Cozumel Race Report - Part 3: THE BIKE

THE BIKE (113.34 miles – 5:00:04 – Fastest Overall Bike Split including PRO’s)

I bolted out of transition like a woman on a mission!  I had specific instructions/watts to stay within throughout the race.  From downtown to the turn where we rode with some serious tail wind (14 miles), to the windy open section by the water which may have as well been uphill (12 miles) , to the section back into town (14  mile), repeat x 3.

I immediately put my head down and went to work. The name of the game today was "How long can you stay aero for?" and I am happy to report, that you will not find a picture of me non-aero! I was as comfortable as if I was sitting on my couch watching movies :) (Oh wait, I did that)

 Trying my best to "turtle"

 How small can I get to cut through the wind?

Drinking and staying aero! 

I knew it was going to be hot, and windy and the conditions didn’t disappoint. We even experienced an awesome downpour but my living room had prepared me for the elements! Those long fan-less trainer rides had me sweating like you wouldn't believe so I was used to feeling like I just rode through a monsoon!  The wind although strong actually felt refreshingly good! Having experienced the 2012 Kona heat and crosswinds, I really didn't think the wind was bad but it definitely was strong and relentless!

Check out couple of those palm trees on the right side of the pic! It was windy! 

The first part of each loop from Chankanaab park all the way to the beginning of the wide open and very windy section, we enjoyed an unbelievable tail wind. I was staying on the lower end of my watts, which I thought was a bit too low to begin with, yet I was almost breaking the speed limit. I was moving anywhere between 25-26mph and just absolutely flying. I had passed a lot of people some of which were riding legally, and some which were not. I knew that was going to be the case, and did my best to ignore it and of course rode legally and rode my own race.

I do not really want to turn this post into a post about drafting, but boy oh boy was it bad! Yes, it is to be expected on a flat and fast bike course, but that doesn't mean it cannot be avoided! It most certainly can if EVERYONE would just play by the rules!

Top 3 easily avoidable things that frustrate me the most:

•  It really is NOT difficult to drop back 4 bike lengths when passed! However, it becomes extremely difficult when being passed by a peloton instead of a single rider!

• Passing someone within the allotted 20 seconds is NOT difficult when you are moving significantly faster than them, and don’t just work your ass off to pass their front wheel, and stop!

•  Finally, riding in a pack/peloton or just barely passing people and cutting them off is extremely dangerous!

As someone that is not a front of the pack swimmer yet, but is a strong cyclist, I am used to passing many people on the bike and navigating through the crowds. It really is NOT difficult to complete a legal pass within the allotted 20 seconds if you are actually moving faster than the people in front of you! In Cozumel, I went from 634^th place to 104^th place. That is 530 passes in 5 hours! Many of those that were riding legally, and others not so much.  I passed groups of various sizes that apparently forgot this was a triathlon and not the Tour de France.  I knew I was going have to deal with this, but I was definitely shocked when I saw the size of some of these groups!  I shook my head a few times, and may have said a few not so nice words addressed directly at the cheaters, but I quickly realized I needed to just mind my own business and let cheaters be cheaters! I had a bigger fish to fry. I just wish I didn’t fry my own lower back! 

Notice the exposed section of my lower back! It wasn't pretty post race - OUCH!

Little did I know that surely but slowly I was forming my own peloton!  Surprisingly (NOT) by the time I made it through the second part of the first loop which was the wide open section by the water, my power would increase yet my speed would significantly decrease, while the size of what I now call the Czech Chicked peloton had grown significantly! I was no longer breaking the speed limit, and I was barely hitting 20 mph. None of the members of the Czech Chicked peloton however were interested in doing any work. Shocking, I know!  

One of my friends who has many more friends attached to him! I went out of my way to find some of them ... 

I put a little puzzle together - and I know there more! 

