Metroplex Sprint RR - 6/13/04

Short Version:
Decent Swim - 13:46.2
T1- 1:43
Windy Bike w. Tri Spokes - 44:44.7 (22.4 mph)
T2 - 0:55.6
Decent Run - 25:34.3 (8:12 pace)
Total 1:26:09.0
1st Athena

TRI NIGHTMARE REPORT
The real story of this race is how one of my worst triathlon nightmares
came true today, but it occurred to my training partner (Todd), not me.

The normal protocol for us when going to an in-town race is for a group of
four-five of us to meet up at Todd's house pre-race, pile into his Durango
(Todd's Triathlete Taxi), load the bikes on the roof and head off to the
race. Today, one of our group (Kym) had to leave right after the race, so
she took her own car, w. her bike in it and followed Todd. As the Durango
was going to be quite crowded today, I decided to ride down w. Kym in her
new BMW. We head off to the race site (about 40 min. away) and about 15
minutes into drive, I comment on how I much prefer being in the Durango,
where I can't see my bike riding on top of it.... Not 10 minutes later as
we are headed into the Zang Curve on I-35 at 70 mph a BIKE FLIES OFF THE
ROOF OF THE DURANGO! My heart is immediately racing and in my throat.
This was a sight that I don't think I will forget for as long as I live.
Luckily (?) at 5:30 AM there isn't much traffic, the bike doesn't hit Kym's
car and the few cars in the area swerve and eventually we both get pulled
over. I immediately knew it was Todd's bike, due to the position on the
Durango, which was now vacant, and also due to the flight of the bike.
Which, because it had his disk wheel on did not come crashing down
immediately onto the pavement, but more or less took flight. (If you've
ever thrown a golf club, you know that whoosh, whoosh, sound it makes -
that's exactly what I thought of as his bike was flying). Reportedly, as
soon as it ripped off the roof, Todd told those in the car that he knew it
was his bike.

Todd heads back to get the bike and carries it back to the Durango. It was
worse & better than I anticipated. The disk wheel had apparently been run
over and was dead. The bike itself (Cervelo tri-bike), including the front
fork (carbon) really did not look too bad. I was surprised. Todd throws
the remnants into the back without saying too much, we pile back into our
cars and continue on. How much must this suck for Todd, as he now has a
car full of athletes to take to a race, that he can't race (thankfully it
was a sprint and not anything a lot longer). Not to mention, we're racing
the 1/2 IM in Lubbock next week & he's got no idea what bike he'll be
riding.

I have to give Todd the Kudos here! This was a huge local race and most of
our Fit2Train teammates were there racing. Todd was very gracious about
this experience. I would have been completely freaked out! He cheered the
rest of us on and didn't brood (OK, I spent most of my time on the
race-course, not hanging out with him), but his spirits were better than
I'd expect. He waited for us to collect our hardware and then listened to
us chat about our splits, etc. and he drove us to eat after the race, just
like any other race day. Despite the insults, teasing, physical
challenges and just general crap we give each other and the rest of our
teammates, after his actions today I can once again say that I'm really
lucky to have Todd as a training partner and could only hope that should I
ever experience a triathlon nightmare, that I handle it as well he did.

Thanks for reading & I hope I wasn't too sappy,
Katie

PS - When I left Todd's house after we got back from the race, he already
had the bike up on the work stand and was checking it out.... Here's
hoping for the best!