Thursday, May 28, 2026

Going to the Race Without My Sherpa...Not Advised

 

Athens

 

March 11, 2006

Athens, Texas

300-yard pool swim - 12-mile bike - 5K run

 

My wife had to take care of some medical issues with my aging mother and could not go with me this time.  It put a cloud on this event, a kind of strange, silent emptiness.

 

 I did fine on the pool swim (never liked pool swims), and the bike was going well, though the wind was in our face going out on the out-and-back course.  That was when  I really began to miss my Pat.  I reached down for a drink from my water bottle only to find that instead of mixing my sports drink powder in the bottle, I had poured in salt. In the dark of that morning, fixing my drinks, somehow, I had picked up a plastic bag of salt rather than one containing my recovery drink.  My wife would have never let that happen.  

Now I was really thirsty.  The turnaround had an aid station, but all they had was a shot of water in those ridiculously small cone cups.   Thank God, the wind was at my back going in because, after that shot, I was quite thirsty.   It could be that some might have been in my head just knowing I did not have any water.  Maybe I was being a baby?   After drinking copious amounts of water at transition, I had a fairly good run, though I did slosh in my stomach quite a bit while running.    I did not stay for the awards ceremony as I was anxious to get home.    I think I placed in my age group, but I cannot remember what.  I just know it was not the first and I was ready to be home.

 

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