I honestly didn't even know how many guys/girls I dragged around the island, until we hit the section where you start going back into town, and headwind turned into either a very slight tailwind or not much wind at all. On the very first loop shortly after I made that turn, hero #1 of the peloton had decided he had enough of staring at my back side, and decided to make a pass. I started to drop back to establish my legal distance, and that is when I realized the size of the peloton I created! I sat up, and no matter how much I slowed down, I was being just swallowed up and boxed in! For the first time since I hopped on my bike, I actually turned around, and realized what was happening behind me. I am NOT exaggerating, but I couldn’t see the end of it!  The peloton grew not only super long, but also very wide, and I wanted no part of it! This situation was becoming more and more dangerous by the second as people were now passing me on the right and left. I got really frustrated because I just spend close to an hour passing and dragging these people behind me, and I promised myself that I would ride legal no matter what! I didn’t want a 4 minute penalty and worse yet I didn’t want my day to end in a bike crash either!

Here is an example of a peloton although it really does it no justice. It was much worse than what you see here. 

 Many, many guys ... 1 girl smack in the middle - recurring theme! 

Same group! I passed these guys during the first loop, and I can tell you that during my hours of looking through the "Lost & Found" section of race photo's, I found these folks together on every single loop, falling further and further behind me. How can I tell?  They were part of the peloton that swallowed me up on the 1st loop, and I only remember because it's hard to forget that girl sitting smack in the middle of all the boys! I am venturing out to say these folks road 112 miles TOGETHER, and I really hope they feel very good about themselves! SHAME on all of them! 

There were plenty of these guys, and I did see people in penalty tents, but not enough!

But back to my little peloton situation! I was able to drop back, pull out all the way to the left side of the road where I couldn’t get boxed in, and lucky for me an aid station came up! As everyone began to slow down to grab drinks, I made my move that allowed me to get rid of the ever so dangerous peloton and get to the front forever. Coming through the town was awesome! The crowds were unbelievable and the three 90 degree turns that had to be made provided a nice change of pace from the long straightaways that this bike course consists of! 

Loops 2 and 3 were very similar but this time I didn’t have to deal with pelotons swallowing me up, because there was nobody even attempting to become the peloton leader, and the headwinds during the entire windy section were picking up with each loop.  I stuck to my plan pretty much perfectly, and I never looked behind me.  I held very similar or slightly higher watts on loop 2, but my speed was now in the 19pmh range. By loop 3, I was in the 18 mph range but I continued to feel strong. 

 Aero and happy! My signature thumbs up! :) 

Somewhere during the 2^nd loop, one of the members of the now newly formed loop 2vCzech Chicked Peloton one of the members pulled up next to me to inform me that I was pulling about 20 guys behind me. Although I appreciated the gesture, I am not quite sure what I was supposed to do with that information. I told him they were cheaters, and I had no interest in playing the game. It honestly didn’t bother me. I was riding my own race, and if everyone else also wanted to ride my race than be it. I was just glad to be at the front riding nice and steady and exactly how I wanted.

By loop 3, I was pretty much alone, and there were fewer and fewer leaches. By this time, I knew I was near the front if not in the front of the age group race because I had passed couple of super swimmers earlier during the 2^nd loop (Angela Bancroft, Michelle Simmons), and I also passed a few professional women who started 20 minutes ahead of me.  The tail wind seemed to be the same, while the headwind kept picking up. At this point I had the green light to either go a bit harder if I felt good or stay where I have been. I was feeling great, but knowing how relatively early into the race I passed couple of the super swimmers that are no slouches on the bike, I made a strategic decision to “save” my mega legs for the run. (Unfortunately I blew that very early into the run, but on that later). 

The island really is pretty but my eyes were mostly on the road! 

The leach I dragged around the island on the loop 3 was the “best”!  This dude was literally stuck to my back wheel and I could see how close he was because I didn’t even have to turn around to see him!  Having some random dude that close to me made me a bit uncomfortable and so I tried to shake him. I would drop my watts to see if my leach was interested in taking the lead, but he clearly wasn’t. Lucky for me, not so lucky for him, I had to pee really badly and you know what that means! Normally I would feel bad, but guess what I had no shame and literally peed all over this dude! YES, I DID!  Had he kept his legal riding distance, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting peed on! He is lucky I was hydrated really well, because I wish I wasn't! Boom! This really made me chuckle, and before I knew it, I was now nearing the end of the bike ride. I was hydrated well (I figured out how to relieve myself on a flat course without any downhills, which I was a little afraid of), I went through all my nutrition (gels and potatoes), and I was ready to run! This blog wouldn't be complete without my eating some papas on the bike. 

Mmmm potatos ready for race day!

