Despite the incredible inconsistency (or large absence) of my "training" this year, I decided to do one last triathlon. I knew I had endurance to finish, but what with the sesaon's various medical experiments, I had no expectations. I'd always wanted to do the SOMA Half Ironman, and it fit in with our plans to visit family in AZ.

Near the end of the ride, I saw that my bike time was surprisingly faster than anticipated (and no, I do not, on principle, draft off faster riders on the bike, like many athletes are wont to do!), so I snapped into a more competitive mode.

The first couple miles of the run always feel horrible. So I detach and let my mind spin through its negative-thought cycle, and move my feet. At mile 3 I warmed up, and suddenly I was running almost like I had at Santa Barbara - i.e., at a more respectable pace! No heart-rate or hydration problems - cool. So I'm hurting but motivated, when I see, instead of mile marker 6, mile marker 8. What the...??? How did I miss two miles? This is shades of the 2007 Baja 70.3 Debacle!

Both the bike and run courses involved multiple loops, u-turns, and bridge crossings. These are recipes for confusion in endurance sports! The antidote is to study the course beforehand, and to have screamingly obvious markers, and/or volunteers, directing you at every turn. To add to the mix on Sunday, there were two different race distances happening concurrently - meaning a ton of if/then statements. "If you're doing the half and you're on loop 1, turn here. If half and loop 2, turn there. If quarter and loop 1, go here..." Not so complicated in regular life, but the first rule of triathlon is, "Be the rocket, not the rocket scientist" - because all higher-level thinking stops when the blood is in the arms and legs and you're redlining on energy. The bike course was well-marked and well-manned (probably considered a higher priority for safety reasons), but the run was not, unfortunately.

I figured I was FUBAR'd anyway, but I wanted to do the whole distance I'd signed up for...so I doubled back across a bridge and ran against traffic to get in the two miles I'd missed.

Finally I'm coming to the finish around the right time, and I see Greg and Alex standing under the (other) bridge near transition, and I jog by and tell them I got lost...and WHERE'S THE FINISH??? They point toward transition, and I go, following the path and the other runners. --Four minutes later, I'm like, Where the **!?@! is that finish line, and I see I'm only getting farther away from it. I ask another runner if she knows where the finish is, and she points behind her. So I run back and ask more people, and am directed *across a lawn, around two UNMARKED turns* and finally to the finish line.

It's hard to describe the feeling of frustration (and loss of motivation!) when you find you're lost on a course. It has happened to me twice in nine years - is that unusual?? The very high exertion you're putting yourself through only heightens your emotions... And the last thing you want to do after swimming 1.2 (or 1.4 - even this swim course was long!) miles, riding 56, and running 13.1 is RUN ANOTHER MILE. I think now I'm riding the wave of having done triathlon training for almost nine seasons - some kind of endurance seems to be locked in there, even when I'm a slacker. :>

To add some perspective here, I commend Red Rock Co. for the many great aspects of this event - especially the laid-back, downhome feel pre-race, which they somehow maintained while keeping things organized. Tempe in October is warm, yes, but it's also a good race venue, with smooth roads and low humidity. --And Arizona is sunny, sunny, sunny!

(At this point, I'm pretty much jogging when I finally see Greg - do I look as confused as I was? At least I remembered to drink!)

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