Coming out of pseudo-retirement after 1 .5 Years?

It’s been a year and a half since I raced my last tri and I can tell!  My last race was cold – so cold I was shivering uncontrollably on the bike.  So of course, I sign up for my 1^st race back (Rev3 SC) and it’s cold!  Good thing I learned my lesson about layering clothing.  Unfortunately, I was very rusty on my transitions.  I fumbled, seemingly forever, trying to get my wetsuit off and my dry jersey/arm warmers on (yes, it was very cold to me).  I finally made it off to the bike and held a less than desirable pace and managed to lose a water-bottle somewhere along the way with all the rough roads.  I was, however, very grateful for my dry gear keeping me warm.  The cool weather was perfect for running!  I felt pretty good.  My lower back got really tight early on, but no numbness J.  My hubby and sister moved around on the course and screamed at me with each passing!  The best part – my sister and I running through the finish together! 

Rev3 was an AWESOME experience!  This was my 1^st Rev3, but definitely not my last!  I was impressed with the race from the moment I signed up!  I hope they put on some races closer to the Florida panhandle and also in TX – preferably San Antonio!!!  I’ll be more than happy to help!  I’ll also recruit my hubby to help too although you never know what he might wear to encourage the athletes!

A week later, my husband and I were planning to volunteer at White Sands Triathlon.  He told me he had a “surprise” for everyone – I admit, I was skeerd so I decided to sign up to race so I wouldn’t be stuck embarrassed next to him if he did something really crazy.  We showed up to the race and conducted business-as-usual.  I was first out of the water but flailed getting my wetsuit off, again (NOTE: I need to cut the lower legs off my wetsuit).  I was so flustered when I saw the 2^nd place female (Kirsten Sass) I rushed even more and ended up slow speed crashing on my bike just outside of transition as she passed me coming out.  Don’t worry, the Shiv is okay! 

On our 2^nd loop I saw my husband’s surprise – there he was directing traffic at the turn-around (of a 3 loop bike) in nothing but a red, white, and blue speedo!  I would post a picture, but there are apparently a ton going around including the IMFL race video!  I debated stopping because of my road rash, but really, he just looked HOT and I was proud to be his wife and wanted to hang out with him!  I had never seen the speedo before…  Apparently he had it for a while planning the surprise.  Is that TMI?  I could still see Kirsten (below), so I stuck with it and held onto 2^nd place. 

The entire run, my left leg was numb but it was different than the back pain numbness.  Once I finished I started regaining feeling and pain.  I felt like the bottom of my left foot was bruised (from the bike wreck) so I walked on the outside of my left foot to avoid the area.  A few hours later I went to my massage – more like partial massage due to the road rash.  Only after the massage did I notice a spot on my left foot where it was sore.  I could barely bend my leg to see it, so I waited until I got to my car where no one would see me.  As I dissected the spot, I realized that I had a small piece of glass in my foot the entire time!  Once I removed it, I felt better.  All-in-all it was a good race and the prize $ helped pay for the bandages…  Time to practice those transitions!