Mmmmmm YUM! (See left cheek) 

I hit mile 112 and T2 was nowhere to be found. I had no idea what the entrance into T2 looked like since this is a two transition race, and I was really afraid of missing it. I also didn’t want to get stuck with my feet still in my shoes, so at mile 112 I took my feet out of the shoes! Little did I know this course was over a mile long, and I spent the next mile pedaling with my feet on top of my shoes – duh! I am sure I left 4 seconds in that last mile somewhere, and having a sub 5 hour bike would really be cool. Aaaaah well – running to my potential would be even cooler but I digress.  

I will leave you with a quick look at my ride: Super steady ride, less than 5 minutes of coasting which would include 3 pee breakes, aid stations, and the 3 turns through town x 3 and you be the judge!  

Yellow is power, blue is speed, green is cadence ... My VI you ask? 1.01 - Basically 0 variability - near perfect ride! 

My cadence distribution - SOLID! 

Coasting? Non-existent except for the reasons I mentioned above! I do wish I could pee while pedaling but that is a skill I do not have! 

Now I would really love to see a power file of someone that was part of the multiple Czech Chicked Pelotons! Wouldn't you?

In the end, I am very happy with the way I executed the race plan! The dreaded long trainers rides on weekend have definitely paid off, and this was one of, if not the easiest 112 mile ride I had ever done. I got off the bike, and I felt like a million bucks. I felt awesome, and ready to run! 

Next Up: The RUN! 

Cozumel Race Report - Part 2 - THE SWIM

Where to begin!  I had some big goals for this race, and in order to make these goals happen, I needed to have a good swim. Races are not won on the swim, but they sure can be lost there. I have been swimming well and I was ready for whatever the ocean was going to throw at me. I knew I was most likely going to have to battle some currents, but it couldn’t possibly be any worse than swimming in a pool, with a belt around my waist, tied to the blocks pulling me backwards as I attempted to make forward progress or shall I say as I really tried to NOT get pulled backwards, right, riiiiiiiiiiiiiight?  

 The swim to nowhere ... except this guy is doing a much better job than me

As you already know the weather leading up to the race wasn’t exactly cooperating and the ocean looked more like a very fast moving river! Wednesday before the race, I watched couple of people swim about 25 yards in 10 minutes, and found my way to the hotel pool. On Friday the water looked a bit calmer, but the red flag was still up and the official swim practice at the swim venue was cancelled. So much for me trying to figure out the currents and where to seed myself for the beginning of the swim. The pool looked like a great choice again, but this time around Tyler made me battle the elements. I guess if I can’t handle an angry ocean for 15 minutes, I will be in sh&it load of trouble come race morning. And so we got in at the hotel beach that looked NOTHING like this (this pic was taken of course the day after the race)

Beautiful beach that makes you forget about the world when it's not angry 

The practice swim went like this: Swim 5 minutes with current, followed by 10+ minutes against the current to try to get back to where we started. It actually didn’t feel bad at all (maybe thanks to the backwards swim I was able to pull off in the pool on that belt I talked about earlier),  but reality hit when we both looked at our watch and realized it took us over twice the time to get back to our starting point. In the process I also experienced my very first jelly fish encounter(s)! Not only did I only swim for 15 minutes, but I was being “electrocuted” head to toe what felt like every minute. Good thing I couldn’t see the little buggers because otherwise, I may have never gotten back into the ocean ever again.  

This is what they look like as seen during my post race fun: 

Yuck!

            

Get away from me

So I survived the practice swim, and I was ready for anything. I actually felt really good despite the conditions. Saturday’s practice swim was also cancelled and come Saturday night we found out the swim was changed to a 1.95 mile swim instead of 2.4, and would be a straight shot swim all with the current due to safety reasons.  That definitely meant a much faster swim, but how fast I didn’t really know. This alternation didn’t really change my strategy at all. I wasn’t particularly nervous about the swim whether it was with or without the current. The conditions were going to be the same for everyone, and so hey – bring it! I trained for the current, and I was ready for it. 

