrassed.  But what do you do?  Nothing dries! 

My aero bar pads REEKED.  I'd always catch a whiff of BO and it was coming from them.  And they were ALWAYS wet.  Two black sponges that were probably swimming in all kinds of bacteria.  LOL.

The gentlemen at Bowcycle were awesome on Saturday!!!!!!!!

My left aero bar had indeed snapped off, so a new set of aero bars were in order.  My brakes were toast -- my rear one would lock tight against the wheel every time I would use it, so I had stopped using it.  My brake pads were worn out -- that  was from riding in traffic.  Stop and go, stop and go.  The last week in Cozumel, I just prayed the duct tape and avoiding shifting too much and braking would hold the bike together.  LMAO!

And I bought a new helmet too -- my old one had a crack in it and was bleached out by the sun.  It was yellow at one time, but now looks like something that you'd find in a garbage dump.

Same as my water bottles -- MAN!  The conditions are so harsh that it just destroys stuff.  The ink on my water bottles actually melted off.  MELTED off!  Like, how in the world is that even possible?  The ink came off in my hands!  The salt in the air, the scorching hot sun, the humidity -- it really kicks the crap out of clothing and equipment.

Speaking of clothing....

I am now a size small.  I have FOREVER been a size medium, but no more.   Unfortunately this means all my shorts are too big on me now.  My spandex shorts are baggy.  My race kit -- everything is too big on me now.  And when they get wet with sweat they hang off me.  And then the chafing/saddle sores begin.  So, I need new clothes!  My butt is smaller!!!!!!!!!!!!  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I did try on a pair of Tyr tri shorts at Bowcycle on Saturday and while they felt amazing on, they looked absolutely terrible.  I could see my underwear THROUGH the front part!!  Quite clearly.  That's always a nice touch, eh?   No thanks.  $70 for a peep show -- and a gross one at that.  If you buy those shorts you better shave, and even if you do, if you have a freckle, the world will see it. 

Seriously, do these companies have a quality control department or a common sense department? 

It is great to be back home but I can't lie, Cozumel feels like home to me as well!  Mike and I made so many good friends there and it's just like a small town.  Just the way I like to roll.  We even started looking at property down there. 

I love Cozumel!  :)

Swim With Whale Shark Adventure

What Mike and I did on Wednesday May 23! YAY for the whale sharks! :)

2012 Hacienda Tres Rios Sprint Tri Race Report

The original plan was to return home at the end of April...but the way things turned out, Mike and I are able to stay for the month of May too!

Now here comes my deep dark confession...there was a part of me that wanted to go home because I didn't want to miss a local race on May 13.

Yes, you read that correctly.

I was seriously wanting to go back to the cold, the snow, the trainer just because I had a race on the calendar!

I know how absurd that sounds, but I really, really, really wanted to race.  Like frothing at the mouth, kind of deal.  Well, given the opportunity to stay for another month in Cozumel or return home, common sense prevailed (hahaha!) and it was soon after that I learned of another race that would be taking place on May 13 in Playa Del Carmen.  YAHOO!  I could still race AND train in the heat and awesomeness that is Cozumel!!  YAY!

Fast forward to race day...

My Mom came to visit us for 10 days and as the race was going to occur on Mother's Day (in Mexico, Mother's Day was celebrated a few days earlier) I wanted to make it special for my Mom.  She had never been to Mexico and still harboured many doubts and fears about it.  Like:

• You will get Hepatitis A from walking on the beach and drinking water from a restaurant.
• DON'T GET ICE CUBES!  AAAARRRGGHH!
• Drug lords are on every corner eye-balling new tourists and then gunning them down.
• Tourists are raped, beaten, and killed on a regular basis.
• And more crap like this.

I find it ironic that people who spout off this kind of drivel have never actually BEEN to Mexico, and would be the first to point out how *ignorant* tourists are when they think all Canadians live in igloos, own dog-sleds, and might know Bob in Toronto.

Like everything in life, those who speak the loudest most often KNOW the least.

Rant over.  (lol.)

Thus, I booked us two nights accommodation at an all-inclusive resort in Playa Del Carmen.  My Mom had never been to one before -- and I was looking forward to the wondrous and copious amounts of food I could eat FOR FREE and not have to clean dishes afterwards!  :) :)

At Riu Lupita resort right before dinner.  Happy Mother's Day Mom!!

