Triathlons (and athletic events in general for that matter) have a special way to bring yourself to reality really quick. Somehow they are a humbling experience for almost everybody; sooner or later, you will experience it if you're at it long enough.
The day before the race I decided to go ahead and buy a real road bike, instead of relying on my "SUV" like mountain bike. Good call, I thought; as I was planning on racing often. Went to the bike shop after an extensive research on the internet, and bought me the cheapest road bike I could find. Hey!, that was a good call, the bike alone was $500, but it's pretty light and components are of good quality (Shimano 105, carbon fiber fork, Alex rim wheels, etc).
Next stop, Pearl Izumi's outlet shop in Hulen St. Needed the Tri suit of course!; I was committed to having a good race. Shirt, check, shorts, check, bike helmet, check, goggles, check. Bike shoes? what for? nah, don't need them, un-check; how much slower can you go with regular running shoes? Not much, right? I was ready for race day!
Race was scheduled to start at 7am on a Sunday morning. Unfortunatelly, not every thing went according to plan. I was on the phone until close to 1am; alarm clock went off at 5; pre-race jitters and everything else meant no more than 2 hours of sleep. Oh, well, out to Irving I went. And then, the learning began. Can't remember exactly, but the gun went off for the first wave of swimmers at exactly 7; I must have been on the 4th or 5th wave because I had plenty of time to get even more nervous for the race.
Used the port-a-potties at least twice. The second visit almost turning my whole Tri experince into a disaster, as I inadvertently dropped my goggles to the floor, not without missing the toilet seat and its contents by a couple of inches.