 I woke up race morning, ate or I should say forced most of my breakfast down, chased it with couple of “Beet It” shots, and FINALLY took care of business so I didn’t have to race with extra 20lbs of carbs in my belly.  I know this may be little too much information but this was going to make or break my day.  To really be sure I didn’t spend all day searching for porta potties, I took couple of immodium tablets and set on my way.  Post breakfast, we took the bus to Chankanaab park, double checked on Fireball, and due to the changed start got back on the bus that drove us to the new start at the El Presidente hotel couple miles up the street.  Spectators weren’t allowed at the new swim start, so next time I would see anyone would be once the swim was over.

Brett, Tyler and I pre-race, pre bus to new swim start

Sharing the swim start with Tyler and Brett definitely helped to calm the nerves, and before I knew it we found our way into the water where we positioned ourselves to the right of that red buoy.  (See in the pic below)

 Crowds trying to get in 

See the red buoy at the top center of the pic? I ended up hanging out there. Many more folks floated way past the start line but whatever - let the cheaters be cheaters! 

The current was pushing lots of people forward of the start line but we definitely played fair. There were lots of people that also stayed on the beach and waited till the race started to get in. I don’t remember any horn going off, and I have no idea how people knew the race started, but all of a sudden the washing machine had turned on, and it was time to go. 

I must say that this was the easiest swim ever – duh! I probably should have swam harder, I don’t even really know, but I stayed way off and far right off the buoy line (maybe too far since I didn’t see one diver the entire way, NOT even one and they were apparently located at every buoy, which were placed every 100 meters)

Really not sure how I didn't even see one of these guys

The swim was pretty uneventful and not that crowded, which may be because I swam so far outside of the buoy line. I had some feet to draft off for a little bit but other than that I just kept swimming up on people, and going right around them.  I could really feel the current in spots just carrying me forward and helping me keep the momentum. Then there were times where I didn’t feel it much at all, but I just tried to find it again and get back on it.  I would lie if I said there was no contact, but it really was minimal and much better than any other 70.3 swim. I did find one very unhappy dude along the way that clearly wanted the whole ocean all to himself because his choice of clearing his surrounding areas was a forceful breast stroke kick! Thanks to the super clear and beautiful water, I was able to dodge said angry individual and put in a little surge to get away from him! Phew – my day could have ended right there!  I almost sound like a swimmer, don’t I?? ;)  I didn’t find any floaters, any backstrokers or just onlookers taking a break or surviving. As a result I was able to #1 swim a straight line, and #2 keep my momentum throughout the race, which for me is huge.  Before I knew it, I saw the dock and was climbing up the stairs to get to T1. Race day bonus – no jellyfish stings at all and only one mouth full of salt water! 

Last turn around the dock

 These stairs although covered by carpet come race day turned out pretty tricky! I was on all 4s just trying to get up them - oops! 

I looked at my watch, saw 48 min and it honestly meant nothing to me! You throw a current into the swim, I didn’t know if my swim was good or bad, but what I knew was I felt GREAT!  You know as in, did I really just swim 2 miles? With retrospect I got out of the water 12^th/75 in my AG (Top 16%) which I am very happy with.  I was 81^st female overall including pro’s out of 568 (Top 15%) , and 488^th out of 2,484 competitors which is top 20% of the field so I will take it. Analyze much? Yes, yes - lots of room to grow here and have no fear I am on it. Well as soon as I am allowed to move again :) 

I ran through T1 scanning the crowed for familiar faces but no luck. 

I am behind that woman in the front - you can see my right leg - great picture, isn't it? ;) 

I grabbed my bag (I had a great spot on the racks so it was very easy to find), and ran into the women’s changing tent which was of course behind the men’s tent. Not fair but whatever ;). The tent was pretty empty of competitors but full of volunteers that were just staring at me, which is a complete of 360 from what I experienced in Kona. I dumped the content of my bag on the floor and continued to be stared at. No need for vinegar, shove my gels and papas (potatoes) wherever I could, some in my shirt pockets and some in my bra (classy I know), quick application of chamois butter, which is even classier ;)  (maybe that’s why they were all staring at me?), and although I did say “yes” when asked if I wanted sunscreen, by the time the volunteer was ready to apply sunscreen I was out of there!  Thank you for the offer, but this is not a beauty salon rather T1 tent and for me that means in and out as fast as I can.

Once I made it to my bike, I still saw many bikes around Fireball which was a great sign, and I was ready to fly - little did I know that I would pretty much fly through some sections of the bike course! 

