Tri, Tri Again

I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  I really haven't been training.  It's been tough to get myself into any sort of groove since I took this travel assignment in SoCal, after all.  I've been able to (somewhat) keep up with my running, but my biking and swimming have definitely suffered.  If I had been logical, I would have expected my Pumpkinman time to correlate, but I had high hopes.  (Or delusions of grandeur.)  I had my newer, fancier, faster bike, and was (seemingly) getting stronger with every race.  Despite my usual pre-race self-doubts, I really thought I was going to beat last year's time by at least a few minutes.  No such luck.  I still set a PR, but only by 20 seconds.  How humbling.

Still, the 2013 Pumpkinman Olympic Triathlon will go down as a good race in my book.  The weather was perfect.  The water was calm.  The winds remained tranquil, and the often-blistering Vegas heat cut us some slack.  My swim was a little slow, but strong.  My ride was more of the same.  The bike course was brutal, but that's a given when racing at Lake Mead.  My run felt great, but I should have pushed my pace just a little more.  In truth, my only real criticism of my performance is that I didn't take enough chances, or push myself hard enough.  I guess that's a lesson I needed to learn.

All in all, it was a good day.  I got to race and hang out with friends on a picturesque fall day.  What could be better than sprawling in a park post-race, downing cold beers?  It was truly everything a race day should be, so, despite my lackluster performance, I really can't complain.

Tomorrow I make the long, hot drive back to the OC.  But I have more than work, work, and more work to look forward to this week.  Yup, at the end of my three, my husband and puppy will be in town to spend some time with me.  So I'm more than ready to tackle this week and the challenges it may bring, as there is an incredibly bright and comforting light at the end of this tunnel.  I guess this is when countdown begins...