Wildflower Training Weekend - 1/2 Iron Distance

On Friday night we pulled into Lake San Antonio just as the rain eased up and dusk was setting in . . . the last 10 minutes of light generously allowing us to quickly pitch our tent. The howling wind practically stole the tent, and sent it blowing across camp, but we were able to stake it down just in time. Luckily the winds eased up throughout the night, giving us a good night sleep (thanks also to Susan's super-posh air mattress).

Saturday morning did not start off so well. The air temp was 42 degrees as we exited our tent, choosing to strip down and strap on our wetsuits in the heated car (God bless the inventor of seat warmers!) while shoving down a yucky egg flavored bagel, grumbling all the way. I have never been so NOT INTERESTED in going swimming. Not only was it bone-chilling, but we got down to the water to find the fog so thick that we couldn't see the buoys for our 1.2 miles swim. So Coach Tom pared it down to 30 minutes of laps around volunteers on surfboards, which was fine with me. We waded through the swamp and off we went. Somehow my goggles got smooshed in my transition bag, so my left eye kept filling with water. I chucked the goggles in the first five minutes, but the rest of the swim went smoothly until I got out of the water and put on my new Walmart galoshes only to find that they do not work like flip flops. The pebbles that stick to your feet as you are exiting the water stay in the bottom of the galoshes and prick your half-numb feet with every step. So I chucked those too. When the coached called "time" at the end of our swim, I was as far from the shore as I could be, so I was one of the last people in, but I was very excited to find that Derek had not taken off on the bike yet, so we were able to pedal off together. He left me on the first hill (the one that no one tells you about), and I didn't see him again until the run.

The bike went much better than expected. My hands and feet were burning as they thawed out, I forgot my sunglasses (the sun finally appeared), and I dropped my chain once, but the course is absolutely gorgeous. I took it pretty slow in anticipation of "Nasty Grade" (the hill that EVERYONE talks about), and felt good at the end of the ride.

Again, Derek was in the transition area when I pulled in, so we set off together for what turned out to be a pleasant 13-mile hike/jog. It took us longer than we had hoped, but I definitely enjoyed his rousing rendition of "New York, New York" that is actually "Go Team, Go Team" and his company made the journey a million time more bearable than it would have been alone. We may have each gone faster if we had been on our own, but it would not have been as "fun". We picked up Scott and a couple of other teammates along the way, and leisurely strolled back into camp. Hooray camp.

All in all, it was a satisfying day, despite a rocky start - pun intended.