3rd year in a row! (2016 Recap, 2017 Recap) I love supporting these local races where my roots of triathlon began way back when.
I didn't decide to race until just a few days before. 6 days ago I emptied the tank winning my the Hongseon Double Olympic. With quite a bit of fatigue and soreness I didnt know if I would be able to turn around and do a sprint triathlon just 6 days later. We flew in just 4 days before the race, so I quickly put my bike back together, got in a few training sessions, and went out to race.
Swim:
Through a clerical error, they did not have a timing chip that mated my race number, so the morning of the race I had to get a new race number. The only number they had available was the very last number. It was a rolling start and I was starting last.
Non-wetsuit swim so I decided to go old-school and compete topless!
bike ...
The bike course was a 2 lap course. Right about halfway through a huge thunderstorm rolled in. I have never ridden through a storm like this! Winds literally through me from one side of the road to the other. I could not stay in my aerobars. Good news is, I did not hit the pavement even though there were a few times I thought I was about to go down...
Funny and extremely coincidental moment: my brother was on his way to a restaurant and happened to drive past me as I was racing!
The Run:
I will take poring down rain over hot sunny and humid any day when it comes to the run. I had a good run, but I lacked a little speed. Considering the amount of fatigue from the previous weekend, I was happy with my run. After starting 5-7min behind the top age-group competitors, I was able to catch and pass all but one of them.
Time-wise I ended up winning by over 5min to the next athlete. However, becasue I changed my status to pro this past year I competed as exhibition and did not accept the overall award.
It was nice to have my family and my mom brave the weather to come support me!