I kind of forgot about this race while planning and attending WIBA. Add to that a full week of work in Waukesha so training was non-existent. (Funny how that happens with some regularity once you have a kid.)
I get set up and noticed that Quaker Steak and Lube was setting up shop right outside the exit from transition. That's when Ryan announced that for every wing you eat between the swim and run, you get 30 seconds off your time. (Up to five wings.) After my debacle in the last race, I think I'll pass. Given the humid conditions, I didn't want to push anything and went into this race just to get back into it.
The scuttle in transition before the race was whether or not to wear wetsuits. The water was 81° at the surface and the air temp was near that as well. With the wetsuit, it will be hot. Without, you'll be cooler, but lose time to the front pack. Once one person says they're wearing it, peer pressure kicks in and all follow. I forget who was the first, but soon we were all pulling our wetsuits on.
Waiting for the gun, I joked with those around me about pushing and shoving, even looking at the bottom of feet to make sure I would have the right ones when I would draft off them. Little did I know that this would be the roughest swim I've been a part of. I got knocked in the head several times, body-blocked once, and all kinds of body contact. There's been an increasing number of UW-Madison swimmers competing, so the front of the pack is getting crowded. I did find some feet, but they slowed on the second leg, so I went out on my own. By the second turn and the third leg, the water sloshing in my wetsuit felt like fire. So maybe it wasn't a good idea to go with the wetsuit, but at least I was with everyone. I picked things up towards the end and made my way out of the water, walking all the way through transition.
By the time I got to my stuff, my watch picked up my heart rate. It was at 180. And this was after walking -- not running -- through transition. Now there was no way I was going to have some wings.
I settled into a nice groove on the run, comfortable enough to get through it all. On way back, it was a treat to see the sauce stains on the cheeks and chins of everyone who ate the wings. I got through the race in one piece, satisfied with the effort. But I was still too warm to have any post-race wings.