I'm beginning to think that I'm cursed. Over the past seven years I've competed in 48 triathlons, and as far as I can remember, 47 of them were hot. I don't mean "hot" in the sense that maybe you shouldn't wear long sleeves, I mean "hot" like even a scorpion would bitch about the temperature.
Last Sunday was no exception. I opted to race in XTERRA West Championship in nearby Temecula, Calif., instead of racing in the even-more-nearby Encinitas Sprint Tri. I have a disdain for sprint triathlons, because I don't think one hour of racing is worth one night off of drinking or one morning of waking up super-early.
When I drove out to Temecula for packet pick-up the day before the race, the mercury was hovering around 105 degrees. The weatherman called for a slight cool-off, but knowing my luck, I figured this would be the one time a weatherman in San Diego was wrong.
Turns out he was right, but barely. By the end of my 10k death-march the temps had already broken into triple-digits and it was only 11:30. I finished in about three-and-a-half hours, almost 40 minutes off my XTERRA PR. I was sure that I would be the last of the athletes in my age group to finish, but it turns out everyone else was suffering equally and I managed a somewhat-respectable third-place finish. I didn't pee until nine o'clock that night...I'm not kidding.
The moral of the story is that you should check the start list before any race to see if I'm entered. And if I am, find another race to go to or just take the weekend off.
Props to Rich Cruse for the photo. Yes, that's me leading XTERRA pro Brian Astell. Before you start to think I'm fast, I should warn you that that picture was snapped about 35 seconds after T1 and that would be the last I'd see of Brian, or any other pro, for the entire day.
1 comment:
Well, I'm in your AG, and did the race so it's good to know someone is to blame for the heat. Also, I'm going to Show Low in two weeks and you better not bring the heat there or I will be pissed! j/k...kind of.
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