49 Miles of Drafting

For every other race I've ever done, I have felt like I was in decent enough shape to do well.  Except for my upcoming race.  I am doing a half Ironman race with my friends as part of a relay.  We signed up back in September.

Our team is somewhat unique in the fact that we are all runners.  However, one member of my team swam in high school and likes to swim, and therefore gladly took that leg of the relay.  Then it came down to who would bike 56 miles and who would run the 13.1 miles, a decision between one of my best friends/running partner and myself.  I really, really wanted to be the runner but we decided that since I am both the strong runner and biker, it would make more sense for me to bike.  And I've taken 5 rides outside all year in preparation for this race.  I think the statement "a little underprepared" isn't proper to use in this scenario.

On Friday a local bike club held their annual metric century ride, which I knew I had to do for both conditioning and mental confidence.  I felt pretty good on the ride, and my friend biking with me drafted off me the ENTIRE time.  Do you know how much that sucks?  By mile 49 I was upset.  Never did she take the lead.  In fact, I heard her say "This will help (me) prepare for 70.3 since it isn't allowed."  That response made me even more upset.  

After the rest stop at mile 49, I decided to bike faster than them, partly because I wanted to see if I still had anything left in my legs from the 13 miles I ran the previous day and the 49 miles I had already biked, but also because I wanted a break from pulling her along.  I get that sometimes you get tired and want a bit of a break so you draft, but to do it for so long and never take your turn is a bit much I think.  

I hope to make it through my 56 miles on the bike on Saturday with a smile on my face.  At least I won't be pulling anyone else along, which will automatically make me happy.