It was a great day for me, starting off the season with a PR is always a great note.
here is a little report:
Pre-Race:
This was my first race of the
season, so with that comes many unknowns and question marks. I have felt that I have been making huge
strides in my run training. I felt that
my cycling has gotten stronger but still not where I want it to be and still
questionable on the ability for long distance endurance and still be able to
run off the bike. So that was going to
be the biggest factor in my mind. The
weather all week had been saying for rain and windy conditions. I tried to not focus on it and just let it be
what I can’t control. This was a train
through race for IMTX in 6 weeks but was still prepared and wanting to do well.
Race
morning:
When I went to bed the weather
was still the big unknown, when I woke up it was not raining but had rained and
was extremely foggy. The weather was
going to continue to keep us guessing all day.
I didn’t start till 830, so there was plenty that could have happened
with the weather. It was extremely windy
but was not raining too hard, just a few sprinkles here and there. I was relatively calm all morning.
Swim:
It was fairly chilly water but I
decided to wear my sleeveless wetsuit.
First jump in the water was a little cold, but once the gun went off,
the temperature wasn’t an issue. The
wind was creating a chop directly in the direction we were swimming. So the first 500M or so was extremely tough
and didn’t feel like I was going anywhere.
Felt like getting tossed around in a washing machine. After the race, I
talked to a pro who gave me the advice in situations like that again, really
try to bury your head in your chest to swim straight through the waves. After the first buoy, we turned left and the
waves were still strong but not completely fighting them. This was pretty uneventful. Making the final turn, we headed back to
shore where the tide was actually pushing us away from the shore, I was pre-warned
of this in the morning but still it was hard to combat. Had to just keep me head down and focused. I
felt like I had been swimming forever. When I got out of the water, I felt good,
usually a little disoriented but not this time. So was able to start my run at
a good pace into transition. I lapped my
watch and saw my time, and I assumed correctly, I had been in the water
forever. Just about 34:45, not even close to a PR and 1.5 min slower than last
year. Oh well.
T1
Since I felt pretty good, I was
able to get to my bike quickly. I
struggled briefly with my arm warmers for the bike (probably could have gone
without but was comfortable with them the whole bike). Was able to do a flying
mount pretty well and was off on the bike.
Was happy overall with my T1.
Bike:
The rain was still holding off,
but the roads were slick and it was windy.
With what the weather had said, it was going to be a tail wind out and a
head wind back. However, it was mainly a cross wind the whole time. It did rain a few times just briefly, so the
weather was a lot nicer than it could have been. Being the second to last wave, there was
hundreds of people in front of. I made
sure to be very careful the first few miles where it was slick and we had
turns, then luckily it is just a straight away.
I basically spent the majority of the time on the left side passing
people. I was maintaining my watts,
anticipating the potential for a headwind on the way back. There was a slightly stronger wind on the way
back but my watts stayed roughly the same and my speed didn’t get affected too
much. I did have to pee one time on the
bike, but because there are no decent descents it basically had to come to a
coast. Looking back I was most likely
under hydrating on the bike, it was not very hot or sunny but was humid, which
will deceptively dehydrate you quickly.
Also, because of the cross wind, a few times I would reach for my
bottle, a gust would blow the bike making me uneasy riding in aero with one hand,
so a few times I opted to not take a drink when I knew I should because of
safety reasons. Overall I was very
pleased with my bike, I held back on my watts and came in with a PR bike split.
T2:
I was able to do a flying
dismount successfully; there were very few other athletes around me, which made
this easier. I got to my rack quickly,
had to move someone else’s stuff around, but got my shoes on and was out.
Run:
Coming directly out of T2, my
stomach and my chest felt uncomfortable. It was
not the normal stomach GI issues I have had before. But it after about a mile I
was able to get into a rhythm and this worked itself out. Probably actually worked out for the better
because it made me keep slower the first mile.
It was not too sunny or warm out but was humid. There were almost like pockets of very humid
air on the course that were worse than others.
I felt very strong and comfortable on the first two loops. I was holding
right around a 7 min mile. This is a
very spectator friendly course and because of the out and backs, you see almost
all the other racers. It is always great
to see my teammates out on the course.
As I started my third loop, I started to suffer a little bit. I knew that it was going to be tough to push
through. Thinking back now, I was most
likely dehydrated from the bike and then wasn’t taking much liquid in on the
run either. I kept pushing but my pace
was falling slightly, closer to a 7:30 pace. I passed by the team tent the last
time, Dave and Brian, both could tell I was hurting, so they gave me a few last
minute words and told me to go get it, I had about 2.5 miles to go from here
and knew I was going to have to work for every foot.
Along the backside of moody gardens, I knew I
had to get to the last out and back and then it was just back all the way to
the finish. With about ¾ a mile left, I
got passed by a guy and I tried to just keep up with him. I was struggling to keep up with him. But
knew I was almost there. Then Dave had
come around to that side and saw me chasing this guy and yelled at me to stay
on him and not let him get away. I was
able to keep with him and then in the last 300M kick it in and passed him back. It felt good that I was able to push back
from the pain I had in the last loop to have a good last mile and even big kick
at the end.
Post-Race:
I felt good after I finished. Legs
were obviously tired and sore but overall felt good. I headed back to the team
tent, were I was able to eat and change close and watch everyone else finish.
Final
thoughts:
Honestly going into this race, I
was not sure what I was going to do. Yes I had several “ideas” of what times I
could do and wanted but being the first race of the season, it is hard to judge
where your fitness level is at. I am
happy with my time. It is a 6 minute PR
in the distance but a 24 min PR from this race last year. I am excited to see my currently fitness
level and have a better judge of where I am at going into IMTX. It was great to have the support of everyone
down cheering and racing. I have the
best teammates, coaches, and friends I could ask for, definitely gives me the
motivation to keep pushing through.
Brian always keeps pushing me to my limits and believes in me more than
I believe in myself. Him and Dave were always in the right spot to tell me the
exact words I needed to hear at the time to get me going. And couldn't have done it this weekend
without Mollie being my Sherpa, she took care of me and everything I needed.
Thanks to everyone for the support and encouragement
.
