Up early (not that I sleep very well the night before). Then the waiting & waiting for the swim start. The worst part of the day! The race was delayed because the shuttles were running late. Glad we didn't take those - adds more stress to your day. The race finally started - and my swim went well. Warm water, and I had good space from the other swimmers. Nice & cloudy too, so no sun glare when you're trying to see the buoy's. Good start! Then it was onto the bike. Still cloudy & light wind, but pretty warm & humid. It went well - I drank a lot of water, water with electrolyte's and my liquid nutrition. Nice & flat course, until the last 10 or so miles. But the rolling hills weren't too bad, fortunately. Then it was onto the run. Even if I feel good, I won't be having any more 'good runs' due to my arthritis in my hips and back. So I just settle for finishing the race, any way I can. It means a lot more walking, which is frustrating, but I'm starting to come to grips with it. I ran 30 seconds and walked 30 seconds. So it takes a while, but I feel better about being on a set schedule, than just freely walking whenever. Of course the sun came out, which made the day seem so much warmer. But I did finish the race - yay!
Walking more during the run helps with recovery too, so I'm not as sore the following days. There is an upside to every thing! On our way back to the Jeep, we saw this funny sign :)
The nice thing about Half Ironman races (1.2 mile swim; 56 mile bike; 13.1 mile run) is that you finish them early enough to have a good dinner :)
We were up early the next morning - decided to do the entire drive home in one day - almost 800 miles
Since Chris didn't race, he felt good enough to get it done! Nothing too exciting to see on the way home - this truck was overloaded with tires!
Providence capital
Home sweet home! It took us 13 hours in Big Blue - including stopping for lunch & fuel. We were home before dark :)
