Patriot Tri Race Report
Race 2 of the 2013 season is in the books! Completed the Patriot Tri in Ft Pierce, FL that honors fallen law enforcement and fire rescue personnel while raising awareness and funds for the surviving kids of 911 victims.
The distance was as unique as this series is for law enforcement and first responders. The .911 swim, 49.11 bike, and 9.11 run obviously all centered around the theme of the 9/11 disaster in New York. To me this was a little more than an Olympic distance tri and a hair less than a half iron man.
The swim start began right on time at 7am in the Indian River Lagoon in Ft Pierce, FL. As usual, the anxiety and panic that all swim starts cause me set in. After the googles got kicked off and I spent a moment readjusting them, I began my typical fashion of talking myself out of why I do this madness and decided that this would be the last triathlon I ever do. During the conversation with myself, I looked up and realized that the swim portion was over and I exited the water. Maybe I'll keep the habit a little longer. I planned for 25-30 minutes and finished in 19 minutes.
The bike portion was flat, hot, and rainy. The out and back two loop course was quiet with great scenery. The rain pelted us like rocks and then the sun boiled us in the Florida steam that rose from the hot pavement. It was nice to hear the waves of the Atlantic Ocean crashing on the dunes to the east, but sadly there was no real breeze to speak of since the mature foilage of this part of Florida blocked the wind. I allowed myself 2:40 minutes on the bike and came in at 2:38 minutes.
The run was flat and wickedly hot, I think it was 91.1 degrees. All the rain and the clouds from earlier were gone now and it was bright sunshine and steam. This uneventful out and back course was a little boring to say the least. Triathlons like this that have a very small field of athletes can be kind of lonely, so there wasn't anyone to run or chat with. I planned for 1:45 minutes and completed the run in 1:36.
Overall time was 4:36 which beat my personal goal of 4:45 for the day's event. That little inner spark knew right where I needed to be pushed!
