Alright, race #1 of the season done! It went pretty well. I placed 4th in my age group of women 20-24 ( i want to say a pool of about 30 girls) and 24th in overall women finishers (about 200). this includes elite/pro athletes. So all in all it was a pretty good race considering sprints are not my strength. I am however, determined to break my 4th place curse (it seems to be where i keep placing) and end up with atleast a third by the end of the season.
The course was beautiful. the beach along the york river where the swim start and transition area was on a quaint little mainstreet in historical yorktown and the bike course took us along the battle fields where "america's independence was won" (a catchphrase they enjoy using to sell the race).
My one dissapointment with the course however was the run. It was a rather boring out and back on a brick sidewalk along the beach. while it made it easy for spectators to watch it did not help with keeping me guessing as to how much longer i had to run. I knew exactly how far away i was from the start, which is always a bit of a mental downer.
The half way point of the run was a ridiculous hill that everyone seemed a little surprised by. i managed not to let my legs feeling like bricks on this hill get the better of me and i pushed up past over the top and well back down, only to realize the way up, though less steep, was a much longer climb.
anyway the race went great, and as usual the feeling of crossing the finish line, no matter what distance race, always gives me a high. It will never get old. But, coming back to chicago from virginia i had a horrible experience.
Everytime i travel with my bike, there is a moment of panic right before my bike plops down in front of me at the "Oversized luggage" baggage claim. What if its not there!?!? Always though, my bike appears right before this fear sends me into a conniption. This time however... my freakout wasnt so short lived. I am standing, waiting in front of the baggage claim like i always do, and reazlie that its taking longer than usual. I chalk this up to delays at the airport and the intesnse overcrowding caused by flight cancellations. But slowly, i realize all my fellow travelers from flight 2127 are gone. OH NO. THEY LOST MY "COST ME (MY PARENTS) AN ARM AND A LEG" TRIATHLON BIKE.
After freaking out, and being so over dramatic that i saw my ironman dreams crash and burn in front of my eyes, i filed a report with the airport and went home feeling like my family dog had run away. I think my bike is insured at this point but turns out , my parents have no idea...
Long story... not so short,... I get a call from southwest the next morning telling me they found my bike. It arrived at my apartment looking like someone went toboganing with it down the colorado slopes, so I am afraid to open it and put the bike back together, but atleast its back where it belongs.
Moral of the story: 1) triathletes: ALWAYS INSURE YOUR BIKE 2) if you must travel with your bike in an airport make sure that your name is on in (in more than one location) and that it is secured tightly. Luckily i had enforced one of the straps on the case, but seeing as the 50 "fragile" stickers i had placed on my bike case didnt deter anyone from thrashing it around... you can never be too safe.
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