Next up: THE BIKE

Cozumel Race Report - Part 1 - Pre-Race

Let the madness begin. We left Boston on Monday morning, to avoid the Thanksgiving craziness and to hopefully get used to the Cozumel heat/humidity at least a little bit.

Bags for two of us, no I wasn't moving to Cozumel 

The travel to Cozumel was pretty seamless even though I had to give up my papa’s when going through bag check at customs. I really tried to hide them well, but those x-ray machines don’t lie, and I had to say good bye to some of my bike race day nutrition. I heard horror stories of people getting sick in Mexico from food on race day and so I didn’t really want to risk anything and brought my own potatoes. Mission smuggle papa’s to Mexico was a fail! (Spoiler alert – I was later able to find some butterless, oiless papa’s for my race but more on that later). Once we made it through customs, and the bag check, we stepped outside into what can only be explained as VERY hot/humid air with way too many cab/bus drivers offering to take us wherever we wanted.

Come with me, come with me ... 

We had pre-booked a ride to the ferry in Playa del Carmen, but our driver was nowhere to be found for a while. For a moment I felt like I was on the show Amazing Race and I was losing! We eventually found our driver, who dropped us off in Playa where we had just missed the 3pm ferry to Cozumel and now had 2 hours to kill before the next one at 5. Playa del Carmen is a very cool spot with tons of shops, restaurants which we got to check out the week after the race, but it’s not so friendly to triathletes lugging their luggage and bike bags on what I call the Mexican cobblestone.  As a result we parked ourselves at the nearest Mexican restaurant, and had our first Mexican food paired with a margarita! Yes – I got talked into a margarita but that was the extent of my drinking before the race.

Buses, planes, automobiles, cab rides and one ferry ride later, we finally made it to our final destination for the week – Occidental Allegro hotel in Cozumel, MX and we all crashed for the night exhausted from a full day of travelling. The next morning we woke up to our new neighbor for the week – Mr. Iqqy! 

Mr Iqqy waiting for food! 

Mr. Iqqy liked bread and bananas just like me!

I am pretty sure  Iggy was the best fed iquana on the island, and he would wait by our door every single morning! That dude LOVED to eat – coincidence? ;)

Our resort was all inclusive, and also had a great beach. Too bad, we didn’t really get to enjoy all of the all inclusive perks, nor the beach because the weather the week before the race was crappy – lots of wind, not much sun, and thunderstorms. 

Yes! That is some serious rain/wind and right before the power went out!

Check out the lightnening about 13 seconds into the video

When the weather was nice, our beach looked like this:

This was taken the day after the race

It was still warm compared to New England, but the heat acclimatization really wasn’t happening.  We relaxed a bit, checked out the town a little bit, ate at a local Mexican spot which had amazing tacos and I am sure much more than I was willing to try the week before the race, found a tequila boutique, and free internet at Starbucks! 

 Read the menu closely! 

 High heels or tequila? 

Oh and yes, we did a little bit of swim/bike/run. The pre-race week was dragging a bit. I really dislike the week before the race, because no matter how ready I know I am, I always feel like I will get sick, hurt or something will go wrong. Last year before Hawaii, I had a ridiculous head cold and couldn’t breathe. This time around, two days before the race I was visiting the bathroom every 30 minutes which really wasn’t ideal. Ugh! Imodium to the rescue, and I now wasn’t going to the bathroom at all – with all the carbo loading the day before the race, probably not all that ideal either. I was starting to have imagines of myself racing and looking like a pregnant woman except full of eggs/pancakes/bread/pasta/more bread  OR going on empty, looking for a porta potty every 30 min … you get the picture. Since I really wasn’t sure how much of Imodium I should take, I got talked into calling an on-site doctor to confirm. Bad, bad, VERY bad move! That dude made me feel like I just slowly killed myself by taking Imodium, and proceeded to tell me I needed antibiotics instead. Few panic attacks and tears later, I calmed down, and decided against antibiotics or anymore Imodium until I was able to take care of business, and I was going to wait till race morning to decide whether more Imodium was going to be needed. (You will have to find out to my next blog to find out what happened) 

Aside from that, registration went smoothly on Thursday before the masses arrived. I had all my bags lined up and organized two days before the race, and all was left to do was check in on Saturday.

