Du the Bear--I totally wasn't last!

1:40:49.3, sixth of 7 Athena (women 150 lbs and over) racers. I wasn't even last in my division! And I might possibly be 5th...there was some problem with the rankings, and they ended up giving 3rd place to the girl listed in 4th. I'm hoping that bumps all of us up one on the official results, though it doesn't really matter except for bragging rights. Top 5 sounds so much cooler than top 6. Also cooler than "second to last", for that matter. :) But regardless, my time was WAY better than I thought it would be.

I'm going to try to do a full race recap, but here are the highlights:

• I walked some of the first run and most of the second one. My mile averages were 12-something minutes on the first run, 14-something on the second.

• After trying to do 4:1 run/walk intervals and spending entirely too much time checking my watch, I gave up and started running trash can to trash can (I didn't measure or anything, but there was at least one trash can every 100 yards, I think...Bear Creek is serious about their litter). On the first run, I would try to see how many trash cans I could pass on a run interval, with a 3-can/4 minute max, whichever was longer. Then I would walk to the next can and start over again. On the second, I told myself I could walk past no more than 3 cans before I had to suck it up and pick up those feet, dammit. :)

• I had the fastest Athena time on the run-bike transition. Woo! I'm number 1 (at something)!

• Bike speed average was 16.5. Not what I wanted, but not too disappointing. A little rain, a touch of wind, and one rough road slowed me down a bit...especially on the wet corners. I'm not very secure making turns on dry pavement, and wet road is a whole 'nother story.

• I'm not sure how, but the bike leg KILLED my feet. Maybe it was a combination of the run and bike, but by the time I pulled into transition, I could barely walk. I didn't start actually running until about 1/8-mile into the 2nd run.

• The number of racers who came in after me was somewhere between "a few" and "several". Because I didn't come in last. At all. :)

So yeah, there's so much more I could say, but it really belongs in narrative form and I don't have the energy to sort it all out right now. It was a great event, and I'm totally glad I did it. I already can't wait for next year--I want to OWN the Athenas, man. Assuming, you know, I don't lose 50 lbs between now and then.

Yay! Congrats Joy :)