Fast forward to day of the race. Woke up and ate a banana and drank bottle of electrolyte on the way from Mercer Island to Lake Stevens. Into T1 things looked just as I had left them. Bike was racked, tires good, and I thought mechanically I was set. My swimmer and runner arrived and I was excited to get rolling!
Our swimmer got out of the water, I grabbed the timing chip, and I ran out of T1! I got across the "mount" line and noticed I couldn't clip in my left foot. I continued going and figured it was just a minor problem. Down the road a little ways I took a look at my left clip and it was shredded and flattened to the point that only the very front of the clip was left. That meant I wouldn't be able to completely clip in the entire ride. :( Running in and out of transition areas for a couple races takes its toll on clips and I regretted not buying new ones before this ride. There was nothing else to do except keep going and get used to my foot pulling off the pedal or rotating if I didn't hold it on the pedal. I tried to change my style from a smoother spin to a hammering push.
I quickly remembered why I love the relay rides... passing everyone without feeling like you're going to regret it on the run! I also love the Lake Stevens course (yeah I'm strange like that). I like climbing, I like descending, and I like rollers. This is the opposite of Rev3 Portland which was flat and soul crushingly boring. One great take away from Rev3 though was standing up and pedaling to relieve the pain in my lower back from staying in aero so long. It works great for me! First lap I was caught by another TNM relay rider around mile 20-25. I quickly got dropped as he's a 70.3 World Championship qualifier but it felt good to hold him off as long as I did. My single bottle was nearly gone so I dumped it and grabbed another bottle from an exchange. A little further down the road I grabbed the bottle from the cage, put in my mouth, turned it, and everything came apart! I had assumed the bottle was twisted shut but it was open. I spilled a bunch and lost the cap. I put the bottle back in the cage the no top and hoped it wouldn't be sloshing all over me the rest of the way.
With the second lap done I took the turnoff for the last 6 "easy" miles back to the T2 area. Last time I did the relay I forgot that the last 6 miles isn't easy at all. There's a bunch of rollers, a final hill, and sudden climbs hidden on corners. I was mentally prepared this time and just dug into it. No shame of getting out of the saddle to power up hills. Finally done I came in with a 2:52:45 which was a 4 minute PR over last time.
With our runner out I headed out I went to pick up some calories (pizza) and walked to the TNM tent. I forget how awesome it feels cheering for people especially when you're already finished. ;) Our runner finished in a great time and in good spirits.
I went to pick up my bike from transition and noticed my rear wheel wasn't rolling freely. Hmm... Upon further investigation my rear brake pad was dragging on the rim. :( So... a 4 minute PR with a broken toe clip and a dragging rear brake pad? Could have been worse I suppose.
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