To get to Playa Del Carmen, we took the ferry over and then found a cab.  I popped off the front wheel of my bike and put the bike in the back seat and crawled in the back with it, while my Mom got in the front.  lol.

Racing in another country where English is not the first language is a unique experience.  Add different cultural norms into the mix, and the result can be quite funny!  When I went to rack my bike in transition the day before the race, I discovered that I had to wear my helmet while I was in transition.  With the strap closed too.  Hahaha!  This carried over to race day too -- when I went to pump up my tires, I was stopped by an official and made to put my helmet on (and close the clasp!)  LMAO  -- that was a first, pumping my tires up in the dark with my helmet on.  :)

It got tricky when I left transition to head down to the swim start -- how do I leave transition without wearing my helmet?  I need to leave it on my bike...I had to explain to a couple of officials and then I was good to go.  :)

Ok -- enough blather, let's get to the race deets!!!

Pre-Race
My poor bike is taking a beating training in the salty-humid air here.  Stuff is rusting out and things are falling apart!  The most recent casualty is my aero bars.  The right one.  It started wobbling and bouncing before the race.  Took it to a local bike guy and he did what he could...then it started bouncing again.  So, I took out my trusty roll of duct tape and here is what I came up with.  Hey it works.  lol.   I felt like I had to apologize to everyone for having duct tape on my Cervelo -- I was embarrassed.  Hahahaha!

How to duct tape a Cervelo.

 SWIM
The swim was absolutely epic!  For a 750m swim, it was the gnarliest, coolest swim I have participated in yet!!  It was absolutely brutal!  The race course is designed so you swim out in the ocean, then turn around and come back and enter a little river that winds through the resort (not the resort we stayed at -- this one was very $$$$ like $750 a night!!)  The key here is the river EMPTIES into the ocean.  All the water is dumping out into the ocean and you are trying to swim into it.  LOL.  I swam a portion of it before the race start and realized this was going to be EPIC.

We started on the beach -- all the men left about 5 min before us, and then it was our turn.  You run out and then swim straight out to a buoy.  When you turn around, is where it gets interesting and fun!

The current is crazy!  CRAZY!  Before I reached the turn around buoy, I saw a head on collision as one woman swam  (in the wrong direction) directly into a swimmer beside me.  Well, when I made the turn around, I immediately saw I was swimming in the middle of oncoming traffic too!  HOLY CRAP!  lol. She wasn't swimming in the wrong direction, she was just trying to swim back!

I made my way through the water and started picking off green capped women and started catching some men too.  Then it happened.

THE WALL.

I have never swam in one of those Endless Pools before, but I can honestly say I know what it feels like!  It was so weird!  The water suddenly grew very shallow -- BUT... it wasn't shallow enough to run, and it wasn't deep enough to dolphin dive.  (Think belly flop in sand.)  And swimming just made you go nowhere!  LMAO.  It was so funny, at one point there was a woman beside me and  we were trying all different kinds of maneuvers to move forward.  I dolphin-dived, she ran, then I swam, she dolphin-dived, and despite all these tactics we moved at the same snail's pace.  Hahahahaha -- so awesome!

Finally I got through the mouth of the river and then swam through the resort.  It was spectacular -- the visibility was incredible and there are trees and branches sticking out alongside and under the water.  Rugged and beautiful.

 We had to climb up these steps to get out of the river, but the only thing was, the lowest step was almost at the surface of the water.  Not like in a pool, where you just climb out.  It was awkward but hilarious -- I had so much fun in that swim.  :)

T1
Seriously, the longest T1 I have done so far.  I don't know how far I ran with my bike.  It was so funny, at one point, I thought we would run the full 1km or so to the highway. LOL.
 
BIKE
Fast and awesome.  Racing in a tropical climate is very, very different than racing at home.  For example, for a sprint at home, I might have no water or food for the event.  Here however, I went through water and even downed a GU while on my bike!  In a sprint if you can believe it!  The bike was where I made up my time.  Passed lots and lots of guys.  If any of you have been to Mexico, you are familiar with the speed bumps.  These suckers come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are big metal things that jut out, some are depressions, some are like rumble strips.  I took them all at full frigging speed.  lol -- hey it's a race isn't it?  LMAO! (This may/may not have had something to do with my handlebars going one way and my front wheel another at the end of the race when I thought I was swerving because I had a flat...) I believe I had the fastest female bike split but I am not 100% sure...

