For the pre-race repot, click here
We had to put these happy faces on our legs!
And....we were off.... Cece gave Monique the 3:30 am wake up call and it was answered by a Good Fairy- like voice saying sarcastically, "I am so glad to be awake!" Cece forgot her food and Monique forgot her swim cap and goggles but somehow it all worked out with emergency supplies that Cece and Barry both carried!
Ayoub ran like a gazelle and Cece thinks it is so beautiful to watch him run with such grace and seemingly little effort.But, she knows how hard he trains to get this result! Cece and Monique kept seeing a flash of red jersey as he weaved in and out of the course.....and we knew he would be first. And yes, he came in first to lots of cheers and disbelief at his very fast time.
Monique took the timing chip off Ayoub and put it onto Cece. She did her run in cleats and uphill with her bike and felt relaxed and confident. She was able to mount her bike and clip in without problem.
BUT.....in a matter of seconds, problems started to arise! Being the first cyclist out on the course has its advantages and disadvantages....this time it was disadvantage as the volunteers waved her the wrong direction and in a matter of moments, she was trapped behind a coned in, taped up barricade that she could not get though! She was yelling and she kept pedaling so as not to fall off her bike and was directed though a little 4 inch space that let rain through in the midst of a 6 inch high cement median. In order to get through she had to turn sharply through this narrow space at a 90 degree right angle then 90 degrees left angle and then another sharp right just to get back onto the ride course! She had the sense "I'm going down" but somehow she did not!
WHEW! Finally she was on the actual course! She had lost a lot of speed by this point though and it was not long before a racer guy with flashy specialized triathlon wheels , aero helmet and Asso skin suit passed her.... flying by her like a jet! Those wheels even sound like a jet engine passing when they whoosh by! "OH well." This is Cece's mantra that she has been practicing. She was prepared for this.
The rest of her ride was a blurr. At some point, she went into the zone and felt like a bird flying through the air with no thought at all...there was just movement and space. Soon, she was over the final hill and wondered how she got to this point already? Back into the transition zone , she saw Ayoub waving her in....he took the timing chip off her and put it on Monique.
Monique had a long run too. And she decided to do it barefoot and without her glasses. She had to run down and then back... along what Cece had to run one way...and then down a ramp and into the pool.
By the time Cece got her cleats off and got into the pool area, Monique was already on her final lap! How did she do that? She looked so graceful in the pool cutting though the water with ease...out she jumped and down she ran over the timing mat, and we were finished with our triathlon! We were all happy and pleased by our own individual legs of the race. We all met our goals for the race.
Ayoub went out for another run after he was finished... and we knew that this distance for him was just like a warm up exercise...but perhaps he got "the itch" for triathlon ...perhaps for later on in his running career.
Cece
Sounds fun. I like the happy faces. I can't imagine getting waved in the wrong direction - how frustrating!
ReplyDelete