Frantic Frog, or Why You shouldn't compete in a triathlon with Bronchitis

Its triathlon time folks! Time for another dip in Lake Guntersville! Since things went so well last time, I figured I would up the odds and make it a little tougher this time around. This time I was going to compete with Bronchitis! Nothing like a respiratory infection to add some spice to your race! Ok, I did intend to do it, it just sort of worked out that way. In the end it sucked. That whole not being able to breathe thing sort of gets in the way.

I had done some practice open water swimming the weekend before so I was sure I was ready. And while I did better with the swim, I didn't do as well as I liked. The first thing that happened was getting kicked in the face so hard that I literally saw stars. I had to tread water a few seconds just to get my bearings and remember my name. I had a good rhythm going for a while then things sort of broke down. My mind got involved and that's never a good thing. So I stopped a couple boats and chatted to the rescue workers. My time wasn't very good, but it was better than last time. I will eventually get the hang of this open water swim of death thing.

Getting the new bike ready to rock

Packet Pickup

My Adversary

Kaden rocking the beach

Heading out for some practice swim

Lining up for the swim start

Steven is rocking the swim

I am already tired

Notice my shoes are attached to my bike, I'm all pro ya'll

Running to the finish

Heading to the finish

So, I finished. Whatever that means. My bike was just ok, the new race bike definately made me faster, but I couldn't push it because I couldn't breathe. The run was worse. Everytime I tried to push my pace I hacked and coughed all kinds of yellow stuff up. My pace was horrid. But I finished. Some races are like this. I have 3 weeks until my nexy duathlon, Racin the Station. I will crush that some-bitch. Mainly because there is no swim! Hooray!

The positives to take away from this race? My transitions where sweet. The whole "no shoes thing" worked out well. I did the foot glide, no instride non-sense like a pro does thing to perfection. Having the shoes attached to the bike worked out great. Taking my feet out of the shoes and doing the running dismount worked great. All of that shit was the bomb, its just the important parts of my racing that need work. You know, things like my endurance and all that jazz. Whatever, that's all totally next year!