I run with my bike shoes on.  Don't bug me.  :)

 T2
The long run again.  LOL -- People were waving flags and I wasn't sure where the dismount line was, so I think I dismounted too early.  lol.  Oh well -- there were a couple of times on the bike where I squealed my brakes because I was unsure where I was going and was shouting out for directions.  lol.  One was the first set of metal speed bumps, the 2nd time was the during the return portion of the bike, I didn't know when/where/if I should cross over to return to T2.  A lone English-speaking spectator yelled out directions though -- LOL!!


RUN
Oh man, it was so unbelievably hot and humid.  The temp was 36 degrees Celsius with a relative humidity of 80%.  It felt like 41+ degrees.  Unreal!  I have never needed so much water in a sprint as I did at this race!  It was like a hot IM race -- surviving until the next aid station.

And the way they dispensed water was awesome!  You know if you go to the pet store and buy a goldfish?   You get a little baggie with a knot tied at the top?  That is what we got.  At first I was like, "Wtf am I supposed to do with this?"  But surprisingly, I found them much easier to drink out of than the usual cups!  I am not kidding!  I would tear a hole in the side of the bag and drink through it -- no inhaled water, no splashing.  It was so weird -- I would have thought it would be more difficult to drink out of a baggie you have to poke your fingers through, but no way!  It's the best!  :D


The aftermath
Weirdness here.  Apparently a woman in my age group cheated and then was arguing with a race official about it afterward.  Two other women came up to me and explained that they were going to set things straight, that they both said I won my age group.  So weird and strange!  It wasn't until the next day, that I learned I was 3rd female overall too, but during the awards, they never called me up.  :(  The first place woman got a bottle of champagne and then popped it and sprayed it everywhere -- it was pretty awesome.   There was some other odd stuff too -- a woman came up to me and kept telling me she passed me on the run.  I told her that I didn't remember that, that she did not pass me.  And the timing chip results certainly don't show it -- so very weird.  It's a frigging SPRINT people!  It was just such an odd thing for people to be cheating!  I've never experienced this before!  It went on and on too -- apparently men were clocking 12 minute 5km times.  lmao.  Hmmm -- somebody only did one loop of the run!  lol.  Very weird.

 

The COOL aftermath
My new friend Christi was heartbroken that her timing chip was removed after she completed the swim.  Although she completed the swim, she did not make the cut off time.  And it was her very first triathlon too.  :(  I am so proud of her finishing that swim though!! And I teased her about choosing the most difficult swim possible for her very first tri.  LOL.

One of the race organizers, Eileen (THANK YOU!! You are the best, Eileen!) found my Mom and escorted her to the finish line!  How amazing is that?  Eileen also answered my frantic pre-race email inquires. Heh-heh -- she was everywhere at once that day, and she kept a cool head about everything too.  Congratulations on a well-run event!  I had an amazing time and that course is a tough nut of a race!  Whoever thinks a sprint can't hurt, has to do this one!  lol!!

Another friend, Dailene (owner of Cabrilla's - triathlon and fishing shop in Cozumel) came out to support Christi that day. Dailene's sense of humour, positive presence, and selfless generosity is something to behold.  She's one of those people that inspire you to become a better person you know?  :) :)

All About Cozumel

Still having a great time in Cozumel!  I am getting seriously tanned.  As in, "I Have Never Been This Tanned In My Life."  Don't hate me!  LMAO!!!

In no particular order I am going to begin "Cozumel in Pictures"...

My buddy Demi, Olympic windsurfer who kicks serious ass.  (I have adopted a new mantra:  What would Demi do?  Hahahahaha!)  I did a core workout with her that saw my heart rate skyrocket to over 200 bpm.  LMAO!  This pic was taken at my birthday dinner.  The big 37 spent in Cozumel!

Happy Birthday sung to me in Spanish!  That is a first and I got a free dessert!  FREE!  (There was a time in my life when I registered 80 emails and then signed on to this website using all these "friends" as referrals so I could get a FREE fleece vest.  I got 4 vests.  Yes, I was one of THOSE people.)  But the word "free" still excites me, I cannot lie.  The same way that I simply MUST touch a sequined top in store.  I'm drawn to it like a crow....Caw, caw, CAW!

