What a fun day! I’ve always wanted to cross the finish line and “break the tape” and even though I’ve won some races I’ve never had that chance. Being in my hometown made my win that much sweeter. The day started off at 5:45, a much more reasonable hour than normal. I ate breakfast and headed down to the race. Surprisingly, it was a beautiful morning with cooler temperatures and low humidity. The heat wave we have been having on the East Coast has been brutal and it was a nice change. The forecast was calling for scattered thundershowers all morning but it looked like the weather was going to cooperate. I set up my transition, headed out for a warm-up run and was flagged down shortly into it by a friend who told me my back tire had flatted in transition. Yikes! I was thankful for the heads up which gave me a little more time to get it fixed but not too happy. I was a little anxious about this tire too since it had flatted last weekend during my race. I thought I had it fix but obviously not. I ran my bike over to the mechanic. He did a very thorough (and fast!) job of checking my tire out and thankfully with was only a faulty tube (thanks to High Road Cycles!). I re-racked my bike with just enough time to get down to the swim start and in the water. The swim course was shortened this year from 800m to 600m (sweet!) due to safety concerns. I swam as fast as I could knowing the swim course was short but in reality I think my 600m speed is the same as my 1.2mile speed. Ha! Anyway, I managed to get out of the water in second but still 2min down on the first girl. I had a bit of work to do. I grabbed my speedy Orbea (thankfully the back tire still had air in it!) and took off. I didn’t do myself any favors by deciding to go the wrong way in the first mile of the bike course. I had a moment of confusion when I went the way of the Philadelphia Olympic Tri course. I realized it about halfway up the hill. I turned around and headed off the right way but now with so much more work to do. Luckily my bike legs were feeling good and I could see I was gaining some time on the leader. There are a lot of corners and loops on the bike so plenty of chances to see where you are compared to everyone else. I finally managed to catch her ¾ of the way through the first loop (it was a 2 loop course). I got off the bike with a nice cushion for the run but of course still continued to push hard. It was great to have so many people I know out on the course cheering. I made sure to soak up all the excitement. It felt great to cross the finish line in first place! NBC10 was there and they let me catch my breath before talking with me. I really couldn’t have asked for a better place to win. My husband, parents, and friends were all there to celebrate with me. The only disappointment came 10min before the award ceremony when the rain finally came. The torrential downpour sent everyone running for their cars. I was disappointed in the lack of award ceremony but it did mean Mexican food and margaritas that much sooner!
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