I am by no means a good runner. I avg about 8:30/mile in most of my races recently. But I have never been near the very BOP. There's usually someone slower than me. But with this race, I think there was like 55 people total, or something like that. When the race started, I found myself 2nd or 3rd from last, and I was losing ground fast on the rest of the pack. This was just a FAST crowd. And I even got a 5k PB, and I still came in very close to DFL on the first run. As it turns out, I should have used ALL of my energy on this first leg.

Nothing really, I got a PB and had energy to spare.

I don't have an official time on T1, but my watch said :54. I'm happy with that.

Nothing. I had gone through the transition mentally, and I followed that plan.

Well, what can I say. I learned a very valuable lesson today. ALWAYS carry a spare tube and a pump with you, especially when you race. I felt really good at the start of the bike leg. Legs were loose, HR was down, and I was feeling confident. Then it happened. As I started to pass another rider, my back tire went flat. I knew right then and there that I was screwed. No spare tube, no pump, nothing. And since I was BOP from the first run, I knew there was only a couple of people left that would pass me on the bike, and none of them were any help. So just as I resigned myself to the DQ, a nice old guy in an old pick up truck stopped and asked if I needed a ride back to the race site. I said sure, and hopped in the back. I got back, and the race director asked if everything was ok. I explained my flat and he was cool. He said I could run the race leg again if I wanted to get in a little more of a workout. I declined. Then I had to sign the paper confirming my DQ. Fun!

PACK A SPARE TUBE AND A CO2 PUMP!

Kicked myself for a little while for being so stupid. I watched some of the finishers come in. Then, who do I see walking their bike in? The Bear. He had 2 flat tires. But at least he has the brains to take a spare tube with him. He was just unlucky enough to have a flat twice. So we talked for a little bit and watched the rest of the finishers. Then I packed up and headed home. Like Bear said, that was a hell of a drive for just a 5k.


It's kind of ironic. Including me, there was only 2 people in my AG, so I would have gotten 2nd place, and with PB on the 5k as well. But this isn't how I want to place for the first time in a race, so I guess it kind of worked out.