The race took place in the town of Prachatice, which about 2 hours south of Prague. The weather that morning was on the fringe, promise of thundershower and rain were in the horizon. It was a late start, 1300, as it is with most European Races. I was nervous and and anxious, I hadn't swam over 5 weeks nursing a shoulder injury and I was wondering what would happen. It was a wetsuit legal swim but alas my shoulder told me that freestyle would have to wait. I began the task of breast stroking the entire swim course, 1500 meter which also believe to was on the long side. As exited the water I had to deal with the grim reality, I was one of the last one out of the water. I got on my bike and proceeded to give it all, slowly picking riders one by one. Now this course is long (37 km), has a lot of climbing (3500 feet or so) and has some technical sections. I saw my friends Al, Sean and Morgan cheering at a couple check point as they were in a relay, I waved quickly and forged on. I would ultimately pass 40 + people on the bike. As I came into transition and got into the run, the rain started. The run was a two loop course with again a lot of elavation and the first lap wasn't easy. When you race you have so many matches to burn and I felt that I had burned a lot on the bike. On one of the descent, my hamstring was debating if it was to cramp or not so I had to slow down. On the second lap by leg had settled and I was glad to cross the finish line. I would be lying if I said I was satisfied with my race, I thad hope to be able to swim freestyle and with being at least 8 minutes slower, it doesn't bode well in a very competitive age group. Another part of my was happy as I had been able to race, felt strong on the bike. This was a good race to shake the rust off after almost 2 months without a race. I was also grateful for all they people that had taken the time to work on my shoulder and help me getting back on track. Happy Trails!
Carpe Diem
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