2008 Myrtle Beach painfest

Though it pales in comparison to the mighty JavaFest 2008 (no tree lights, no sides of cheese, all driving times greater than 20 minutes, and no blogging buddies), we did try to revive the spirit for JavaEast. We didn't have much room left in the truck once this sign was packed, but somehow we got all of our fitness wear crammed in.

Then there was the race, its self. What a very crappy time, indeed! I have come to the conclusion that something in the Fazoli's food we ate the night prior caused a mild poisoning effect, since all 4 of us there together (Larry and Shelly being the others) had a very painful run and immediate intense soreness all day long. But, we got it done, and my foot/shoe may be famous. I stumbled on that pic in the previous post, and I'm pretty sure it's me: exact same shoe, same no-show black socks, similar shorts, and legs as chicken-like as mine.

We were happy to have it behind us, frankly. I had a decent time (1:34:25, a new PR), but it took every bit of mental effort to keep going. It was not a fun time at all. It did, however, net me a 132nd overall (out of 2842) and 13th of 133 in my age group (M 30-34).

The next day, amid curses from Mendy and Shelly about how stupid it was to ride the (advertised) 32 mile course the day after that hard run, I was looking forward to a good test on the new bike. Ain't she purdy? Too bad I look like such a dork. Oh well...
I rolled over the start line about mid-pack, but was in the top 5 a couple of miles later, and then caught up with the 2 leaders at about mile 8. They drafted me for about 8-10 miles, and offered to paceline (trade the lead to limit time in the wind) but I declined so I could get in the triathlon mindset. About half way, they pulled away from me a bit, but stayed in sight. Until I caught a red light, that is. With the headwind on the return, I wasn't able to bridge the gap, and wound up finishing 3rd overall. The bike performed beautifully!

After finishing, I went to get my medal and take off my chip. Just a few feet after that, my front brake pulled out of the fork! Holy cow, I'm so fortunate that didn't happen on the course! The retaining nut had simply come loose, and somehow I was able to recover it also. Then I rode back along the course to pick up Mendy, so we could finish together. I did the customary sneak-up-and-grab-the-hiney maneuver, but she barely flinched. Hmmm, perhaps I should worry.

Mendy and Shelly were still complaining, but more intensely now since the 32 mile ride was actually pushing over to 36 miles total. As we approached the finish, though, Mendy began to smile at the thought of completing her longest ride ever. She did great, and I was so glad to be there with her across the line.

Afterwards, I did a quick brick run around the parking lot, maybe a mile total distance. It felt rough, and people were looking at me funny. They're the weirdos, though.

It was a good weekend, and we had lots of fun. If the half marathon hadn't been involved, it would have been a great weekend. Stupid running! I'm looking forward to the transition to in-season training, and really cranking this thing into gear. Sorry I've been so out of touch lately; lots to time building the bike, and not much time for blogging. Hopefully I'll catch up today.