I know I have been away from blogging for quite awhile. I am
honestly still not that comfortable with it but I am going to give it another
shot! I have some amazing new sponsors this year (including TriBike Transport Team and Powerbar Team Elite) and they want me to blog so here we go…
Wildflower was my first big race of the season. I have done
a few running races in the off season and one Olympic distance race with pretty
good results, so I was chomping at the bit to get to finally race a half
ironman this season. Since Jim was racing too I got to take advantage of the
free pro housing that Tri-Cal offers which is an amazing perk for this race.
Race morning was perfect and not nearly as windy as last
year. Since I am now an old lady my division didn’t start til 9:30! The only upside
to the late start was getting to see Jim and a few other friends exit the swim
before I had to start my warm up.
Last year I loved the swim conditions at Wildflower and this
year was even better… perfect temps and no chop (unlike last year). I started
at the front of the pack and for once managed to stay with the lead pack. I was
trying not to get too excited and just keep a good rhythm. Within a few minutes
I was able to drop the other 2 girls next to me although there was 1 girl who I
was pretty sure was still ahead of me. Either way I was stoked to be feeling so
good. Things got a little hairy as I started encountering people from previous
waves. I tried my best to swim around them(and sometimes over them-sorry)
without getting off course. I came out of the water feeling great and pretty
sure I had my best swim. I didn’t look at my watch until I was on the bike and
out of the campground area. I was shocked when I saw 32 minutes on my watch. I
have never broken 30 minutes and in fact my PR was 32 minutes and here I was
already out of transition and a few minutes into the bike!
My official swim time is listed as 25 minutes but I have to
be honest and say I didn’t swim a 25. I think something got wonky in the splits
as my T1 is listed as 7 minutes. Either way I know I broke 30 by a good margin
and I feel like all of these early morning swims at 5:45 are finally paying
off! (2nd place swim)
My excitement from the swim was quickly diminished as I got
on my bike and all of my nutrition from my camelback started leaking down my
back. WTF? I had 600 calories in that sucker and I knew I would be in trouble
without it. I managed to salvage some of it and improvise for the rest of the
ride but it did throw me off for the first few minutes as I tried to figure out
what to do. I think I am finally giving up the camelback (sorry Joanna) and
going with the Speedfil.
Anyway, onto the bike-ugh! This bike course is no joke. I
went in with high expectations of redeeming myself from last year’s horrible
bike split. While I did manage to shave 9 minutes off my time from last year, I
was still far off where I need to be. I really think my descending skills are a
big part of the problem. I am still a chicken and because I am on the smaller
side I spin out easily on the long down hills. I am hoping a 54 ring in the
front and some more practice will remedy the situation. (4th place bike)
Coming into T2 I was annoyed with my bike time but happy to
see that I was the first person back to the rack! Wahoo! I was in first place
with my best leg still to go. I knew I just needed to focus on my nutrition and
not blow up as temps were up to 100 degrees. The first 4 miles of the run were
great and I felt like I was running really well. Of course things slowed down once
I got to the crazy steep hill but I knew it was coming and thought it didn’t
take too much out of me. The best part of this run is coming into the
campground-the spectators are amazing and the course is back on asphalt with a
little downhill so it feels like heaven. I think this is also where I made my
mistake. Things were feeling so good and the crowds were so much fun that I
think I got a little over zealous from miles 7-9. Once I started running into
the “pit” around mile 9.5 I knew I was in trouble. Even though I was keeping a
fast pace on the downhill I could tell my legs were getting really heavy. As I
made the turn around at mile 10 and started the 2 mile climb back up things
went from bad to worse. I have never felt such pain/heaviness in my legs. I
seriously thought I was going to have to start walking. I was so close to being
done (and snagging a division victory) but it seemed like it was all falling
apart. I hadn’t been passed by anyone on the run until around mile 11. As I was
shuffling up the hill a woman passed me but I couldn’t see her bib # and she
didn’t have any body markings. To be honest, she looked older so I didn’t freak
out as I thought I may just be giving up 1 spot in the overall rankings and at
that point I didn’t care, I just wanted to be done running. After the slowest 2
miles of my life I finally got to mile 12 and the start of the super fast
descent into the finish. I managed to pull myself together and attacked the
downhill. Soon I was running just under a 6 minute mile and saw the woman who
had passed me. As I passed her she said “nice job” and I nodded back. I had
less than half a mile to go and this thing would finally be over! As I ran into
the finisher’s chute I saw Jim and I waved and smiled for the camera. I was
still running fast as I knew that woman wasn’t far behind me but I didn’t
expect what came next. I crossed the first timing mat (which as I learned later
doesn’t count for time but simply gives the announcer your bib number and name)
and as I was approaching the finish line and final timing mat I felt someone
pass me. WTF??? What just happened? The same woman snuck up on me and beat me
by 2 seconds and it turns out she was in my age group! If we had been shoulder
to shoulder in an all out sprint and I lost I would have been bummed but I felt
like I just got punked. It’s my fault and she ran a great race it’s just a
bitter pill to swallow. (1st place run)
In the
end I am trying to focus on the positive (which doesn’t come easily for me).
I did
qualify for Team USA again which has it’s big race this summer in Spain.
Although
my overall time was not where it needs to be, it's also early in the season and
IMCDA is my "A" race. I am not in peak shape yet as I have 7 weeks to
go but this race is a good indication that things are headed in the right
direction. I am also going to look over my shoulder from now on and sprint my
heart out through every finish line!!!
