Last Tri.....

Waseca 1/3 Iron distance tri was last Sunday...my last tri before IM WI....

I always hate the time when triathlon season starts winding down. I wait, wait, wait all winter long to be able to be outside swimming, riding and running and then WHOOOSH.... it seems to be over in a blink of an eye.

I know that, with IM WI looming, the season isn't really over. There are still four pretty intense training weeks ahead, followed by a two-week "taper" of some sort, but, summer has definitely gone from feeling like there are endless weeks stretching ahead of me to "how long until Labor Day weekend?"

This year was the second year for Waseca's event. The field was pretty small. Only 100 people did the 1/3 Iron distance, which was really a 1 mile swim; 33 mile bike ride and 8.8 mile run. Of the 100, only 34 women did the distance.

A couple of people I used to train with from time to time also did the 1/3 Iron distance; Steve Stenzel and his brother-in-law did the sprint distance, so I could catch up with a couple friendly faces while waiting to get in to the water.

The swim was trouble free. The water was very warm, but they allowed wetsuits. Honestly, I would have been fine if they hadn't allowed them, but since they did, I took advantage of the extra buoyancy and feeling of security.

The race website warned us of potholes on the bike course, but honestly I didn't encounter any. (They may have been referring to the sprint course having potholes). I was actually quite impressed with the quality of the roads.

My legs were tired on the bike. Maybe a little aftermath of Chisago... could have been the fact that I rode some hills the day prior to Waseca with one of my old coaches, Greg Rhodes. He gave me some great tips as we (I) trudged up some killer hills in St. Paul.

In any event, I didn't think I had much mojo on the bike ride, but my pace was holding steady. Until, of course, a turn on the course pushed the bikes right in to a headwind. Not a huge one, but enough of one that my mph dropped from 18 to about 14. Depressing.

That stretch of road seemed to go on forever, but I was able to pass a couple of people -- and eventually the course turned out of the wind and pedaling was easier.

By the time I came in to T2, the sun was blazing hot, the humidity was high and I thought long and hard about just going home.

Rationale? "Well, this is really just a C minus race for me... why do I need to finish this???"

Why? Because.... that's why.

So, I got out on to the run course and did my run/walk thing. No particular "schedule" of run/walk, but just plodded along. The 8.8 mile course consisted of two-loops around Clear Lake. Pretty course with very little shade.

About mile 3, I bumped in to an old friend from work and we ran/walked a bit together. He was just about to finish the race and I still had a second loop. It was nice to have the company for a bit.

But then he zigged to the finish line and I zagged out for the second loop.

Again, I felt okay enough despite the heat and sun to keep doing the run/walk. I passed about four others during the second loop, which made me feel pretty good.

Not long after starting loop two, I was looking towards the finish line and then it was over.

I had fun, I was happy with my time and I thought the race was very well organized and the volunteers were great.

Now I'm focused on the Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon, which is this Saturday. It will be Hubby's first 1/2 marathon and I'm hoping we both have a great day.

In the meantime, I continue to get my training in....swim on Monday; bike today; open water swim and bike tomorrow; spin and run on Thursday; stretch and core work on Friday....

Tick tock, tick....tock....