Yesterday's Englewood (FL) sprint race was quite an experience. This was a 400 m. ocean swim, 14 mile bike and 5K run. The swim was great but I will never get used to the sprint swim where everyone is punching and kicking to get around the first buoy. I came out of the water in 6:10 which is darn good for me and a validation for extra swimming lessons I am taking.
Being a small, regional race (~300 people), I was near the front in the first few miles of the bike. I held 24 MPH for the first 6 miles when I saw the first 2 competitors coming back at me and then it hit me..."I am in 3rd Place"...overall! This is a very novel feeling for me.I slowed down, made the turn, hit some gravel and then BAM...I was down. Another first. I have never crashed a bike. One foot came out of the clip, the other stayed in. I probably crashed at 12-14 MPH which is crazy when I think of some of the other friends who have crashed...Like David who went down at 25 MPH last year. I can't even imagine. Two officials came over and the guys in 4th-10th passed me...one guy said, "GET UP, You are okay"...My knee was road rashed, my elbow looked like a softball and my aero bar pad was broken in half...I paused to assess the damage and sure enough, I was okay...
Crashing is surreal. It happens in slow motion. One second you are fine, the next second you are going down and that "shock" feeling hits...I clipped back in and headed for home. I remember Lance had a crash a few years ago and it made him pissed...he sped up the hill and smoked everyone. I had that feeling for like 3 miles...I was committed to catching the guys who passed me...but no such luck. I actually went into anaerobic mode and it hurt me on the run.
It was crazy coming out of T2 with blood running down my arm and leg...an official stopped me to assess and then let me go. I had an okay first mile...but got passed by two fast runners. But then I caught 2 other runners and held strong...Kept it at 7 minute miles the whole way. Came in 3rd in my AG...Missed 1st by 20 seconds. But it was another podium finish and that feels great. To crash and still podium is something I could never imagine. There is a bit of an asterisk as this was a much smaller, low profile race...But still. I made it through my first crash with minimal damage...
I have an elite racer friend who once said early on in my training...There are two kinds of bike riders..."Those who have crashed...and those who are going to crash"...I certainly can attest to that!
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