2 race reports in 1

[beetle]

Great reports. They will be fab to keep for your diary.

That is terrible about your foot, what a bad start to the day. It obviously didn't dampen your spirits too much though. Loved hearing about your climbs though - that must have put you on a big high!

[eclectic]

Now that I have completed my first tri My hat is off and I bow to you for doing the entire run w/o walking AND doing it on a hilly course

GREAT job!

[wildstreaktn]

Way to go Btchance!Sounds like you did some overcoming of a lot of rough and had a couple of good races.That's great for having little training time to prepare.And running the whole way,my hat's off to you!!!You Go Girl!!

[HappyAnika]

Congrats on both races, esp. running without walking on the sprint! Thanks so much for writing the reports, I looove reading them! Good luck on finding time to keep training, and take care of the foot!

[btchance]

Thank you ladies. The OWS was definately helped by the lake being one of the clearest you could ask for (I could see the number on the person I was swimming next to, and no, we weren't hitting each other) and getting almost 20min in the water before the race. It was great on the bike being able to pass people on the hills, hard though when they passed me on the downhills. All I know is that I saw more people walking their bikes up the hill in this race than I have seen in all my others combined. For the run, I hope that I have crossed a mental barrier, we'll see in the future.

One addm to the bike story. Near the end, I heard a hiss and immediately thought I had a flat. Well, it only lasted for a few seconds and I never felt anything wrong with the bike. Well, once I got home, the rear tire was completely flat. Glad that didn't happen during the race. Weird part was, though, that after I had that tube out I decided to put some air in it and see where the hole was. Found it immediately with the hissing noise, then it stopped and held air again. Not sure how that happens, but it helped me out during the race.

As far as my foot goes, it still has black gunk in it even after cleaning it multiple times, it's a little puffy, but not too bad and not very painful. I ran on it tonight and it seemed okay, let's hope it stays this way.

I have to say it was nice being able to get out there and do those two races with some good friends I have made along the way. It really helps when your personal life gets crazy. (A family member with mental illness came very close to commiting suicide the week before the first race and has been in the hospital since, and needless to say, my mind has been on family issues, not on tris. Hence, alot of the decrease in training - but hey, all those base miles gave me enough fitness to go out there and have a great time racing)

Thanks for everything ladies!