The Finale, the regret, The long drive

NO MORE TRIATHLON's UNTIL MARCH!  Whew, now that I've gotten that off my chest, here is a Tri Key West recap!

First off, the race was just an appetizer.  The real treat and victory came in the hours following the event.  Honestly, there was nothing more reviving than having a morning drink and lobster Benedict with some good friends at Blue Heaven.  I LIVE for "post race" high.

The event overall went off well if you consider it was in Key West (not a very organized or regulated place).  That being said, there was definitely room for improvement.  The Swim course buoys were spaced a little too far, leaving you quite lost if you were in the front.  My major complaint was swimming under a pier and then having zero indication of where to go afterwards.  The only thing that made sense was to head to shore, where 2 flags waited for you (they were practically invisible). I think it goes without saying, we're lucky it wasn't very choppy because it could have been dangerous under the pier. 

The Bike course (Olympic) was actually accurate, which is very rare at a grassroots event.  Unfortunately, due to poor course marking and haphazard directions by volunteers, this was the biggest disqualification list I've ever seen.  Some negative highlights of the bike course were:
- Bike out/Bike in at the same location
- Sprint course 2nd lap turn around directly in front of "bike out"
- Single lane sharp corners without any seperation between between coming/going traffic 
Seriously, the corners were the worst part.  I would be surprised if there weren't any head on collisions due to people cutting corners. 

The Run course was just lovely, with an amazing view along the cost.  Yes, I said it was lovely, which seems wierd but Key West will do that to you.  Oh wait...I had to run across oncoming runners in order to get to the finishing chute, which meant dodging a 6ft 5inch tall giant as he trudged out of transition.  I also dodged a few bikes, not sure what they were doing there either.  Thankfully I avoided the handlebar of a purple Huffy from impaling my stomach.  

FINALLY the awards ceremony, in all of its glory....was ruined by MulitRace.  They botched the results despite my efforts to "verify" standings prior to the ceremony.  The 3rd, 4th and 5th guys were called up as 1st, 2nd and 3rd...leaving me with a "WTF" expression and disappointed attitude.  We work hard to make podium, so when that seemingly insignificant moment is taken away from us, it takes a lot of the fun out of the ceremony.  Plus, no one likes to have to coordinate getting their award.  Multirace didn't have a reason for the mix up and with a very condescending attitude told me I should have "checked the monitors" (which I did).  Either way, they treat athletes like cattle and totally do the bare minimum as far as customer service. NONETHELESS, my spirits were as high as they could ever be because I raced well despite injury and all of my friends had a GREAT energy which totally turned things around. Plus, like I said....it was an appetizer for the events to come. 

---

Our view at Casa Marina Resort was amazing. Life couldn't have been any more relaxing (except at one point this dude was yelling at his girlfriend for sleeping with his 2 friends).  The food in Key West was also fantastic! There is literally a bit of everything.  For the celebratory dinner, Bret took us to Bagatelle. We had some Hogfish, Ahi Tuna and I had a giant Swordfish Filet on some mash with miso sauce. All in all, we had a great group, enjoyed the trip beyond words...but wholly hell that is a long drive AND I probably would have been alright with one less Irish Car Bomb...or greasy sausage gut bomb at 1am.....

---