Kure Beach 2011 Race Report: Part 1

This is Part 1 of a 3 part report.  Click for Part 2 and Part 3.  Part 3 is the actual race report, so go there if you just want the facts!

Wow, it has been so long since I posted. I probably don’t have any readers left. Work is still kicking my ass. It’s a demanding job, but I still like it alot. I work long hours, which really eats up my spare time. Thus, the lack of blogging.

The long hours at work also cuts into my training. I was not really feeling up to par for this race.

And since my good friend, Ginger, moved away, she was not able to be my race buddy.   That makes me really sad.  And I was using it as another excuse  to just bail on racing.

I had planned a long weekend at the beach and invited my 21 year old daughter along. I worked a 12 hour day on Friday and was really stressed out. Friday night, while packing up my beach-wear, I considered just skipping the race and laying on the beach all weekend. In the end, I packed up my race gear too, but was still not mentally committed to racing.

I posted this on FB:

i have a race this weekend at kure beach. really tempted to just bag the race and lay on beach all weekend.

My friend Scottie replied:

“negative…you WILL get out there and you WILL go fast!!!

That helped alot.  Thanks, Scottie!

But still,  I was struggling mentally…

I also got my period on Friday.    I have this irrational fear of sharks anyway, so this made me really feel like shark bait.  I spent time on Friday reading the shark attack files.    Turns out, New Hanover County – where Kure Beach resides – has the highest rate of shark attacks in North Carolina.  Great.  Seeing a “No Shark Fishing” sign on the Carolina Beach pier did not make me feel any safer.

I spent all of Saturday laying on the beach.  It was wonderful. I got burnt. I didn’t care.  I ventured into the water a little bit, but I was sceered of sharks.  I mean, how well do tampons work anyway, when sharks can detect blood in 1 part per million?!

Later that day, we rode some of the rides at the Carolina beach amusement park.   We both loved  “Ring of Fire” … a ride that spins you vertically around in a circle.  It even leaves you hanging upside down for a few seconds.  It was a blast.

Next, we rode the Graviton.   The ride operator let us choose the music for the ride.  My daughter let me  choose, so I asked the guy if he had any Led Zeppelin.  He said yes, and asked which song.  I asked for Kashmir, and he had that one.  So we spun round and round  sucked against the wall of the Graviton listening to Kashmir.  It was perfect.

Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face
stars fill my dreams
I am a traveler of both time and space

Saturday night, I practiced Transitions in the parking lot of the condo.  Some old drunk guy came and talked on and on about how he was in a bike crash a few years ago and messed up his knee.  I think he was making it up to impress me.   I was trying to be kind, but he was really annoying!   I finally got rid of him by saying I was running out of daylight to do my workout.

Practicing transitions in the dark parking lot got me excited about racing, so decided I would do it.    This race report is continued in Part 2 and then read Part 3.