Natchez Trace Triathlon

March 20, 2011 marked a 2yr annv. of my triathlon career/hobby.  This first triathlon was Natchez Trace Tri in Wildersville, TN.  Well my great buddy Charles and I decided to tackle this event again as its the first triathlon race of the season around our area.  Yes, the water is still quiet cold this time of season even though we have an awesome sunny day.  Going into the race, I felt pretty confident.  I was a little concerned about the swim, mainly my lack of swimming.  My plan of attack was to take it easy on that part and not over do it.  So here is my race report.  I hope I reread this for next year.

Swim
The plan was to swim a little before the start.  We were able to get into the water some but not really enough for me to test out my setup.  As I ran and high stepped as far as I could into the water at the start of the race, I could feel the cold water creeping into my wetsuit.  Finally, diving into the water and begining my strokes, my goggles started to fill with water slowly.  I dealt with the issue for a little bit until it was causing me to swim off course some.  So, I poked my head about water to empty the water and try to readjust them.  (Didn't work as planned).  The freezing water was making my face numb, and I spent too much energy trying to keep my goggles free of water.  I allowed myself 12mins on the swim and finished this segment in 10mins and some change.

T1
As I raced into transistion, I saw Charles getting ready to head out.  I made my quick change into my bike gear and had him in my sights as I was getting ready to mount onto the bike.

Bike
And this is where the trouble started,  2yrs ago i dropped my chain on this huge hill into the bike course.  Low and behold, I did it again.  Except this time it damaged my front derailuar where I could not shift into my big ring up front.  Luckily, I have done most of my training rides in mid gear.  I had to run up the hill as i was trying to free my chain and wheel at the same time.  Its was very frustrating as I feel the bike is my strongest point.  My first mile avg was 13mph.  This didn't make me happy and my chances of chasing Charles didn't seem high.  So apparently i took it out on the course.  Mile 14 out of 15 I finally notice a familiar jersey.  Yep its him which drove me even more.  I knew I needed to be in front of Charles for him to push me on the run portion.  From here it just gets very interesting.

T2
As I thought i left Charles a little bit, he kept up with me and ran right past me as he yells "Gotcha!!"  I couldn't help but start laughing my tail off.  Great Teamate.  I transition into my run gear just a tad quicker and got out in front of him as i was jumping around crazy and throwing my arms out so he couldn't pass me.  It made for good entertainment for us and all the spectaors.

Run
Soon out of T2, Charles passed me.  Go figure.  He has always been stronger when it came to the run portion between us.  I knew I needed him close and couldn't let him gap me.  We ran pace for pace for a while with him gapping to about 50ft.  We both go to pass another racer in my age group, and Charles tells him I was behind him somewhere.  The guy apparently thought a ways back, and then he said D@MN he is just right here.  Pretty funny I thought!!!  Our first mile was 8:13 on rough trails which i was pleased with.  We finally hit road and picked up the pace a little bit.  As we got closer I did chase Charles down but he had some gas left in the tank as well and just couldn't pull the pass across the finish line. 

Overview
I had an absoulte blast and had a great buddy out there pushing me to my limits.  We both battled it out once again as we do, but i was able to pull the quicker time this race with 1hr 17mins.  This was good enough for a 5th place OVERALL!!  This was by far my best finish overall in an event.  They gave us cash money and a certificate for a prize.  The results aren't up but I think Charles placed 7th overall.  He did take 1st in his age group and won cash money as well.  I am looking forward to the rest of the race season.  Oh and please don't shift gears next year on that stupid hill, just smash it out and get over it.

Coming Up with a Title

Those of you who have been friends with me, know I am a triathlete. Triathlete - an athletic contest in which each athlete competes in three different events: swimming, cycling, and running.  Although me being a fit nut now days, did have some influence on naming my blog its wasn't the basis.  My first reason was when I decided I wanted to become a father.  Having a plan is usally a good idea, but little did i know how hard (And also wonderful) parnet hood actually is.  My parents were 19 and 20 when they had me.  I enjoyed the fact they were pretty young and interactive with me as i grew up.  So i decide when I finished college that I wanted my first child, but I also didn't want to be older than 25.  No logic at all but I was guessing that my 25 was like my parents being 20.  You know 30's are the new 20's kind of thing.  No matter what I knew or thought I knew, parenthood will test you.  So therefore, you must think "Lightning Fast" and keep control.  I doubt I am telling you stuff you didn't know, but just informing you on how i arrive to my blog's name.  Now on to your first thought how i came up with my name, Racing !!!  Yes, I am ultra comptetive and strive nothing but to become better and faster.  Finishing in a top percentage is nice, but my main objective is to beat my previous times.  So I wanted to think of something that could moviate me or others.  The name isn't to betray me as cocky or way self confident.  You just need postive influences around you to become postive yourself.

I think I may have covered the first couple of standard blogs now when first creating a site.  I hope to have more interesting post ahead.  But in order to get somewhere you must know where you came from first.  My foundation came in two post, but hopefully its enough to hold the mountain bestowed ahead.

My First Blog

Well here it goes.  Tonight i venture into the world of blogging, as if i need one more thing to keep me busy.  I have a few reasons for starting a blog.  1.) To work on some personal goals of my in the grammar dept.  I have never enjoyed English or Literature in school, and it will probably show throughout my blog.  So if i make a mistake, go ahead and laugh.  Practice makes prefect right ¿ 2.) My wife, Sherri has one so i figured i would try something she likes doing too.  Her Blog.  She does a great job posting blogs about the kids and our life, but as you know there is always two different stories about the same thing.  Well now I am ready for bed.  Waking up at 4:45am will exhaust you by night time.

Ha, thank goodness this has spell check.  Although not as many as i thought were misspelled.