Cozumel, part II

About the race:

What a great event! The island of Cozumel pretty much shuts down for this and the support is unbelievable from the community. Every 1km on the 14km run course was an aid station very well manned by school kids who had way more energy than I had! The crowds in the downtown section of the run and bike were amazing with very ‘fiesta’ feel to it.

The bike course was something special. While I have raced many hilly courses that are tough, this was tough for the opposite reason: It was pancake flat. Normally this sounds easier but add in a some very strong winds and the fact there is no rest from downhills and the bike ride just grinds you down and wears you out. This never ending grinding is also a mental challenge that requires focus to keep pushing when all you really want is to just stop pedalling, even if for just a moment.

The swim was also deceptively hard. Before the race, everyone was talking about how the 1-direction swim goes with the current and its very fast and easy. But somehow on race day I didn’t feel that current too much. And being a non-wetsuit swim made the swim course a bit like the bike course: grinding. Icing on the cake was the rather painful jellyfish that seemed to enjoy sticking to swimmers…

The run was perhaps the ‘easiest’ part of the day with a simple out-and-back 14km loop. For me this was fun as mentally I had been battling through the bike course for a few hours and excited by the simple task of out and back 3 times. The cheers from the crowds and the excited school kids at the aid stations made it feel short and fast.

As is the case with most races I have done, the finish line comes much more quickly than I expect when I set out at the beginning of the day. While I had really hoped for a top 5, I am at least satisfied to come away with a 7th place and the fastest run of the day. Now I get a couple weeks off to unwind from the season before I start building up again for 2015 where I hope to learn the art of winning races.

- Darby Thomas

PS. Don’t have any pics from the race itself… I was racing!