Bling! :-) :-)

I'm not normally lost for words when it comes to writing these posts, but I'm really struggling to get my thoughts in line and down on the page this time. I get a big smile on my face every time I think back to this morning.

Last week, tiger angel ran her first CR5k in a year. Today, she ran her first triathlon (enticer length - 250m swim, 10k ride, 2.5k run) in almost 2 years. Clearly, she is still below her best, so this was to be a gentle "re-entry" to the sport; a metaphorical dipping of the toe in the water, so to speak. The plan, as best I understand it, was to take it easy, not blow up through over exertion, and finish vertical & smiling(ish!). Mostly, things went to plan.

After a late night at a friends 50th (why do people have to turn 50 the night before important races?) and a very early morning (4:45am), TA's nerves were not what you'd call settled, and breakfast (how do I say this nicely? umm...) didn't exactly get digested. Not an auspicious start.

We met up with a whole bunch of CR friends out there - wildthing and gps Rob (aka Mr WT), Ellie80, mouse & nite_time_runner, Nihao & Mr Nihao, and Mango. WT, mouse & TA were doing the enticer, while Mango, Ellie, Nihao & Mr Nihao opted for the longer Sprint version. NTR, gpsRob and I formed the ever present and vital cheer squad. :-)

From my vantage point, I thought that TA was strong-but-gentle through the whole race - ie she always looked in perfect form and control, but also looked like she could easily step it up a few notches if she really wanted to. I understand from subsequent conversation that there were no further notches available; the spirit may be very stong, but the body still leaves a fair bit to be desired... After finishing (in 44:02 by my watch - the results haven't been published yet), she flopped onto the ground and curled up in foetal position, utterly spent, and it took a long time to recover.

So (he asks retorically) am I smiling? Consider these things.

• First in age group (Bling!). Now to be fair, we knew that bling was a certainty because there were only two entries in her category, and it appears that the other lady either didn't finish or didn't start. Either way, 'ya gotta be innit to winnit'. Much more importantly, though...
• Fastest time ever. Yep, a pb in a come-back race running at half throttle! How cool is that! And then, just to add icing to an already overloaded cake,
• Nothing from the achilles. No pain, no tightness, not even noticed at all either during or after the race. This has been one of those little mental niggles (aka doubts) that has been hanging around all through the year. You know the type. "When everything else is fixed and functioning again, will I be able to run, or will this achilles pain stop me for ever?". Well, it appears as though that little bugbear has been put to bed for a while.

I think I'll finish with some photos that sum up the day perfectly...

Power

Exhaustion

Gnome