Ahh, almost caught up... thankfully, the previous post on AG Nats wasn't deleted during its writing, which gives me hope that I can make it through this post without any mishaps... We'll see
So, coming off the debachle that was AG Nats, I tried to focus on my last race of the season: Mighty Magnolia in Hattiesburg... The race, which was my first ever, went through a namechange this past year from Eagleman to Mighty Magnolia (thanks WTC)... I had set my sights really high.... really REALLY high... I wanted to podium in the Clyde division... Comparing my times from Mtn Lks to the top finishers from Eagleman the year before, I would have come in 3rd.... Considering I felt like I was in better racing shape than Mtn Lks, I figured a high finish was possible, if not a sure thing....
This time though, I stuck to my workouts... I wanted to dominate this race as well as use it as the litmus test for how far I'd come in one year of racing and training.... It's probably unfair to compare times from Mtn Lks and Eagleman, since it's 2 different races/courses... But I figure if I can have an average time for a sprint, those times would apply themselves to Mighty Magnolia... Turns out, I was wrong (which is a pretty consistent theme in my writings)
So, finally, here's the "personal crap" story that I mentioned in my last post...
I pack up and head out of Ttown early Friday morning... Unlike last year, UA's fall break didn't fall on race weekend, and I have class on Thursday nights, so a Friday departure was all that I could manage.... I'm giddy at this point, knowing that I'm going to Hburg and am going to push myself in my last race.... I head out and things are going smoothly.... Until....
Until I'm about an hour outside of Hburg, in Pachuta, MS, and the temperature gauge on my car spikes.... The light dings and I say, "Shit, this ain't good..." I could smell "burning engine", so instead of trying to limp to Hburg (which I'd probably normally do), I decided to pull off at the next exit...
Enter backwoods Mississippi....
Hit the closest gas station and long story short, my car is F'd.... leaking fluids all over the place, no chance of me getting to Hburg in the Stratus, unless I want to risk catastrophic engine failure (or worse)... So, long story short, I sit at a gas station, for two hours, before a tow truck arrives.... Gary, the tow truck driver, spoke in some sort of muffled tongues language, aided by a huge dip in his lower lip... I understood roughly 10-3% of everything he said...
I have my car towed to the Dodge place in Hburg, 70 something miles away... Dip Lip Gary cuts me a sweet deal on the charges for towing.... My buddy Drew, who I knew from college and lived with during the summer of 2004 works at the Dodge place (his family owns it).... So, fast forward another hour, to Drew's office where I'm sitting, and the Service Department calls...
$2400 in repairs...
$2400? Hell, the car's not even worth that much...
Enter Dave in sheer panic about, well, everything... I figure I'll just get through the weekend and deal with it later (after a phone call to my Dad, he suggests the same thing)
I call Ben and he picks me up 30 minutes later... I'm fried at this point... All I want to do is go to Ben's house, maybe drink a beer, and go to bed... Did I mention it's only 5;00 pm at this point? I'm exhausted, and worse, stressed about my car situation.... Not a good mixture for the day before a race... Packet pickup, back to Ben's, and I start to (somewhat) calm down...
I hung out at Ben's that night, while Ben and our buddy Eric headed out... It was Homecoming weekend in Hburg, and prior to my car shitting the bed, I hadn't planned on staying the weekend--I had a ton of work to do for school and needed to get back to Ttown... But after my car crapped out, I figured I had no choice but to stay...
Off to bed early... I've got a lot on my mind...
4:00 am, alarm goes off, I've been awake practically all night...
Borrowed Ben's Tahoe to drive to the race... get there early, typical of any Type A triathlete on race day... End up running into Dave Melancon, one of my fraternity brothers from way back in the day... he and I never really got along while in college, but after racing together, had a newfound respect for eachother... seems kinda weird to even say that, but I guess people change... Also ran into the Cassell's before the race... it's always good to see them... Also ran into Jenny Walle, who is the sister of the guy who rushed me back in 1998... lots of people at this race that I hadn't seen in years!
I was feeling really good before the race... Calm, a bit chilly, but good overall... I knew that I was going to give it everything I had during the race... If I puked blood at the finish line, then I puked blood at the finish line... I figured my body would make more...
The temp had dropped pretty dramatically a day or two before the race and the RD deemed it wetsuit legal... Me, not having a wetsuit, decides to hop in the water to see just how cold it is... And immediately upon doing this, I lose my breath... Damn! It's cooooold! But surprisingly, after swimming 100 out and 100 back, I was sufficiently warmed up and didn't feel the cold anymore...
So, we line up, time trial start... Let the anniversary race begin...
SWIM:
Knowing that my swim time from Mtn Lks was skewed because of a (very) short course, I was hoping for something close to Sunfish, which was a little over 10 mins... For some reason, the course looked long to me... longer than last year, but then again (and as you'll read) my memory wasn't the best regarding this course...
I hop in and swim hard... It was only 1/3 mile so I figured I'd just gas it and not worry about it... The sun was just coming up when I hit the water, so I was having to favor my right side so as to keep the sun out of my eyes... Made things a tad difficult since I feel stronger when breathing on my right side, but whatever... End up making it a point to run into a kayak, then another during the swim... Idiot...
Like I said, I swam hard... but halfway through, I thought to myself, "Damn, is this ever going to end?"... I press on, not worrying about it... end up smashing into a ton of people, but managed to pass several....
