So, Sunday was their turn. They didn't have the winds that we had the day before which was good for them but they did have a little hotter temperatures. We all headed down there by 8am for the race to start at 9am but their waves didn't go until 10:15 and 10:30.
Erika, my training partner, was right up front to start the swim and when the gun went off she swam out in 4th place. Here she is at the front of the pack ready to go.
She headed off on her bike I think in 6th place and came out of the run in 4th place.
She held her spot in 4th place on the run running a 7:16 average min mile. Very fast and it was an extremely tough course! I was very proud of her! At the end she said she had the race of her life! She felt great and raced hard and placed!
My sister is the opposite, she is there to enjoy the experience and finish the race. She hung out in the back of the pack to start the swim and worked on relaxing in the water. She ca
me out of the swim in 50 minutes with a smile on her face looking fresh ready to start the bike. The bike was what she was most worried about since this course is known for being very hilly. She did the LA Marathon so wasn't worried about the run but didn't know how she would do on the bike.She said she had a great first half of the bike, and was half way done in 1 hour. She was riding through the water station at the half way point feeling good, having a great ride when a guy crashed into her back tire throwing her onto the pavement, bending her bike all up and later we realized her fork on her bike was completely cracked. She had blood gushing from her elbow. She said it happened so fast from feeling great to on the ground, bleeding. The medical help said that if they touched her she would be disqualified(stupid rule) so she told them not to touch her but could they give her something to wrap it with so they threw her some gauze to wrap her arm herself. Her bike looked Ok. She was determined to finish this race. "Don't touch me! I worked to hard to get disqualified. I am finishing this race!" she told the help. Wow, my sister is one tough woman!
So you can imagine my surprise when I am waiting for he
r on her Run Out after her bike and I see her run up with bandages all wrapped around her arm and her leg is all skidded up. "WHAT HAPPENED???" She said, "A guy crashed into me! My bike is all bent up! I WOULDN'T LET THEM TOUCH ME!!!!!" And she went running off with a smile on her face looking very determined to finish this race.She was actually doing really good on time. I wasn't expecting her for a half hour or so and there she was after a crash and in her zone for sure!
I was so impressed that she picked herself up and did not let a crash stop her. That would have been a good excuse to not finish the race but she wasn't going to let a little obstacle like blood gushing from her elbow and her bike being completely broken stop her from finishing.
She finished strong in under 5 hours which was well under the goal time she had set for herself of 5:30 hours crash and all....
After Heather finished we all headed over to the awards to see Erika get her medal! Very exciting!
Overall, it was a very successful weekend! We had a great time and will be back to do wildflower again next year!
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