IMLP 2012
Those who know me know I am a man of few words but I will try to do a little better here.
I was most fortunate to have had a LP training weekend a few weeks before the race with Martha, Bruce, Russ and Ben. That weekend went well and gave me some positive thoughts going into race day.
The week of the race I made it to LP on Thursday. Jon Adams gave me a ride up and he was the perfect guy to keep things loose. Had a great swim on Thursday.
Surprisingly, I was still not nervous but more excited to get at it. A couple of days in town did me well to relax before the race.
Race Morning: I slept well and could not wait to get to the venue. When I got there I realized I had everything but my fuel bottles. One call to my family and that was taken care of.
Swim: It is no secret the swim is my least favorite of the three disciplines. I went to take my spot with Ben and Russ and when I came up from going underneath the buoy I was not as comfortable as I was seconds before. We took our spot to the right and I thought we were towards the back. Minutes before the cannon shot, I realized there were a few hundred people behind us. No worries I told myself. The cannon was fired and I waited a couple of minutes. I made my way and stayed wide. I did not get pummeled like I thought just had to stop as people were all over the place. I got to the first buoy and rounded it and stayed close coming in. I was most relieved to be done with the first loop. I took Geert’s advice and calmly reentered the water for round 2. The second loop also went well. I was shocked to see 1:35 and actually ran down to transition.
Bike: I got a huge lift from seeing my family/Cyclonauts early on in the bike. At about the mile 40 mark my stomach started to be upset. No big deal I thought. Unfortunately, this would stay this way for the next 72 miles. That meant riding aero was out for the most part. Lots of Nauts on the bike course and the first loop went well. I really started to feel it on the second one. By the time the cherries and bears came the second time I had to dig deep. “All it takes is all I have” I kept telling myself. Coming into town the second time I had a huge smile on my face.
Run: After giving my all on the bike, the run did not start out as I had planned. Once again, another round of friendly faces early on gave me a huge lift. Around the mile 4 mile mark Ryan Ochoa passed me and said “you need to get some calories in you” and the next time he passed he said “get some chicken broth in you.” Both statements proved to be huge. I took his advice and got my second wind. Having broken my ankle in April, I had a plan for when nighttime came. Run where the spotlights were and walk briskly looking for anything that could twist my ankle where it was dark. With 4 miles left I would hear the announcer calling people in and I told myself “be smart and you will be there soon.” With 3 miles to go, out of nowhere came Wayne who said “hey man, mind if I run with you.” To say I readily accepted would be a huge understatement. Coming up that last hill into town was most special. I cannot remember what all the spectators were saying but it was all good. We came down the last stretch on the out and back and Wayne headed for the oval. No one had run by me for awhile and I looked and saw no one. This meant I would come into the stadium all by myself. I am usually not comfortable with such a situation but on this night I thought it was great. I heard my family shout in the crowd and then my name called.
Where to start thanking people I have no idea. But I am most thankful for this club and all the inspirational/special people who made this day happen!!!!!!!!
Jeff