An impromptu race and "who ordered september in early augsust ?"

Howdy. Ok short race report first, because well, it was a sprint afterall. But like many races there are versions of sprints. My question is why is the swim ALWAYS SO SHORT? I know the answer, dont answer that. But this race had a 22 mile bike ( which due to construction was 23) so that was money for OLY prep. Race day at 345 was not pleasant bc it was cold and dark and no sign of sun. When the race announcer said the lake water as a full 20+ deg warmer than the air you can guess that i was ok with wetsuit legal and being cozy in my suit. Since it was the sprint, shared with Chisago Half Iron, we went off after the Half distance racers, So some standing around. In the Elite wave i was sorta wimpy, with guys i just never know who is going to clock me even if they arent swimming too fast. Got around the buoy fine, and viola my 7 minutes of warm were OVER. Time to get moving. So much for a gap, not much. I did find that my LEFT arm was having nothing doing with getting out into that cold air. I m not sure what was the hold up but i dropped my cap ( didnt know if the USAT officials would call abandonment of property so got that picked up) ahh, the transistion issues you can only hope for. 

Once riding It took me a good 15 miles to feel like i had some rhythm. I had a horrible lower GI cramps, and i have had this before TTing but not recently. I suspect its bc i am working hard and my Gut isnt getting as much love ( blood) as it would like. IT subsided but i had to soft pedal a few times and who knows, maybe just being cold. Once i thought i could take my gel i did, and that is rocket fuel in the engine and i was good. 

I dont usually mention issues or other rider's issues, but I just cant not write that when people are drafting I just have a very hard time not letting them know they are cheaters. I know that I cant control anyone elses race but my own but come. on. Its pretty obvious when someone is working hard to stay on a wheel and when i am busting my tail to get past another rider and to see you sitting on said rider's wheel then hop to mine? That is all i said. But the moto did come thru a few times and i should have kept my mouth shut bc maybe she would have gotten a penalty.  I even heard a good racer in T2 saying " Well you have to join in otherwise they will get ahead of you." no, that is wrong. 

So besides my rants, well that made me go faster for sure and i did come into T2 ahead of said girl (s) actually two of them, and out ran one and the other who is new to the sport and like 13 yo, kidding, she isnt, maybe 21?  but she is a great athlete and i hope she learns the rules someday. 

 Good pic with at team TT going on in the background.

So getting my shoes on in T2 was funny, I thought my liners were rolled up bc of the cold feet. Couldnt feel em and almost fell over. So the first mile was "meh," didnt have much spark. Ran down one or two women and then pretty much just coasted into the finish and nabbed 5th OA that then became 6th and an AG win by 3-4 minutes. I never take an AG win for granted and I will take any top 10 finish in a race like this when there is prize money and the winners are such fine athletes. So despite my " you all need to go to bike school" I was happy with this and the effort. Showed me a few things to work on for nationals andI was really proud i got out of bed on a cold fall morning. Wait its end of July.

So that plays nicely into my " why is it so cold?" talk. Cant say that i am happy about it, but at least its good running weather, and while i dearly long for a few more days weeks of 80-90 degrees maybe this will carry on thru september and we will have a mild lovely fall.

Nationals is next weekend and I may or may not post about that. I am super excited to do a full OLY bc Lifetime was shortened, and i am excited to see if i can laydown a good race on such a flat and crowded course. I am confident in my bike handling skills i just hope that others dont pull any bonehead crazy bike tactics and crash into me, or anyone! Weather looks awesome that weekend, but a bit chilly. You knew i would say that. But last weekend proved i can race in cold temps as well as warm so bring it on.

Mostly I am excited to see some friends ( Molly, SARAH!) and to meet some new ones ( MAGGS!) and have a good clean race. Lets hope the women 45-49 are a pleasant group! At least in the water!