The guy sitting next to my hottie is Demi's coach/boyfriend -- Adrien.  The day after my birthday we went out for a 5 hour ride...I managed to stay with him for his warm up.  Hahahah -- Then I pedaled like I was possessed.  The gentleman that he was, he kept circling back for me.  :)  The COOLEST part of the ride was during loop #2 when he bunny-hopped a speed bump!

At that precise moment, I was eating some 'ride food' and I inhaled (while chewing and swallowing) and said, "That was AWESOME."  I ended up choking and coughing and feeling like an idiot as I pedaled along, but I couldn't stop saying out loud, "That was so AWESOME."  I want to learn how to do that!!

The dude can RIDE.  Thanks for letting me tag along and push myself!  :)

Ok, this is going backwards in time -- this was me before the bike race a couple of weeks ago.  I could already feel the adrenaline kick in...LOL.

 

This pic makes me laugh -- my adrenaline had kicked right in and I was frigging poised to GO.  Hahahahaha!

Gratuitous Sunset Shot.

There really IS a happy bus!  Hop aboard people -- the happy bus is in Cozumel!  Hahahahahaha.

This is Mike's "Friend Donkey" -- Pepe.  Now this is a hilarious story...Every day, Mike rides his one speed beach cruiser through downtown on his way to the pier (where he gets picked up for scuba diving).  There is a home on the main drag with this guard donkey -- at least that is what we jokingly call Pepe.  And his name isn't even Pepe.  Mike just calls him that!  LMAO.  Every day, Mike rings his bike bell and feeds Pepe a carrot. 

But Pepe has a real stubborn streak.  

(Caught that, didn't you?  Hee-hee!)

And, Pepe can be a real ass.

(Oh, somebody stop me!  lol.)

He does not hee-haw like a normal donkey.  He makes this God-awful racket that sounds like a combination of:

• A squeaky door hinge
• A dying hyena   

He has even tried to bite Mike.  LOL.  Little bugger. So, last week , Mike had this big surprise planned for Pepe....

We'd been talking about it for days....How Mike was going to surprise Pepe with an apple instead of a carrot.  Days passed, and we kept forgetting to purchase an apple on our many grocery trips.  Finally, Mike remembered and was excited to see how excited Pepe would be.

Can you guess what happened?

Pepe doesn't like apples.  Let me clarify that for you...

PEPE DOES NOT LIKE APPLES.

Good Lord, Mike took a video, and Pepe sulked, pouted, gave Mike the old "sideways-eyeball" and huffed and puffed.   LMAO.

Pepe, in a more pleasant mood.  LMAO -- Haaaaaaaayyy!

Another gratuitous sunset shot.  lol.

Things I have learned so far:

• You have to wash your eggs before you crack them into the pan.  They are fresh.  :)
• Traffic does not stop and give you a little courtesy space like at home, they keep coming at you assuming you are going to go at the same speed -- so this means a car or scooter will inch right up as close as possible to turn into traffic IMMEDIATELY after you pass.  LOL -- Takes a bit of getting used to! 
• If you go pee in the bush, don't go far.  Because you will invariably end up standing in an ant pile.
• I can still miss my turn on the only road that goes around the island.
• I need a new frigging saddle.  I have landmines and an open war zone going on that no one should ever have to experience.  (My friend Jenna once drew a detailed diagram of the typical saddle sore location...I emailed it to Coach Sara.  LMAO.)  Adamo here I come with open, loving arms.
• The good thing about not renting a car, is you have to bike everywhere.  The bad thing about not renting a car is.....you have to ride everywhere.  
• I have become quite proficient at cramming as many groceries as I can into a canvas shopping bag, doing some kind of ungodly backwards stretch that entails me getting each arm back and through the handles and then humping it on my back.  (Always causes a few stares at the grocery stores.  And reminds me of when I was in Grade 7 and the boys would tease the one girl in class with the big boobs, "Carla!  I betcha can't touch your elbows behind your back!"  Except in my case there really is nothing to see but a red face and grimace of concentration.  LOL)

Last night at sunset, right before we biked to dinner.  MY HAIR IS LONG ENOUGH TO BRAID PEOPLE!!  LMAO!!!  Yes they are little, but I don't care!  Hahahahaha!