Race Recap: J-Hawk Latebird Triathlon

The anticipation of the final race of the season became a DNF due to a flat back tire at approximately mile 9.5. Contemplated running all the way back with my bike, but even after taking off my clip-in shoes to run in socks I realized it was still 4 miles back to transition before I'd start the muddy cross-country section of a 5k run. By the time I got to the next turn on the course, the 3 bikers who'd past me let the volunteers know I had a flat, and they had already radioed in to the "sag" truck to come get me. Had it been a proper sag truck, it would have been equipped with a tire patch kit so I could have at least finished out the race (albeit with a much slower time than I was going for), however this guy was called in last minute because another guy didn't show up. As soon as we loaded my bike in the back it started to rain. I guess this race just wasn't meant to be.

On the plus side, I had about a 10 minute swim time, and probably was biking at my fastest pace yet - around a 20 mph steady pace. There was no wind, which is unheard of in WI, which I why it makes it unbearably LAME that I got a flat tire out of nowhere (there was no big POP, it just slowly became harder and harder to pedal). When I jumped off my bike my time was at 46 minutes (that included the 10 minute swim and transition 1), with only 4 miles left on the bike and most likely a run of about 24-27 minutes.

So what, you ask, have I learned today? 1st off, it's a good idea to carry your own patch kit and pump with you while biking. Secondly, don't jinx yourself by wondering how far you'd be able to get on the course before it would be faster to turn around and go back the way you came if you were to get a flat. (1/2 way point doesn't work for this one, as the course loops back on itself twice.) And 3rd, never, EVER, talk about how the only way you won't beat (insert someone else's name or time here) would be if you would break yourself or your bike, no matter how slow that other person's time might be. It is clearly bad karma. Especially if there are only 2 other people in your age group and you have a 1 in 3 shot of coming in 1st place.