Cutting Edge Half Classic 2012

photo credit: SJP

This weekend I traveled to Effingham, IL for the Cutting Edge Half Classic with Stephen. It was a fun little trip aside from my passenger door not closing and then not opening. I'm sure it looked like a clown car with Stephen climbing out after me through the driver's door.

This was my first 70.3 mile triathlon since 2010. I was only a runner in 2011. For those not in the know, this is considered a half. We swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles. Yes, in that order.

The day started with an overcast sky. The swim had excellent buoys that I could actually see.

On the bike we traveled due west for 28 miles, turned around, and came back. On this day, we had a 15 mph West wind. Fighting the wind was a struggle. At one point I looked down and saw I was going 14 mph. When I figured out that meant it would take me 2 hours to get to the turnaround, I LOL'd, for real. Once I turned around, it was excellent having such a strong tailwind. Of course, it started to die as I went. Also, the sun really started to come out.

The run was 13.1 miles of sun baked gravel and pavement. The temperature at finish was 93 degrees. I could hear my shoes sticking to the hot tar in the pavement. With 3 miles to go I started to run out of energy and really wish I could find a port-a-potty. Needing the facilities really slows my running down. As you can tell from the picture, I have a more on my mind than simply finishing.

Finished 6th in my age group and 40th overall. Even with all the wind my bike was just under 6 minutes faster than my previous best bike. Thanks, Big Tree Cycling!