Not wanting my season to end quite yet, I pondered the list of upcoming races that fell on an open weekend and wouldn't use up my entire birthday earnings or require a drive longer than an hour. Options were few, but Waterloo popped up. At first I dismissed it because it had a pool swim, and my bias labeled it "not a real triathlon". The entry fee (half of most others) changed my mind.
Then I got sucked into the vortex of Past Results--analyzing past winners' times and comparing them to my own. I noticed tiny age groups (six or seven, maybe?), coupled with race times that suggested most racers were newbies. I started to wonder again...hardware? I wondered and wondered and wondered quite a bit, actually. Because in a tiny race with casual first-timers, I can actually do well.
Race morning. We drive to Waterloo High and park in the adjacent lot, walking past the bouncy house to the empty registration table about 30 yards from the van. Man, I love small races.
Time to set up Transition. You know, that grassy field about ten feet away from the pool. Hmmm...where do I rack? Only eight or ten bars, so finding Wave 3 wasn't too difficult.
Scoping out the pool scene. Wave One was the slowest swimmers so we had some time to relax and watch the proceedings. So often I find myself at a race surrounded by athletes who clearly spend large chunks (if not all) of their free time training, recovering, tapering, gear-tending...I'm sometimes one of them. This race's participants are the Average Joe's, just trying their hand at something new to say "Hey, I did a triathlon". It was neat to see.
My lobster has never gotten a photo of my swim before. Here's the first.
The bike route was very mild--no sharp turns, no serious hills, no wind, no sun. The most noticeable difference was a result of the staggered wave starts; I biked alone almost entirely, passing and being passed only a few times. I clocked the fastest bike split ever, in a race and possibly even in training. The girls had a good time too, on the Elementary School's playground.
In the end I pulled off 2nd in my AG.
(I guess not everyone was an Average Joe.)
Then we modeled for each other.
My lobster liked athletic supporting this race because it was small, quiet, friendly and close. I liked it for feeling like a big fish in a small, quiet, friendly pond. Perhaps we'll be back again next year.