 Shoes, helmet, sunglasses, gels (missing papas), chamois butter, and vinegar instead the jelly fish was out in full force

Shoes, socks, visor, race belt with number, and gels for the run 

The actual check in process was a bit long due to two separate transitions and the transportation to and from both spots but we got lucky as we had a car available to get us to and from because otherwise the process could have been even longer.

It went something like this: Get on a bus with your bike to go about 4 or so miles to T1.

 Yes my Fireball has his own seat! 

I guess this was more efficient, but I like our idea better! Fireball deserves the whole row of seats anyways!

Welcome to Chankanaab Park. 

The entrance to Chankanaab Park

Stand in line, get a pic taken with your bike so it doesn’t get stolen post race – not sure how that really worked but I got my Fireball back so no complaints.

 Rack Fireball for the day/night 

We checked out the swim start for the first time ever since both swim practices were cancelled due to rough conditions. We later learned the swim start venue has been changed, and the swim has been altered (more on that in my next post)

 The original swim start at Chankanaab Park that only turned into the place where we finished

Hop in a car thanks to Tyler’s mom who had one, drive downtown to T2 to drop of “run bag”.

Get back in the car, and drive back to the hotel. By the time all this was done, it was almost time for dinner, and yes I still haven’t gone to the bathroom. Let the panic continue. I may have not eaten as much as I normally would have because carrying extra 20 lbs around with me on race day really wasn’t in my best interest, but deep inside I knew I was ready. I just wanted to be 100%. It was also the time we learned that the swim was changed from 2.4 miles and about half the swim with and half the swim against the current, to a 1.95 mile straight line swim with the current only. Yes, I may not be known as a swimmer, but I really didn’t want the swim to be cancelled, so I was glad they were able to alter it and let us swim. Shorter swim was an advantage for me (less time to hopefully lose on the swimmers), but I do wish they were able to keep it 2.4 miles.  As it turns out the bike was 1.2 miles too long so we got in the full 140.6 plus some anyways.And with that all that was left was sleep, and I think I actually did sleep through the night.

Next up: THE SWIM! 

Are we there yet?

16 days is standing between me and the official start time of IM Cozumel. This will be my only 2^nd full ironman but unlike before the first one, I am not wishing I had more time to train, I am wishing the race would be tomorrow.

For one reason or another, I feel ready, READY to go. It may be because I have never trained this late into the year, it may be because the weather outside is chilly and this is the season to put on some fat so I can actually live through the winter without shivering 24/7 (Ya right who am I kidding), maybe because every Facebook, twitter post or blog is about off-season, and everyone seems to be posting pics of delicious food that makes me even more hungry than I already always am, or maybe because there is nothing glorious about sitting on the trainer for 5+ hours at a time sweating away with no signs of air flow in sight.  Yup that’s right – no fan to at least somewhat simulate the heat/humidity of Cozumel which means enormous amounts of sweat for this girl. 

If you look closely, you can see that 20 min into the ride I am already drenched

 The messy pile post one of my weekend rides

I even tried to prevent sweat from dripping into my shoes because turning the pedals around while my feet are soaking in a tub of cold sweat just doesn’t add much to my excitement about these trainer rides. It didn’t quite work, but it was worth a try.

 Although it didn't work I at least looked awesome! ;) 

 Meow!

I know, I know – I think I need some cheese with that wine! I wonder if I could find cheese that actually matches this 4 in 1 bottle of wine J

Try to then put on layers of clothes for that transition run that as weeks go by is becoming longer and longer, while that bike ride is not becoming any shorter and daylight is disappearing faster than I can type.  I love to train, I love to sweat, but I am ready to race.

This past weekend, I finally had it. I had made it 3 hours and 30 minutes into my 5:30 ride, and reached the breaking point. I was mentally done, and all I wanted to do was to just get off that bike and quite possibly never get back on it again. My legs felt ok (not great), and although I was determined to actually pace this ride out well (and I was right where I was supposed to be), it wasn’t good enough for me. I was for the first time in a long time not able to build my power hour by hour, rather I was struggling to keep it from plummeting. I tried to disconnect myself from the numbers and just pedal (not think, just do) but more than anything I wanted to get off that bike. I was hot and I was cold, I wanted to scream and I wanted to cry, I thought I wasn’t good enough and maybe I shouldn’t even race in Cozumel, I wanted to quit all things ironman. I thought about all those peeps out there that routinely ride 5+ hours indoors and never complain about it. They surely must be stronger than me, and who the heck do I think I am trying to even think I can win an Ironman if I can’t even stay on the bike for 3 hours without “crying”.  I issued a warning for those in my surroundings – please stay away before I say something that I will regret!

