Hey, can you make it a smiley face?

#712 and a smiley face on the left calf. Great day to race. I guess I'll just post a few pictures before the race. We don't have any pictures yet during the race. This particular venue is where it all started for me. This would be my 3rd time here. Last year I beat my time and I was looking to do it again. I even thought that maybe a 2:30 time was within reach. That was before I got sick coming home from Australia. I'm not going to make any excuses. It is how it is. I wasn't completely up to snuff and I was still coughing and struggling to breath under heavy exercise.

The race setup was a bit different. In year's past, when you came out of the water you ran up the road for 1/2-3/4 of a mile to the transition sone. This year a new parking area allowed for the transition zone to be right next to the water. I always wish the athletes had a bit more space to setup but what are you going to do?

The venue is very pretty. We are lucky to live here. Conditions were prime. Water temps are probably low 70s, air temp at 9:00 this morning was probably in the 60s. I wish I would have had a sleeveless top since I got a bit toasty. My swim was decent although I really thought I could go sub 30 minutes. Oh well, next year. Heavy breathing and coughing just doesn't help.

One of the reasons we don't have any pictures after the swim is because our photographer, Zac did his first triathlong today! Major props to him. He is 16 and one of the youngest that competed today. He was awesome! Next year I hope that JJ joins him.

So, at this point we don't have our splits but I can describe a bit how the bike and run went. I was quite pleased about the bike. Of course my bike computer stopped working so it was just go as hard as you can and stop trying to pace yourself. A few weeks ago we rode the course and we averaged about 21 mph. I think we were probably a bit faster than that. Pretty good for not running on any fancy racing wheels.

Then things started getting interesting. Coming down the last mile or so into the T zone I was doing the usual stand up stretch, get ready to run stuff to hopefully avoid the cramping I had last year. Just as I was approaching the dismount, I unclipped, and started to get off. First of all, I was approaching WAY too fast. As soon as my cleats hit the pavement, they skidded and I was falling. I landed on top of my bike and continued skidding on the pavement. Next thing I knew I was bleeding all over the place. Falling caused my leg muscles to completely cramp up and I soon was in TONS of pain. Maybe not "I'm having a baby" pain but "Crap, this really hurts pain". I picked myself off the ground and made it to my bike rack. The paramedics were quick to arrive and they worked on me while I was trying to put on my gay socks. "Are you going to run?" they asked. Duh! After what seemed like FOREVER, I hobbled out of T2. With TriRich by my side, we completed the 10K run. It was painful, I had tons of cramps but after about half way I was able to run. We finished together and as with Oceanside, we rolled across the finish line.

So now I'm home (well where I call home) and I'm feeling pretty good. I want to go for a run in the morning and see how I feel. My front wheel will need some fixing up but other than some scratches the rest of "Donkey" came out okay. No stitches for me. Just some nice road rash, and a nice bruise on my right leg. Still, the question stands. "Why do you tri?" Because I can.