Philly - Part 3 of 4 (Highlights and Party)
Beyond my own race there were plenty of sights and things happening that should get mentioned. The first and biggest was how great it was to have all those TNT participants and support staff there at the race. I can’t tell you home many times I heard “Go Team” or similar phrases during the race. Having others racers cheer you on and you returning the favor was amazing. The TNT staff members were sprinkled throughout the course which shows their dedication to their athletes. Hearing group of staff members cheer you on as we were grinding it out on some of the hills was a huge boot. For those who have been to a TNT event you know these feelings and it’s pretty special to have all the support during the race.
Given the hilly course there seemed to be more people with flats and bike issues then I’ve seen at other races. As I was coming around on my 2nd bike loop I came around a curve and saw my own teammate Amy working on a flat tire. My heart dropped because it even harder when you see someone you know off their bike changing a flat. (More on the later) Even worse was when I saw a girl walking her bike down one of the hills carrying her chain. I mean having to change a flat is one thing, but having a chain break is like the nail in the coffin. Your race is pretty much over. Yes you can walk your bike in and continue, but that would be such a big blow.
Following the race there was a big TNT victory party at the hotel. This included a great meal, lots of dancing, and of course drinky drink. Now I know that for some they just don’t have the energy to party after a very long day. That’s why they start it at 5:00 PM so that it doesn’t go late if you don’t want it to. Well the MN crew along with a few other chapters really don’t know how to end things early. Things started as soon as we sat down for our meal and it was off to the bar for the first round. This was followed by a lot of dancing led by our coach Ingrid, Kim, and Tito. These three cut it up the most with the rest of us floating in depending on the song. The victory party only goes til 8, again some people thing they’ve had a long day, but this just meant it was time to hit the town. (I should add that through out the whole night we were like its only 7:30, or whatever time it was)
To kick off the bar hoping we started in the hotel bar with a round of shots. I mean what better way to really get things going. This was followed by a stop to an Irish Pub. Little did I know that TNT had basically taken over the whole bar and the one bar tender was a little swamped. I’m sure he was like, what is going on it’s a Sunday night. At one point someone ordered like 25 Kamikazes. Hey at least he made a chuck of change that night. After a few more drinks and mingling with the other chapters it was off to another bar that was a little less crowded. The crew was RI was there as well so we drank and talked with them the remainder of the night. There was talk of more dancing and stuff like that but by that time the energy stores were just about empty. At around 12:30 in the morning we finally made our way back to the hotel to call it a day.
So a little recap:
Wakeup – 4:00 AM, At race 5:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Recovery time 2:00 PM -5:00 PM, Eat, dance, and drink like a fish 5:00 PM to 12:30 AM.
I say that’s a pretty successful day.
Finally a few awards before I end this portion:
Heart/Determination Award goes to Amy. Amy has been having knee issues so the idea of doing two runs was not to her liking. Plus add in the flat tire that she got and the 20-30 minutes she spent dealing with that was amazing. Apparently she couldn’t get her CO2 to work so someone offered a pump, but that broke the valve on the tube. She then had to flag someone down to get another tube to get her tire fixed and riding again. I know the runs were very difficult but she pulled it off and finished and it was amazing to see her come in.
Best I’m going to be sick before the race look and most determined/fierce/this course will not defeat me face goes to Kim. Kim had a great race and her face showed it all.
Silently anxious award goes to Hirmoi. Hirmoi is very quiet to begin with, but I don’t think I heard her say a word before the race.
Best smile and laugh to ward off pre-race jitters award goes to Katie. A video clip, that I wish I could get up here somehow, shows Katie clapping and laughing along with the race announcer before they started. Even though she was smiling and laughing she couldn’t hide all the nervousness, but she tried.
Happiest person/racer award goes to Tito. I don’t think there is a picture of Tito from the entire weekend where he is not smiling. It was so much fun traveling, racing, and partying with this guy. Tito also gets the best dancer award. Ingrid and Kim gave him a run for his money, but on this day Tito was the better.