SWIM TIME:
11:26
T1:
Very uneventful... My rack was close to the back of transition, so I got to my bike pretty quickly, threw on the aero helmet and shades, and jogged to bike out... the only complaint I have about T1 was the mish-mash of carpet squares that make up the pathway out to the bike... It prolly won't change, so there's no need in getting worked up about it... what else can you expect from a Sprint in Hattiesburg, MS?
T1 Time:
0:41s
BIKE:
As I mentioned, my memory had failed me about this race... I managed to forget how hilly the bike course was!! I knew this wasn't going to be good... Yeah, I had ridden hills the week of the race, but riding hills in a race is something different altogether... I tried to push it, but tried to lay up because I wanted to gut myself during the run... Nothing terribly eventful happened on the bike... I did pass my buddy Dave (actually, blew past him, which felt REALLY good) and was feeling good, all the way up until about mile 12 or so... the legs were taking a beating from the hills, but I didn't want to slow down....
During the bike, I tried to recall how I did the year prior... Actually, I tried to recall HOW IN THE HELL I RODE THOSE HILLS AND FORGOT ABOUT THEM!! Seriously, I was kinda pissed at myself, but figured, "Well I'll just write about this on the Woodshed blog so that maybe next year, I'll remember"... So, for next year, Dave, remember this: Mighty Magnolia's bike course is hilly... Don't be a douche and not ride hills beforehand.... might wanna run some hills too.... point being, don't be a douche...
Bike Time:
47:27, avg 20.9 mph
T2:
Came in fast to T2... But I guess there's no other way... Rack the bike, throw on the shoes, toss off the helmet, and grab everything else... I've started putting everything into my hat (which is usually just my race belt) and grabbing the whole thing to run out of T2... I haven't decided if it saves me any time, but I feel like it does... at least it gives me a faster transition time...
T2 Time:
0:54s
RUN:
As mentioned, I wanted to gut myself on the run... the run is always where I lose position (and this race was no different... 6th on the swim, 5th on the bike, and fucking 12th on the run---and I PR'd the run (sort of)... So, I check the Garmin and it tells me I'm going stupid fast... Like the kind of fast that I won't be able to hold very long... and the kind of fast that won't last on a course like this one.... hills... stupid...
But I run... and I run hard... and I hurt... I hurt bad... Real bad... I consider walking... I then chastized myself for being weak... don't walk on a 5k dude, don't be a Sunfish... I kept thinking I "knew" the run course, but alas, I was way off... just when you think it's a straightaway back to the finish line, you turn left, or right, or whatever... kinda defeats you, but whatever...
Keeping track on my Garmin, I figured I was running at a good clip, and I started towards the finish line... But wait, I was only about 2.5 miles into a 3.1 mile run.... getting closer to the finish line... 2.6, then 2.7, and the finish line is in sight... great, the course is short... way short... ended up being like, 2.86 miles or some shit like that... Pros: short course means less running and means better run split since they'll split your time out across 3.1 miles... Cons: short course, to me, doesn't mean a full race... So when I say I "PR'd" the run, it's not exactly the truth.... But I'm sticking to it ;)
Run Time:
26:42, 8:54 pace
TOTAL TIME:
1:27:09
Crossing the finish line and hitting stop on my Garmin, I was sure I had crushed the Clyde division... the previous year's winner had come in at like, 1:23, so I figured I had done pretty well... Wrong... 8th... I came in fucking 8th... again... needless to say, I wasn't happy... The first place Clyde came in at 1:21:25.... 6 minutes ahead of me... so yeah, I got beat... bad... dammit...
But coming in 8th out of 29 ain't bad... I guess I'll take it...
So, let's compare times from 2009 and 2010:
Swim:
2009: 14:58
2010: 11:26
-3:32
T1:
2009: 1:27
2010: 0:41
-0:46 s
Bike:
2009: 56:07, avg 17.6
2010: 47:27, avg 20.9
-8:40
T2:
2009: 1:33
2010: 0:54
-0:39s
Run:
2009: 31:53, 10:38 pace
2010: 26:42, 8:54 pace
-5:11
Total Times:
2009: 1:45:57
2010: 1:27:09
-18:52
My math may be off, but the point is, I took almost 19 minutes off my time from last year... Out of all of my races this year, I'm probably most proud of this one (Heart O' Dixie is a close second)... Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the race (guess the RD is too cheap to get a proper photographer, a point which I'll gently remind him of for next year's event)
19 minutes.... that's a lot of time... When I told my buddy J about it, he said, "Great, next year you can take off another 19!".... Maybe he believes in me a little more than I do myself... taking another 19 minutes off a 1:27, although not impossible, would put me well into the #1 overall men's slot... let's be honest, prolly not gonna happen....
But anything it possible I suppose...
MM was a defining moment for me... yes, I crushed my time from last year, but more importantly, I realized how far I'd come in a year, physically, mentally, and emotionally... I'm going to dedicate an entire post to "what I've learned in a year" simply because it'd be too much to put into this post.... Flat out, I am a different person, on the inside and out, than I was a year ago...
Mighty Magnolia will always be my Kona (which, incidentally, the two races were held on the same day)... It'll always be the race that started it all, and it'll probably be the race that ends my season year after year (of course, that's subject to change!)... It was bittersweet this year though, to end my season with the race that started it all....
All of the miles, blood, (lots of) sweat, tears, agony, suffering, defeat, victory, joy, frustration, self doubting, satisfaction, failures, and dreams were all realized when I crossed that finish line, for the second time...
In 2009, when I crossed that finish line, I became a triathlete...
In 2010, when I crossed that finish line, I finally accepted it...
Thanks for reading...
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