Race Recap ~ Bike

This picture was me within the first mile going over the Lucky Peak Reservoir where the swim portion was held.

The first part of the bike was all downhill and I was flying. It was a little chilly post swim, but the adrenaline kept me warm. The hill on Highway 21 is one that I have been on a few times. I wouldn't typically go too fast because there are cars on this hill and there is not a ton of room for bicyclists, so it was fun to fly because the road was closed.


As I approached Mile 7, the clouds grew much darker and there was a pretty good head wind. There was a chance of showers in the weather forecast, which was okay. I would rather it be a little cooler in June than a scorching 90 degree day. Keeping the core temperature within normal range or a little bit warmer would be ideal.


Then around Mile 9 there was some booming thunder and bolts of lightening...Holy crap! I am on a bike in the middle of no where and it is going to rain on me. I mean really, I knew I was going to be wet for the swim, but not the bike portion as well. As one can imagine there were several other choice words that came out of my mouth. Then I finally just smiled and told myself that this was the hand that I was dealt and I was going to have to play it if I wanted to cross the finish line. So I just put my mental game face on and literally rolled on...



...the rain started as just a few drops and then progressed into a violent downpour. I was drenched from helmet to pedal, but I just kept pedaling and smiling. People were stopping along the road for either problems with their bike or just frustration from the rain. I just kept on going. The next picture gives you a pretty good idea of what the weather was like.




It rained on and off again till I hit the bike/run transition. If you are not familiar with the Boise 70.3 Bike Course, there are several hills both up and down. The up part was really no problem, I trained on this course and felt comfortable with the gear transition. The part that I was not comfortable with was going downhill in the rain and having the potential of losing control and crashing. I had my mental game face on, but I was still a little fearful of eating wet gravel. Right before I would go downhill I would double check my brakes to see if they were still intact. The bottom line is that I went down the hills with some hesitation probably from the combination of slick roads and tiny bike tires.


Along the way I saw my 3 little angels. They were out in the rain and cheering on their Mommy. Of course it was just a brief glimpse that I saw of them, but it was like a shot of adrenaline. They made me smile that much bigger and I loved hearing their little voices saying "Go Mommy Go".

As I turned off of Highway 21 onto Federal Way, I knew I only had about 6 miles left and it would be downhill. The clouds drew much darker and the water fell on me like I was under a waterfall in Yosemite during the early Spring. I was worried about my core temperature being a little bit too high, in fact just the opposite was true. I was frozen! Despite it being dark, I could see the road ahead of me and a ton of headlights from cars that were coming in my direction. I just kept on going despite the elements. Okay last little hill till I hit T2....where are my feet? They were totally numb.


The last quarter mile was incredible. I could see the crowd and I could hear the cow bells ringing. I thought to myself...."I need more cowbell!" Huge smile and goose bumps which we can thank from the weather and the pure excitement! I got off my bike and headed to my transition spot.



To be continued....