I’ve got to say, there’s something about starting a race less than a couple hundred yards from your hotel room that’s just…well…relaxing. You get to sleep in longer, if you forget something, it’s only a few minutes away and after you’ve set up, you can just go back to your room and read a book or climb back into bed. If your room is a nice resort condo overlooking a sandy beach on the ocean, all that much the better.

In fact, rumor held it that for some, racing the Las Palomas Triathlon (as triathlon is spelled in Spanish), held exclusively on the grounds of

the Las Palomas Resort in Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) Mexico, was just an excuse to get an admission ticket to the after race party. For Windy and I, it seemed like a “best of both worlds” opportunity. A chance to get in some racing while enjoying a nice relaxing weekend at the beach.

There are two options at the Las Palomas triathlon, the Olympic distance (1k swim, 40k bike and 10k run) and the sprint distance (400m swim, 20k bike and 5k run). Now at most races, the more experienced racers do the Olympic distance while the sprint distance is primarily for beginners or those who are working up to the Olympic distance. However, continuing with the “party first” atmosphere of the Las Palomas triathlon, the fields draw even numbers of participants, the idea that the sprint is over a lot quicker and you can start relaxing sooner. Holding on, at least, the pretense that we were there first and foremost as athletes, Windy and I maintained the integrity needed to sign up for the Olympic event.

Not that two to three hours out on the course is grounds for hazard pay or anything. One good thing about specializing primarily in adventure races, where anything less than 12 hours is classified as a sprint, is that you get done with a 2 and a half hour triathlon, you’re pleasantly surprised to cross the finish line and realize it’s not even past lunchtime. At the same time, it wouldn’t be a cakewalk. With over 900 athletes including some the best triathletes in the southwest, Windy and I would have plenty of competition to challenge us.

So how was the actual race? Good. For starters, neither Windy nor I was one of the five unfortunate athletes who got stung by stingrays either entering or exiting the finish line for the swim. (According to one of the race organizers, there were a lot fewer than the year before.) For me, it was a good swim, meaning a came out in the middle of the men’s pack at just over 20 minutes. For Windy, it was a so-so swim, meaning she only came out about a minute and a half AHEAD of me.

The bike course was a good one for us as with three loops and a short but steep hill near the end of each lap. I felt strong on the bike and could tell that the road racing and cycling criteriums that Butch and I had been racing helped me accelerate and corner out of the tight turns. Trying to be patient, knowing that my running fitness is still lagging a little behind my cycling fitness and that I needed to save something for the run, I steadily moved my way up through the field.

On the women’s side of the race, Windy was making a similar move. Since she came out of the swim in better shape than I did, she had less people to pass, but since the men started in front of the women, she was able to pass a large number of men in addition to the women she was knocking off. Windy came out off the bike as the 5^th woman while I was sitting 8^th for the men.

Neither Windy nor I were quite sure what to expect from our legs on the run. As I mentioned earlier, my running fitness isn’t as strong as my cycling fitness right now, but for Windy, the 10k run would be the longest she had done in a while. (Not including a few adventure races where the navigation, distance and the off-road terrain dictate a much slower pace.) My legs felt surprisingly good and after one runner passed me right at the beginning of the run (he would log the fastest run split of the day), I reeled two more in and moved myself up in the overall standings. This despite missing the turnaround at the end of the first lap and running down the beach, adding about a quarter mile to my run and requiring me to re-pass the two runners I passed on the first lap again on the second lap. I crossed the finish line in 2:14:37…placing 8^th overall and winning my division.

For Windy, the lack of quality running miles before the race due to some nagging injuries, meant a shift into survival mode. She knew she just didn’t have the legs to run down the women in front of her so instead she focused on pushing herself through the distance at race pace and holding onto her 5^th place position. Though she felt like she was “going to die out there,” Windy held onto her place, also placing first in her division as well being as the 5^th woman overall and 18^th with the men included.