This was my 3rd year in a row racing the local
Patriot 70.3, and I had two goals going into it. One was to win the overall
title, and two – to finally break the 4:30h barrier. I have consistently been
getting closer and closer and although this was my 2nd half ironman
in just two weeks, I knew Patriot is a fast course, and I had the tools to make
it happen.
Racing local is always fun, and especially fun when majority
of your teammates are also racing! Seeing so many familiar faces on race
morning makes the time go by very fast, and before I knew it, it was time to
get in the water.
THE SWIM: 34:31
I started in the elite wave which only consisted of maybe 12
people. My swim is still not where I would like it to be but I keep chipping
away at it and getting better. I knew there were a few swimmers that I wanted
to keep up with and hopefully let them pull me around the course, but that went
out the window very quickly. I started off swimming hard, trying to grab the
feet I wanted but unfortunately those feet were drifting left, while I was
drifting right and I just couldn’t quite latch on. No problem –plan B – swim your own swim, keep
the effort moderate, and swim STRAIGHT! I did a good job of that on the way out
to the first turn buoy but then it happened! I thought I made the 90 degree turn but
apparently I didn’t and just kept on swimming straight and completely away from
the course. I know, it doesn’t make any sense, and I can’t quite explain what
happened either. I simply made a mistake that cost me at least 2 minutes. Czech it out.
Pay attention to the top right corner!
I sighted and even though I couldn’t see any buoys I somehow
just reasoned to myself that maybe the
buoys were hiding and I just couldn’t see them “yet” What a dumb idea!
Eventually I started to panic a little because regardless of where I looked I
still couldn’t see the buoys or any people for that matter! Saved by the kayak who
eventually ended up catching me and showing me the way! The buoy line was so
far left that it wasn’t even funny! Live and learn – I can guarantee you it
will NOT happen next time.
I was way frustrated about the distance I just added on, and
probably over sighted on the way back to make sure I didn’t get lost again! I literally thought my
swim time was going to be at least 40 min, so when I saw 34:xx on the clock, I felt a little better but still
disappointed!
Loving my new Helix!
Loving my new Castelli Stealth Top
T1: 1:43
Wetsuit off, potato/rice cakes in my pockets and out.
THE BIKE: 2:21:57 (3rd
fastest bike split including men)
Frustrated from the swim, I got on the bike and started to
push the pace a bit. My legs felt good, and even though I was at the higher end
of where I wanted to be power wise, I just kept powering through. This is a two
loop, fairly flat course with no major climbs, but with a bit of turns that can
snap your rhythm if you let it. It’s also a very lonely course, but that’s what
happens when you are racing off the front. I kept my head down, stayed aero,
stuck to my nutrition plan and just kept pushing on.
Staying aero was the name of the game
2nd loop was a
bit more crowded and I even got to see my athlete Jerome and Ruthanne both
crushing their first 70.3s. Unfortunately when going over a set of railroad
tracks on the 2nd loop, I managed to hit them just right and both of
my bottles (1 – Gatorade, 1 – water) ejected at least 12 miles from the next
aid station and I was left without any fluids. I had a good rhythm
going so I decided to go on without picking up my bottles (big mistake). My power continued to stay right where it was
on the first loop, but as I kept moving forward I realized that fueling without
any sort of fluids for so long is far less than ideal. I managed to get down
the extra potato/rice cake I had, but that was it. When I finally made it to
the aid station around mile 46 -48, I grabbed water and set out to catch up on
the lost time. Given my extraordinary sweat abilities, there just wasn’t enough
time to catch up, and although I managed to get in couple gels in the span of
20ish minutes (probably too much too soon), the damage was done. To make things even more interesting, I also
managed to hit/get hit by a thankfully very slow moving SUV. I was taking a 90
degree left hand turn, and the car was coming from the left hand side going
straight through the intersection. I am an aggressive rider but I always watch
the cops to make sure they stop traffic, and I could tell this guy wasn’t sure.
In his defense, he probably didn’t realize how much faster I was coming through
versus the people he was used to waving through for the last half an hour, but
it was definitely scary. I was already
leaning left into the turn, with my left knee out and saw he wasn’t stopping. I tried to correct
where I was going but not very successfully and I ended up slamming into his
right front bumper/hood/light. Thankfully, we both managed to slow down enough that
although the impact was a bit loud, I was able to leave the accident with only
a few bruises and my bike was untouched since my left calf/quad took most of
the impact. The impact knocked me over to the other side, but I managed to
unclip and stay on my feet. I was so mad at the moment, that I immediately got
back on my bike, put my head down and rode away. (Probably should have checked myself and my bike first, but I figured I'll do that while moving forward). The cop wanted me to pull
over, but since I felt fine, I just got back on my bike and powered toward T2.
I dropped my power a little bit after that incident but was able to keep my
head in the game and re-focus.
All business here
Thumbs up!
T2: 2:14
This is one thing that I wish was changed as the dismount
line is VERY far from the bike racks and you have to run on a grassy area with your
bike for a very long time. This year even longer than years past. Since I
leave my shoes on the pedals as I dismount the bike, my shoes are always a
grassy/muddy/dirt filled mess when we are re-united post race.
THE RUN: 1:33:37
I had high hopes and confidence for this run given my run
training and my race 2 weeks ago at Quassy, but it became apparent that the
events of the day (mostly consuming ½ of the fluids I normally would in a 70.3)
were going to get the best of me. My HR was super high right of the bat, and no
matter how hard I tried, it wasn’t going anywhere. I was taking in water and
coke essentially every mile, but I just had very limited energy. Every time I
tried to pick up the pace, I ended up going slower rather than faster! Since I
was the 1st female, and 3rd overall human on the run
course, it was also very very very lonely. Noone caught me, but I also had
noone in my sight to catch. Good thing I got to see my coach every once in a
while on his bike because he at least kept me pushing even if it didn’t
result in the time we both knew I could run.
Focused and ready but the energy just wasn't there
I had long ignored my watch, because I knew that neither one
of my pre-race goals whether it be running at least a 1:28 half marathon nor
breaking that 4:30 70.3 barrier would happen.
It was about taking it one mile at a time and giving it all I had on the day. I crossed the line with my new course
70.3 PR (3:30 faster than last year), new 70.3 PR of 4:34:01 and a new PR of
not peeing once in a 70.3 – Can you say “dehydrated”?
That was a painful run
Hard to be disappointed with winning with a new 70.3 PR and
I am not, but I know there is much more where that came from, and so now I go
back to training, because by Timberman 70.3 in August, 4:30 won't stand a
chance!
Oh that banner - that heavy banner!
Three-peat baby!
Thank you to all my sponsors – Landrys bicycles for always
being there when I need something; Trek
for one speedy machine, PowerTap for the watts; BlueSeventy for the most comfortable and
fastest wetsuit that I love so much I decided to swim a bit extra in; PowerBar
for keeping me fueled; EC3D for helping me recover day in/day out; RacePak for all the healthy snacks to keep me fueled
every day; Beet It for that little extra
kick; and of course Coach Jorge for
coming up with the master plan to help me continue to get faster year after year, and all of YOU
who either came out to support or followed from the comfort of your own home.
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