I survived.....

[rocknrollgirl]

Hi Guys,
I do not even know where to start really. So much happened over the race weekend. I will give you the Cliff's Notes version.

Arrived in Tahoe late, late Wed night. I had set a personal goal of 4 hours, top half of the age group.

Thursday-went for a swim. Water temp 58 degrees. hmmm......
Did a partial pre-ride of the course, up to about 8000 feet...altitude...hmmmm

Friday-storm rolled in. 35 mile per hour winds, Five foot waves on the lake snow over night.

Saturday- DH did the regular race. 750 swim, 22 mt bike, 5k run. He did great. Gave me the inside info on the ride.

Saturday Night...took a long hard look and readjusted the goal.

New Goal-4:30 finish...top half of age group.

Sunday-Race day Air temp in the morning...mid-thirties water temp 58 degrees

Swim-1500 meters 29 mins

Long run to the transition- like a 1/4 mile. Hands very cold, could not buckle helmet, or shoes....blah.

Bike-22 mile mt bike, probably 16 miles of climbing, at altitude. Slower than I wanted, but heck..I live at sea level. 2:51

Run-10 k trail run 1:02. best I could do after all the climbing on the bike.

I finished in 4:33 and in 6th place. Middle of the group. 4/5 girls that beat me live in California or Colorado.

It seems that the flatlanders are at a huge disadvantage at this race. It almost seems that they should hold it elsewhere or rotate. Although it is an epic location, it makes it hard for those of us that do not live there.

Anyway, I had a blast. I am very happy with my time. I enjoyed every min of the race( well not he second part of the run, I was toast by then), I went to the parties and met tons of cool people and made new friends. DH had a great time and raced well.

And the best part is that when I cross the finish line, they gave a shout out to my Mom, that lost her battle with cancer this summer. She was there with me in spirit.

[Skeezix]

That is really wonderful! You did awesome! Whee!

I honestly would have died at those distances at those temps. Bravo!

[LBTC]

RnR, right now I'm glad that I'm short and am barely visible behind the cubicle dividers at work....because my eyes are full of tears!

I'm so impressed, so proud of you, so glad your Mom was with you the whole way, so glad you had fun!

You did way awesome and I'm really happy to know you! :p

Hugs and huge happy butterflies,
~T~

[Wahine]

You did great RnR. Killer cold. I heard about the race from some friends that went. Eek. Tough conditions.

Now it's time for some real RnR (you know, rest and relaxation)!!

Take care of yourself.

Wow!! What a great season you had.

[RoadRaven]

Ah, R&R, we have been waiting for you to tell all!

Sounds like the whole experience was awesome... from the race to the socialising :)

Interesting about the Colarado and California gals...

You finished well, R&R... well done!!!!!

[KSH]

WOW! Great job!

Yea, that was COLD! There is no way I could have done what you did.

Amazing job out there!

[spokewench]

Way to go Girl. Cold always slows you down cause your body has to send energy into keeping you warm. You did awesome - I'm impressed and yes, the altitude can kick your butt too!

[crazycanuck]

WAHOOOOEEYY!!! Good job RNG!

I am happy to hear you did well at the race. :)

Take care of yourself :) YOu deserve it!

C

[csh_01]

Congrats on your great race! You did great considering the conditions and the altitude differences.

[btchance]

You did awesome - both in this race and what you accomplished throughout the year. I am in awe. Anyone who started this race is a champion in my book - you made it there, braved the horrid conditions, then you went and finished in the top 1/2 of your AG at altitude against girls who live at altitude. Congrats :D

[Tri Girl]

Wow! Incredible race in incredibly freeeeezing conditions.
My friend, Desiree, did that race also. Her story of the race was incredible. Certainly an experience to remember.
Your feet must've been sooooo cold. I can't imagine hopping on the bike soaking wet in those cold conditions. She said the bike course was incredible (albeit a little scary with the 6000 foot drop off the side of the mountain and all) and the downhills were wicked.
Oh, and she said the pre-race and post-race meals were incredible (salmon? wow). They treat you national champions well!

Wow, wow, wow! I'm just soooo impressed with you (and DH)!!!!
Can't say enough about how proud I am that you hung with the big girls this weekend. What an amazing experience. How sweet that they gave a shout out to your mom. You know she's beaming with pride up there. ;)

I know it was stressful before you left- was it all worth it??? :D

[Veronica]

Awesome job! You did great! I was thinking about you Sunday, wondering how it went.

V.

[salsabike]

Hey, that is wonderful. Been checking for news from you off and on all week. Here's to you and to your mom too.

[DirtDiva]

Brrrr. Can't have been fun getting into or out of that water! Well done. :)

[light_sabe_r]

Goodjob R&R!!! ^_^

GEEZ that's cold (just had to convert it to C first) :eek:

[rocknrollgirl]

Thanks for the support guys.

As to the question, "was it worth it?"

Yes. The stress and expense of getting out there were worth it. We had a great time. That being said, I do not think it is a trip I will make every year, even if I qualify. It was a lot with school starting.

[margo49]

Well done!
You beat your demons (some of) and that is the important thing!

[limewave]

Great job!

A 22 mile mountain bike? Sheesh. And here I was complaining about 15 miles.

Congratulations. Enjoy some well-deserved R & R if you can.

[kerrybelle]

Congrats, Ruth! Gald you had a good time and had a good race, too.

Kerry

[Kimmyt]

i wanted to respond to your post yesterday, but my computer was being silly and wouldn't let me log in to TE.

I'm so proud! (i did a bit of 'remember that girl i went mountain biking with a few months ago? well she's in the XTerra NATIONALS this weekend) heheh

I'm glad that all the difficulties were worth it, in the end, and I really think your performance was good considering it was your first event of this stature and in such a different setting with all those traveling stressors involved in it. Good job and keep on rocking it!

K.

[roadie gal]

Great Job!!

You managed to catch our second snow of the season. I can't picture swimming in Tahoe in that cold!

The altitude does make a big difference. I've found that I really feel it in my swimming. You can cheat on your breathing running and biking but not swimming.

[teigyr]

I can't imagine riding a bike in that temperature, especially with being wet from the swim.

SO cool about your mom! That must have been so emotional for you, especially after being such a difficult race.

Just wow though. I can see not wanting to do it again but you rock :D