Too be continued…Part 4 of 4 (The Pictures)
Given the hilly course there seemed to be more people with flats and bike issues then I’ve seen at other races. As I was coming around on my 2nd bike loop I came around a curve and saw my own teammate Amy working on a flat tire. My heart dropped because it even harder when you see someone you know off their bike changing a flat. (More on the later) Even worse was when I saw a girl walking her bike down one of the hills carrying her chain. I mean having to change a flat is one thing, but having a chain break is like the nail in the coffin. Your race is pretty much over. Yes you can walk your bike in and continue, but that would be such a big blow.
Following the race there was a big TNT victory party at the hotel. This included a great meal, lots of dancing, and of course drinky drink. Now I know that for some they just don’t have the energy to party after a very long day. That’s why they start it at 5:00 PM so that it doesn’t go late if you don’t want it to. Well the MN crew along with a few other chapters really don’t know how to end things early. Things started as soon as we sat down for our meal and it was off to the bar for the first round. This was followed by a lot of dancing led by our coach Ingrid, Kim, and Tito. These three cut it up the most with the rest of us floating in depending on the song. The victory party only goes til 8, again some people thing they’ve had a long day, but this just meant it was time to hit the town. (I should add that through out the whole night we were like its only 7:30, or whatever time it was)
To kick off the bar hoping we started in the hotel bar with a round of shots. I mean what better way to really get things going. This was followed by a stop to an Irish Pub. Little did I know that TNT had basically taken over the whole bar and the one bar tender was a little swamped. I’m sure he was like, what is going on it’s a Sunday night. At one point someone ordered like 25 Kamikazes. Hey at least he made a chuck of change that night. After a few more drinks and mingling with the other chapters it was off to another bar that was a little less crowded. The crew was RI was there as well so we drank and talked with them the remainder of the night. There was talk of more dancing and stuff like that but by that time the energy stores were just about empty. At around 12:30 in the morning we finally made our way back to the hotel to call it a day.
So a little recap:
Wakeup – 4:00 AM, At race 5:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Recovery time 2:00 PM -5:00 PM, Eat, dance, and drink like a fish 5:00 PM to 12:30 AM.
I say that’s a pretty successful day.
Finally a few awards before I end this portion:
Heart/Determination Award goes to Amy. Amy has been having knee issues so the idea of doing two runs was not to her liking. Plus add in the flat tire that she got and the 20-30 minutes she spent dealing with that was amazing. Apparently she couldn’t get her CO2 to work so someone offered a pump, but that broke the valve on the tube. She then had to flag someone down to get another tube to get her tire fixed and riding again. I know the runs were very difficult but she pulled it off and finished and it was amazing to see her come in.
Best I’m going to be sick before the race look and most determined/fierce/this course will not defeat me face goes to Kim. Kim had a great race and her face showed it all.
Silently anxious award goes to Hirmoi. Hirmoi is very quiet to begin with, but I don’t think I heard her say a word before the race.
Best smile and laugh to ward off pre-race jitters award goes to Katie. A video clip, that I wish I could get up here somehow, shows Katie clapping and laughing along with the race announcer before they started. Even though she was smiling and laughing she couldn’t hide all the nervousness, but she tried.
Happiest person/racer award goes to Tito. I don’t think there is a picture of Tito from the entire weekend where he is not smiling. It was so much fun traveling, racing, and partying with this guy. Tito also gets the best dancer award. Ingrid and Kim gave him a run for his money, but on this day Tito was the better.
Too be continued…Part 4 of 4 (The Pictures)
posted by walchka at 11:28 AM
5 Comments:
oooohhh...i like this idea of awards...fun.
I think you can use YouTube for video.
I have seen several blogs that have used it.
let me guess, you drank long islands the whole night? ;)
sorry, just had to tease you...
Sounds like a great weekend! Congrats!
And part 4 is coming when?? Next years Tri??
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