(PHoto courtesy of Maggie)
Going into the Naperville Sprint, I was still unsteady on the bike. Even though it had been about fifteen months since the crash in Texas, it was still giving me the ‘yips’. My guide (Billy) was aware of this going in, and did everything possible to make it better.
As in prior years, we were the final ones of the Sprint into the water. While I’ve been put right after the Elites in prior years, that’s caused issues. Having people that can legitimately swim 90 second / 100s behind you leads to being climbed over. Unfortunately, going at the end doesn’t elimiate that either — as someone tried using me as a ‘kickboard’ (for flotation) a couple times in the final leg.
T1 was slightly slower than last year. Once off on the bike, the first few turns were a bit nervewracking. But Billy helped a lot with that. And as we got into the 2nd loop, I was far more comfortable. I remember him saying that the U-turn was coming up when I though it was still at least 500 yards away. 🙂
T2 was 55 seconds faster than last year. While there were parts that turned into a run/walk like last year, it turned out better. I was able to shave almost 4 minutes off of the run time from last year!
As always, this was a great race. Thanks to Billy for guiding me! I look forward to being back in 2024!
