Czech Chick taking on the Triathlon World: Timberman RR also known as the 3rd year annivesary

Better late than never, but here comes my Timberman race report. Timberman 70.3 was my 1st race under the guidance of coach Jorge, my 1^strace on a tri bike, the 1^st time I went sub 5 hours, and the 1^st time I made it on the podium although barely (I was 5^th in my AG). I haven’t done this race since then, so I was really looking forward to the weekend! We had booked a couple of condo’s only ½ mile from the start of the race, and had a BIG group of us racing as well as supporting and that is always FUN! There is just something special about seeing so many of your teammates/friends either on the race course or as support crew!

I was excited to finally race again. I knew that based on my training I was more than ready for a great performance. I was coming off one of my best training blocks. I was consistently seeing numbers in the pool, on the bike or run that I have never seen before and I was just feeling strong and ready to go physically as well as mentally. I mentioned in my previous blog post that I have trained on the course a few times this summer and so I really had an idea of what I was capable of, which was a huge mental boost come race day.

I arrived in Guilford on Friday afternoon, and bunch of us went to register, followed by a quick jog. I felt good, and honestly, I was just ready to race! The few days before the race are the worst, and I really just wanted to get the party started. One advantage of staying at a condo is that you can make your own food, which far exceeds going out to eat especially when you have excellent chef’s around! Huge thanks goes out to Jorge THE chef, and Brett THE grill master!

2 choices of pasta thanks to chef Jorge

Gotta have some greens too - Thanks Jeff!

Somehow I didn't get the pic of the delicious bison tips, and chicken, and turkey tips or the loafs of bread! (Could be because I ate them all?). Some quality time spent with teammates/friends which definitely helped to calm the pre-race nerves, and Saturday morning was here before we knew it. Little spectating during the sprint race, followed by an awesome BIG breakfast and my favorite part of the day before the race (more pancakes and bacon please!)

Maybe if I ate less, I could have been faster? Somehow this blog post seems to be all about food so far!

Some last minute bike maintenance, one last pre-ride, and run and “Fireball” was ready to spend the night at Ellacoya State park ready to rumble on Sunday.

Ready as always!

Repeat dinner from Saturday night, and the alarm clock was set for 4am! I slept fairly well till about 2am and that was that. Just let me race already! I couldn’t visualize the race any longer! Breakfast went down slowly as usual (Amazing how bagel with peanut butter and jelly can taste so good one day, and so blah on race morning), and we were off. Thanks to top notch service by super Sherpa Briana that dropped us off right at the transition area we didn’t even have to walk much. Bonus!

Up at 4am, on her feet all day, and wide awake at 10pm. I on the other hand am 1/2 asleep! Super Sherpa!

One very long PP line later, I found myself trying to squeeze into my wetsuit as fast as I could so I had some time to warm up before my wave going off at 7:29am.

SWIM: 37:45 (39^th AG/104, 223^rd female/638)

I was ready to have a GREAT swim. I felt very good, and I was ready to finally show what I have been up to in the pool, but it clearly wasn’t meant to be. I felt really good all the way to the first turn buoy even following some feet, but as soon as we made the turn to make the trek across the lake, couple of things happened. The water became VERY choppy which made me nauseous, and I was starting to swim right into floating objects (I mean other competitors from previous waves that were out on a leisurely float). I know I wasn’t exactly moving very fast either, but for whatever reason these peeps seemed to be everywhere and I felt like there was no way around them. I didn’t panic, but it definitely made it hard to get into any sort of rhythm and I found myself having to actually dead stop a few times, find my way around said floaters and get back on track. I say floaters because one minute I would sight and see them up ahead, and the next minute I was barreling right into them because they were dead stopped with their feet pointing down. Once we made the last turn towards the beach, I tried to sight the finishing arch, but that wasn’t happening because I couldn’t find it. That made getting back and bit more difficult and I reserved to following the buoys instead. As we finally got closer to shore, I was still feeling strong, but I knew deep down that I didn’t exactly have the swim I knew I have in me. I don’t swim with a watch, but I took a quick glance at the race clock and after a quick math, I figured out I probably was somewhere in the 37 min range. Boooo! I didn’t dwell on it at all, and just kept moving.

T1: 1:54 min

I bypassed the wetsuit strippers although on a 2^nd thought maybe I should have used them, because my wetsuit got a bit stuck on my timing chip. Nutrition in the pockets, helmet/sunglasses/shoes on and I was out of there. I got slowed down a bit by other competitors walking their bikes through transition but I tried to make my way around them given how narrow the “isles” were as fast as I could.

