"City of Santa Fe Triathlon"

July 16, 2011
Saturday
12 noon

Dear Diary,

I just got home from Santa Fe.

This was my first time to run that race.

I went to Santa Fe Friday night after having the noodles from Vietnamese 2000. As usual, it was good. I ordered a Jackfruit shake to go.

I arrived at Santa Fe at 7 pm. There was still a lot of light in the sky. So I went to the race site to take a quick look. Then I went to my hotel. Holiday Inn Express was very close. The staff was very nice. I got a very clean room in the first floor. I was able to bring my bike into the room.

At 8:30 pm, I went to bed after a warm shower. I set my alarm for 4 am. The bed was clean and comfortable. I slept like a log.

My eyes opened just as the alarm went off. I set 2 alarms, 5 minutes apart. I went for my usual bathroom routine. I had Mr. Brown Coffee and a piece of toast with peanut butter. A perfect way to get my bowel moving.

I left the hotel at 4:40 am. I got to the parking lot at 4:50 am. The volunteers were great. I took a short walk and got to the transition area right at 5 am.

I went through the usual setting routine and got my time chip and body marking. The weather was just slightly cool. The light jacket that I brought was perfect. As usual, I walked around to warm up and did some stretches. I also ate my half peanut butter sandwich at 5:30 am and Quaker breakfast bar at 6 am.

We were at the starting line at 6:25 am. The gun went off at 6:30 am. I stayed at the back of the pack. I stayed with my usal routine of one minute running and one minute walking. I was able to run the way Nike told me. I went back to the transition area right after 40 minutes.

The transition was a breeze. I put on my helmet, changed my shoes and off I went. It only took 1:15.

The ride was a bit hilly but no big deal. I was able to keep a constant pace. The road was not too bad. All in all, we had a lot of room. I checked in after 45 minutes.

The second transition was also easy. I took off my helmet, removed my glasses, removed my belts, my shirt and finally shoes and socks. I grabbed my goggles and nose piece, put on my shoes and ran to the gym. It took my 1:15.

I was actually great to dip into the pool to cool down. We started at the deeper end of the pool, 50 meters to the other end. I used my trusted breast stroke. I kept my pace. I started really easy. The rhythm was great. The breathing was perfect. I reached the ladder after 13 minutes!!!!

total time:
1:40:30