I still hate writing race reports. I just want to say, “it
was fun, the end” but I will try to rehash the day without being too boring. Here
we go…
I love doing local races not only for the convenience factor
but also because there are so many familiar faces at the race. A great part of
the trip was the generous home stay offered by Adrienne and Jason. They were
also housing another female athlete, Christine, who happened to be the overall
winner last year. I was in good company and we enjoyed an amazing pre-race
feast at their house and talked a little about the course and strategy before
going to bed for our 4am wake up call!
The morning routine went as usual and I was feeling good. I
had decided to race in the elite/pro division for this race as a way to test my
fitness but also test my restraint since that will be the key to a good race in
Kona. I really just wanted to see where my fitness was and test out my new bike
fit (courtesy of Jim at FinalFit).
I haven’t done a beach start swim in years and I knew that I
would probably not be able to hang with the elite crowd in the swim. I was
right. I hung onto the back of the pack til about the 3rd buoy but
then it seemed like everyone disappeared. I was left to swim the rest of the
way alone. It’s easy to get into a negative place when you are swimming alone
in the ocean chasing people you can no longer see. I had moments of thinking
“this is stupid, I should probably quit.” I quickly refocused though and
reminded myself that I knew I was going to be slower in the swim and to
concentrate on the fact I was actually swimming well for my ability.
When I got into T1 I was happy to see there were still some
bikes there and Christine was just exiting so that meant I wasn’t too far
behind. As I mounted my bike a
volunteered yelled, “be careful it’s slick out there.” UGH, not what I wanted
to hear. I was a little worried about the technical aspect of the course and rain
was not going to make things better. I took the first 10 miles probably too
conservatively but I was alone out there and actually having a hard time seeing
out of my dark glasses (note to self: bring clear lenses in case it rains).
Despite the annoying rain I LOVED this bike course. It was
not nearly as hilly or technical as I thought it would be and it was just FUN!
The time seemed to fly by and around mile 25 I caught Christine. I couldn’t
believe it as I never catch people on the bike; I always have to run them down
and that was my plan for today too. This totally changed my mood as I realized
I was in the game now. Her and I jockeyed back and forth for the next few miles
until we came up on a female pro from Australia. Christine and I both favored her
to win as she was a “real” pro and also an ITU girl so we figured she had the
speed us long course girls might be lacking. When we caught her I was pumped!
Now the 3 of us were in a full on race for the next 4 miles. Nobody was letting
up and we arrived at the dismount line together. I heard someone yell, “ladies
and gentlemen we have a race on our hands.” The dismount line was also hilarious b/c the night before
Christine and I were both joking that we still run in our bike shoes (like
newbies). Of course the girl from Australia dismounted her bike like a pro and
Christine started laughing as her and I tried chasing her in our bike shoes. I
really do need to work on this along with my transition as I came out of T2 far
behind both girls.
I caught up to Christine and soon I could see the Australian
not too far ahead. I realized I could probably catch her and still keep the
conservative pace I had planned for the first few miles. I caught her around
the first mile and took the lead! I was expecting her to challenge but she
didn’t and by mile 2 I could no longer see her over my shoulder. Shit I really
had a solid lead but with 8 more miles to go I was so nervous I would screw it
up! The rest of the run went by quickly and was so much fun as people were
constantly cheering and shouting, “you’re the first female.” I don’t think I
have ever smiled that much during a run! I was still running scared though and
didn’t want to get too comfortable as the fear of losing it in the end haunted
me (i.e. Wildflower earlier this year). Around mile 8 I asked a guy if there
were any girls in sight and he told me no that I had it. At that point I felt I
could finally enjoy the idea that I was going to be the overall female winner!
Coming down the finisher’s chute with so many cheering friends around was
awesome too!
In the end this is obviously not a big race, but it gave me
confidence that the training I have been doing since IM CDA is working and more
importantly that we finally nailed my bike fit (again thanks to Jim Manton)!
After the race I was hoping to stick around for the after
parties that night but I had a 5 hour ride looming the next day (thanks coach)
so I headed home to get some rest. Only a few more weeks til Kona and then
there will be plenty of time to celebrate!
