After breakfast, Linda and I headed over to the athletes hotel to meet with them to discuss tactics, nutrition and to calm some of their nerves. We headed off to the race to be there before the athletes and set up “shop” by the athlete check-in area. A few talks and words of encouragement to the athletes and then Linda and I ventured to the pontoon start. The gun went off and we went to our positions. The athletes swam in a lake and twice went under a bridge in the center of the city. The city really supported the elite race as was evident by the huge mass of spectators surrounding the course. I was fantastic and I was really impressed by the venue and race organization. Fast forward to the race and while we couldn’t ID our athletes in the water, we were able to pick them up quickly as they got onto the bike. Linda was positioned just outside of the transition area and I was on the other side of the bike course giving splits and strategic instructions. We had one of our guys drop out early in bike, another just miss the lap cutoff and then another drop in the run due to calf pain. Our three men that finished did very well for them. All three are younger athletes and really had solid races throughout. Linda and I congregated at the finish line to debrief with the athletes, took some team photos and then headed off back to the hotel.
Now this is where it gets really interesting so be sure to stay tuned to the next post and enjoy some photos before scrolling down...
