In the tiny state of Rhode Island and in the tiny town of Newport, you are surrounded by water. On one side is the ocean and on the other is the river. Because of yet another storm, the swim portion of the Amica triathlon was moved from the ocean to the river, to make for a more calm 1st leg. This meant there was a split transition....a first for me. A split transition means your bike starts in one place and your run starts in another place. It also means a little bit more planning as you have to divide your gear. We swam at Third Beach and started our bike leg from there. We finished the bike leg and started the run at Second Beach and ended the event there as well.
Here's where I messed up. When I layed out my running gear, there were no bikes in transition. Remember, they were all over at Third Beach. Because transition was a huge beach parking lot, there weren't really any landmarks (trees, signs etc). I counted and noted I was in the second row. When I returned with my bike, almost everyone else's bike was already there (I was in the last wave) and it looked different. I got confused! I counted to the second row but I counted from the wrong side, as we entered into transition a different way than I expected.
"This is not my row; these are not my numbers", I shouted. So for a whopping (wasted) 45+ seconds I traversed the rows looking for #107 and my run gear. Split transition area, confused entry, misplaced gear and loss of time for no good reason except my own.... all firsts for me. I love that after 50+ races in 31 states, there is still a learning curve.
On the bright side, it was supposed to pour rain and we didn't have a drop. I completed state #31 and had the support of my mom, her friend Kathy and her mom, Eleanor. Thanks for making the trip ladies and thanks for hosting me Eleanor! I placed 5th in age which is great, considering the top 3 spots went to some serious ringers. I spoke to at least two dozen women about early detection, many of whom were surprised a pap smear doesn't detect it. And I had a very enjoyable weekend in the lovely town of Newport.
