So, I know I haven't blogged in a bit, but, I am promising to get better at this. Life gets busy some times, and with the winters in the Midwest, we tend to fall in to routines and a bit of a funk. We can't get out as often to train as we want, and we start looking at our compu-trainers thinking they would look better floating in Lake Michigan. But, I have always believed we are some pretty hardy athletes, having to deal with inclement weather, and cabin fever, so, once we get some day light to race or get outside, we are tough to beat.
So, this past Saturday, March, 7, I got out and raced. But it was inside. I know what you are thinking,"where did all that moxie you just spit out above go?" Well, I missed what was to be my first race on February 28, b/c no one can stay healthy in my office or on the train I take, so, no matter what I did, I caught the stomach flu people were all too happy to pass along. But, I wanted to see what the last 3 month of really solid training had done for me. So, to the Midwest Indoor Du Championships I went.
The cool thing about indoor races, the people are more relaxed, they are very affable, and happy to help. This race was no exception, the volunteers, the staff, everyone at the Orland Park Sportsplex were fantastic. Towels, water, Gatorade, whatever you needed, they were right there. And the spectators were great too, b/c they are so close to the action.
The race consisted of a 1.5 mile run - 10 mile bike - 1.5 mile run. The track we ran on was small, 10 times around to a mile, with tight turns, so, needed to not be over-anxious, and watch my ankle go flying. Warmed up really well, then got ready to start. As I was warming up, my sister, and my niece/manager, got there, just as I was about to take the track. Of course, my sister sees me in my race kit, and her first comment, "It looks like you are wearing a Holloween costume" broke the tension and brought a smile to my face. A quick kiss from my niece, and I was off. I grabbed a pretty decent lead on the first run, settled in to about a 5:30 pace and was feeling fine. Finished up the run with a good 1 minute lead, and a 7:50 for the first run, and then, hit the spin bikes. True its not like riding your own, but we all had to ride them, so, no bitching. As I got going on the bike I looked up and noticed a decent sized crowd had gathered around. Other athletes getting ready to race and spectators were shouting me words of encouragement. It felt pretty cool, and reminded me of what I love about the sport - the commraderie in pushing each other and helping each other. Wrapped up the bike in just over 14 minutes, and then time for that second run.
At this point, I had no idea where everyone else was, I was just thinking of the best time posted of the day, and what I needed to do to beat that. As I started the second run, I tried to do math in my head, which I realized I can barely do while sitting down, with a calculator (that's why I practice law). I stopped that nonsense pretty fast and just dug in. At one point, half way thru I heard people chanting my name. At the edge of the track was my sister and niece cheering me on, smiling and laughing. One of my teammates, Gary Gieger was there too, snapping photos, and I dug deeper, thinking I want this one bad.
I crossed the line, knowing I had won my heat, but not knowing where I ended up. For a few seconds, I walked slowly on the track, then heard my sister, "Hey, come check this out!" People were applauding, and she told me I had the best time of the day. I came to find out an hour later, my time broke the course record by 3 minutes. I was stoked. I felt fine, my fitness was definitely good, and getting in a race, even a short one, felt great. I felt like a bit of a rock star as I was interviewed by local papers, and had photos taken. I made sure to get my niece and sister in them too, b/c of all the voices, I could always hear thiers.
There was one other thing motivating me that day. It was my Papa's birthday. The memory of him, and my Nonno, together, was on my mind the entire race. I always think, how lucky I am that they came to this country so I could do this. To see that same look in my sister's face, and then in my niece's smile, made my season opener, truly special.
Guy
I finished up the bike
