MightyMan Race Report - Part I

Where to begin?

What started with three other friends joining me to race MightyMan, dwindled down to just me driving up to Long Island on Thursday afternoon. I missed having TRIgirl company, but also knew a big part of my decision to do MightyMan was being close to my roots - and, more importantly, knowing that my family would be cheering me on.

With a stop at my brother and sister-in-law's for a couple of nights before heading off to the race site, I was able to spend quality time with my wonderful family. On Friday morning, we learned that my mom's aunt had a serious health issue, leaving her in very critical condition.

Somehow, between tough phones calls and shared memories, my family, especially my mom, managed to still be encouraging and supportive of the upcoming race weekend. My sister-in-law's mom even made her famous Filipino egg rolls. And my sister-in-law whipped up a dish of the most delicious sea bass I've ever had.

Saturday morning, we headed off to Montauk - my brother offering to drive, allowing me to relish a car nap (which is often the best sleep I ever get!). Our first stop was the race site to pick up my registration packet. The process was easy - and I loved the MightyMan sweatshirt included in the SWAG. I checked out the water. It was chilly, but warmer than I expected. Then someone reminded me it wouldn't be quite so comfortable at 6:45 in the morning.

We stopped by our condos. I unpacked and began sorting my gear for the next day. My family was going to chill out for a few hours as I fit in an easy workout and drove the bike course.

Patriot Sangria, decked out in TRIgirl BL's awesome Zipp wheels, was eager to escape the Honda as we hit about 12 miles of the bike course. I was relieved that the hilly route was not as crazy as the Blue Ridge - the worst parts were similar to the Patterson Avenue climbs out in Goochland - challenging (the most difficult half IM I'd attempted so far), but reasonable. I loved the warm-up ride - the cerulean blue skies framed ocean views and the famous Montauk lighthouse. I drove the rest of the bike course. There were a few more notable ascents and some rolling hills, but the worst seemed to be the first 12 miles I'd already experienced. The rest of the two loop course included glimpses of the Long Island Sound, vineyards, docks - and quaint New England beach homes.

With race day weather predicted to be sunny, dry and in the 50s and 60s, I was psyched for an awesome ride.

The day was quickly ticking by - I squeezed in a short run, but never made it to check out the water. My mom had researched and reserved dinner for 5:00 at the Harvest On Fort Pond (the same body of water for MightyMan!). We shared fabulous appetizers and main dishes - and noted several serious looking athletes.

Going to bed, I was grateful and happy. All the pieces seemed to be in place for a perfect race day...