RAGE from the Other Side

Training has gone really well this week! Very pleased and grateful with how easily I slipped back into it. Feeling feel more balanced than I have in awhile.

This morning I went down and spectated at Rage. For those newer to my blog, Rage is THE spring triathlon to do here in Southern Nevada, and the west. I heard the announcer say there were athletes from 40 states there, doing either the sprint, Olympic, or half iron distance.

Not knowing exactly when the different waves started, I got there in time to see Izaac come out of the water! Izaac insisted on punishing himself for the second year in a row in the half iron distance. He was looking cool as a cucumber after his warm up of a 1. 2 mile swim. See ya Izaac! Yeah, he'd be out on the course for awhile.

I spent a good amount of time at the bike in/bike out area and was shocked to see how many athletes did not have their bike in an easy gear coming out of transition. DUDES. It's a loooonng grinding hill coming out of transition. Put it in something close to granny gear -- trust me it's worth the extra few seconds in set up to do it. You'll thank yourself at the same time you're cussing that damn hill!

There was a lady standing next to me who said it made her feel "bad" that there were quite a few older people in the race. I've been doing this long enough to know that this means she feels bad about herself for not exercising more -- or whatever. Snort. Comments like that are so sad. So I took the opportunity to tell her that I was waiting for my 70 year old training partner to get in. Yup, TONY was doing the sprint.

He got in looking great, ran out looking great, and finished looking great. When I caught up with him after he wasn't happy with his swim but felt good about his bike and run. Then in typical Tony fashion, he changed and stayed for hours to volunteer.

I love Rage. Rage was a pivotal race for me in 2008 -- the first Olympic distance I was able to complete after a string of failed attempts in 2007. I completed it in 4:46 and was Dead F**cking Last in the Olympic Distance for the women and second to last overall. There was one guy who finished after me that I believe was disabled. None of that mattered because I was on the road to Silverman, I had LIZ for a coach, and nothing was going to stop me. Finishing Rage 2008 was HUGE.

Then in 2009 I decimated my 2008 time and finished in 4:00:03. Still quite a slow time for the Olympic distance but somewhat respectable on this punishing course. Most importantly, it showed how far I had come in a year. By 2009 Rage I had transformed into someone who believed she could do anything she set her mind to. And thanks to the support I have and my own belief in myself I'm still that person, growing every single day.

This year I was happy to be at Rage on the spectators side. The weather was perfect, the course punishing, the people were awesome and I had fun. Really what more can someone ask for!