Courtenay Brown

Yesterday I raced the second biathlon in the Waikiki Swim Club’s biathlon series. The Magic Isle Biathlon was on the same course as the Christmas Biathlon a couple of weeks ago, but the conditions were a lot better (less wind and more clouds) and it made for a fun morning.

I succeeded in my goal to improve my times from the last race. I had the usual nervous pre-race thoughts of “oh my god my shin hurts, if I race I’ll get injured, and I am so tired, I just want to go back to bed” without any big-race adrenaline to overpower them. Instead, I got myself fired up by thinking “5k PR! 5k PR!” which, given the small handful of 5k’s I’ve done, seemed achievable while still being a challenge for my current fitness level. I felt much smoother and stronger than I did on the same course two weeks ago, and clocked an 18:29 for the 5k! It was indeed a PR!

The slight problem with having this goal in the biathlon is, oh wow, I accomplished my goal but the race is only half over! I kind of dilly-dallied without even realizing it. I wanted to have a better transition than I did last time, which I did, but honestly that is not saying much at all. Ben was on hand to document the second half of my race, he ran the 5k for fun and then hung out on the shore. Evidence is all in the gallery below… along with comparison shots of one guy in the biathlon who was doing it right, as well as my friend Nathan blasting through a checkpoint on Saturday evening after 60 whole MILES of running. Also doing it right. I think my Splish race suit this year needs to have a great big “HUSTLE!” on the butt .

Anyway despite my distinct lack of urgency on the beach, I still swam well enough to hang on to first place for the women! This time I got a nice whiskey-sour glass to complement my Christmas Biathlon pint glass. The Valentine’s Biathlon is a month away… wonder if I can run under 18 minutes?? And then Ben can do the swim!