Well....the short story is that Lake Whatcom Tri is an excellent race and Brent is flat out a better runner than I.
The longer story is that we both had great races. There is one u-turn on the run course at about the two mile mark, so I knew that DFRU was right behind me. I spent the next four miles trying to hold him off as best I could. It's a hard run course, made even more difficult by a monster set of stairs at around the four mile mark (66 feet of elevation in 0.04 miles
https://www.strava.com/...07205?filter=overall). After that there is a gradual uphill slog that makes you feel like you are going to die. Last year I ran up the stairs and paid dearly for it. So this time I walked them (two at a time). When I got to the top and could not yet see DFRU behind me (note that I didn't say 'could not yet see DFRU at the bottom', that's because you can't actually see the bottom from the top) I thought I had it. I started concentrating on just keeping it together, but after that climb everything hurts. At 5.5 miles I really thought I had it. In retrospect I should have been picking it up then, but in the moment that wasn't really an option. We crossed the street and had to run across a bumpy field. I was running hard but at that point the uneven ground was tough on me. I knew he was closing but I still thought I had enough real estate. Across the field, hit the pavement through the parking low and around the bathrooms (transition is in a nice park, 99% of the run is on grass or gravel) and I realized he was RIGHT FUCKING THERE. Damn it, I had to sprint. Final straight is on bumpy grass again. I was running with everything I had, but honestly I could swear I was going to take a header. I felt like my legs were flailing like a cartoon character. Everyone was shouting and I think he passed me with 0.001 meters left to run. We both collapsed.
After the finish:
Me: 'I really thought I was going to fall over during that sprint."
DFRU: 'I really thought you were, too.'
Ouch.
All in all a great way to end my 2018 season. Time to tune the knobby bikes and get ready for cross season!
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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.