BIKE: 2:22:43 (1st AG/104, Fastest Amateur bike split by almost 8 minutes, and 2^nd fastest female bike split only behind the speedy Melissa Hauschildt)

I have been biking better than ever and if my 2:26ish that I rode during the race prep ride 2 weeks ago with my race setup on tired legs was any indication of what I may be capable of on race day, I was in for one fast ride. My goal was to ride around 2:25. I have looked up previous Timberman bike times, and when I saw the likes of Chrissie Wellington riding 2:25 or 2:22 with her fastest time being just under 2:20, I couldn’t help but to be “scared” a little. I know I am a strong cyclist, but coming near some of these pro times have never even really crossed my mind! (Ok maybe it had just a little bit, but it’s still a bit surreal) Back to the race. I hopped on my “Fireball” and of we went. The first part was a bit sketchy with coned of sections that made passing a bit more difficult, but I managed. Lots of very loud “ON YOUR LEFT”, “ON YOUR LEFT”, I said “ON YOUR LEFT” (Image me really screaming by now) and I made it through without knocking over any cones or competitors or myself, although it was close a few times and I felt like I was in a driving school where they do make you get around cones cuz that is exactly what I had to do to actually end up on the right side of the road!

Rider on the right, cones on the left, and me thankfully still upright!

Once on 106, I just put my head down and went for it, sling shooting when I could although I was just really moving fast, and everyone else I was passing seemed to be standing so at times it was just easier to follow the white line. I made it to the turnaround around 1:10 which I knew was fast, but I was in the lower range of my target watts, so I wasn’t alarmed. The way back was a bit cleaner (in terms of competitors, and there weree no females to be found). I was able to just put my head down and go.

Go, go, go, go, go

I absolutely bombed the freshly paved downhill in the 2^nd half of the course hitting 52mph at some point, and I made my way into transition, consistently riding at the bottom end of my watts for the full 56 miles. I probably could have pushed harder, but I wanted to have a great run! One that I know I am capable of but have yet to be able to show in a race. I rolled into transition, and have seen my teammate Carolyn heading out on the run (she is a speedy)! I knew she started in one of the earlier waves, so I knew I was doing well. She was now my little target because this girl can run!

Rolling into transition

T2: 1:38

I was in and out of there as fast as I could. Not many bikes if any at all in my row so I knew I most likely was towards the front of the race. Put my socks on, grabbed my watch and off I went.

Heading out on the run! Moving Soooo Fast even the camera can't catch me (How I wish) ;)

RUN: 1:35:54 (2^nd AG, 5^th fastest amateur run, 12^th fastest run including the PRO’s)

Bummer! I had a good run, but not a great one. There weren’t that many people out on the run course during my 1^st loop and since it’s a 2 loop out and back course you get a great look at your competition. I ran the first loop relatively comfortable with the hopes of negative splitting the 2^nd loop, but that unfortunately never happened. I was keeping tabs on Carolyn who is a GREAT runner, and was just really trying to keep my distance between me and her the same. That didn’t quite happen, but I also didn’t see anyone coming for me which was great. I was also on the look out for coach Jorge because given my earlier start, I knew we could have potentially finished the race together. I started to struggle a bit on the 2^nd loop and was just simply running out of energy even though I took a gel at mile 2, and between miles 6-7, and started on coke. The 2^nd loop was way more crowded but it also gave me a chance to see so many of my teammates and friends out on the course cheering me on. I was in my own little world and may have not returned some of those cheers, and I’ll try to do better next time. Thank you guys, I heard you all! I believe I just needed to fuel a little better so I don’t let that happen again, and quite honestly I need to grow bigger balls and just go for broke little earlier than a few miles from the finish. I ran the last 1.5 mile sounding like a freight train, but I gave it all I had and good thing I did because as I was nearing the finish line, I only had a few seconds to spare before the 4:40 ticked on the clock. And let’s face it – 4:39:xx sounds MUCH faster than 4:40 …ha!

Finish Line kick - am I there yet? Tick, tock, tick, tock ... don't fall, don't fall

Coach Jorge didn’t catch me (AWESOME for me because I really didn’t want to try to match his 5 min per mile pace at the end of a race), and let’s face it, getting passed in the last mile of a race by anyone is NOT an option ;) but I didn’t have to wait for long.

We both had very good races with lots of room for improvement, and that’s what this is all about - Fun and the quest for perfection!

I know I have a 1:30 run in me, so now I just have to prove it! Easy, right? My next chance is going to be in October during the Rev3 South Carolina and I will be going for broke.

I may have not had a perfect race, but I am super-duper happy with how it turned out anyways. I may have not had a perfect race, but I am super-duper happy with how it turned out anyways. For our 3^rd year anniversary I gave my coach a new 70.3 PR, and a 15 min improvement on the same course Yeah I know – 15 min, 3 years of hard work may not seem like enough, but believe me when I say it is. If back then anyone told me that I would ever see 4:3x on the clock for 70.3 distance, I would laugh at them (unless of course the swim was with a current, and the bike and run courses were downhill only, which is certainly NOT the case with Timberman). Back then and for the longest time, breaking 5 hours was the magic barrier, but guess what – NOT anymore.That 4:2x is in there and I know it!

Final tally: New PR of 4:39:54 – 1^st 30-34 AG – the biggest maple syrup bottle award there is (YES!), 2^nd overall Amateur, and 8^th Overall Including pro’s. Last but not least another $400+ lighter and a spot for next years 70.3 World Championships in Mt. Tremblant! #Mission #Win