It was a chilly start to what would turn out to be a blazing finish at the Fiasco in Pasco. The line-up for male top finishers: Brian Shore, Eric Vozza, Fred Mason and myself. No big names from out of town, so that was it. The big question on everyone's mind - What's Fred been up to and will he finish first? That question was quickly extinguished when I received a phone call from him Friday night at a dinner party with Robyn, Brian, Eric & fam, Monika & fam, Adrienne, Bobby and myself. He told us he would not be racing due to a work related strain on his hamstring. @#!**!?! I had been waiting so long to race with my old training buddy. Needless to say, I was very disappointed and saddened to hear the news. Anyway, I wasn't going to lose any sleep over it. I mean, come on, my chances for an overall finish significantly improved. Race morning arrived, and aside from a few hiccups, it was another textbook finish comparable to past performances. As always, if I was going to have any chance against Brian and Eric, I had to do it on the bike. We pretty much stuck together on the first run including some young eager kid tagging along (as usual). I fell back the last mile or so knowing it would be made up on the bike. Flying through transition in less than 10 seconds, I pretty much gained most of what I had lost. The rest was made up within the first 3 - 4 miles on the bike. I put the hammer down and didn't save anything for the run. It paid off. Averaging 24.5 mph, I had gained over 2 minutes on Eric, most of which was achieved into the wind along Argent during the last 4 miles. ...and it was a windy day. My next transition was "like seamlessly floating on a cloud" as one spectator would put it after the race. After my embarrassing 1+ minute T2 at Rage in the Sage , I swear to myself it would never happen again... so far so good. I hit the dirt strong looking back to see what kind of lead I had. I could not see Eric or Brian anywhere. Knowing their running strength, I didn't let up any. Half way through the run it hit me. The worst side stitch in history. I was immediately forced to walk. I quickly implemented some stomach breathing to reduce the pain. I started running again but it would never be the same. I tried to bring the pace back up only to be forced to walk two more times. I could finally see Eric gaining some ground but still had enough distance to be comfortable. I had to play it smart. If I tried to resume my original pace in order keep the distance on Eric I would definitely be forced to walk again and run the risk of being caught. So I slowed it down hoping I had enough ground to be conservative. Eric made up close to 1.5 minutes on the second run. I squeaked by with a mere 30 seconds to spare for the win. Brian came in 3rd to rap up the overall finishers.
I believe the locals dominated the women's overall field as well...