What did you eat/drink on a Saturday afternoon? Mmmmm - potatoes! 

No movie could get me out of the rut, no music was helping.  I texted my coach and told him I will turn my T-run into a 2 hour run instead of the planned 45 min – anything to get off that bike (If you know me, you know that doesn’t really sound like me – I LOVE to ride my bike), he wouldn’t budge. He tried his best to motivate me and eventually it worked. I may have even cried a little but you wouldn’t know it because I was a sweaty mess. I made it through the 4^th hour with by far my worst power average in a while, but through some serious self talk and pure silence (no movies, no music), I managed to crawl back out of that very dark place and finish the ride strong. My overall power in the end was good 10 watts lower than the avg. power for my 4 hour ride last week, but I was just happy I didn’t quit, and finished the ride. Due to daylight savings, it was now dark out. Since I don’t live in the city, the roads around here are very dark and not very well lit, but I knew I had to run. I was looking forward to running! (Is this still me writing this?) I had one of the best transition run I ever had. I felt great, and it was effortless. I tried out my new kicks – New Balance 1400v2 and I am in love! Love the new upgrade to the upper, and these will be my go to shoes in Cozumel for sure!  Super light, fast, and breathable!

 LOVE at first sight!

45 minutes later, I made it home. I sat down, and just sat there. Physically and mentally exhausted, so happy I was done for the day I felt like I just crossed the line of an ironman with one exception: no one was watching.  It wasn’t the best workout I ever had, but it was one that I will remember when things get tough. 140.6 miles is a long way to go and it is sure to be a rollercoaster ride, but now more than ever, I am physically and mentally ready for what Cozumel will throw my way.  

Surely there are goals going into this race, but more important than those goals is how good I feel about achieving them. I am confident in my training. I am very focused, and if I can execute what I have been able to do in training, I am in for a great day. Making it through that Saturday last weekend, and then following it up with a 21 miler the next day with my last mile as fast as it was even though I thought I was done at mile 18, just shows me how much I have been able to grow not only physically, but also mentally and I am very excited to show myself what I can do rested. 

16 days and counting! 

Mini legs have showed up to play - Rev3 Anderson RR

Rev3 Anderson 70.3 crept up in a hurry.  I had a week long sales meeting the week leading up to the race in Florida, which I knew about for a long time, and somehow I thought that racing immediately after non-stop work from early morning hours to late night hours was a good idea. It always sounds better than it is until you have to pack!

I was so busy the entire week that I didn’t really have time to think about the race. I did a lot of standing on my feet which is definitely not ideal the week before a race, but I did get all my workouts in although definitely had to move some of them around to accommodate the crazy schedule.

I signed up for this race a while ago, knowing that I wanted to get in one last hot/warm race as prep for IM Cozumel. The race itself wasn’t steaming hot, but I got in a few days of running in the Florida heat/humidity under my belt so that was a little bonus. Gotta love those runs when people question whether you were running or actually swimming fully clothed and in your shoes!

Friday morning I got in a quick run, rented a car and drove from Amelia Island, FL to Charlotte, NC where I met up with Jorge who was also racing. From there we then drove to Anderson, SC and finally got settled in our hotel late Friday night. Definitely looooong day of travelling and lots of sitting on my butt which if you know me is not so fun because let’s just say the cushion is not really there ;). 

On Saturday morning we swam on the race course a little bit, registered, ate big breakfast, rode a little to make sure all was working properly, dropped off our bikes, drove both the bike and run courses, ate dinner and of course followed all the Kona action on our phones throughout the day. 

Fireball even made a mini friend in T1 

I am not going to lie; I had bit of a hard time concentrating on my own race amidst of all the Kona action. I followed the pro race, and tracked many of my friends that I knew were racing. For some reason I just couldn’t quite get into  my own race groove. As much as I knew the Timberman course inside out, and I knew every turn, and pothole, I was very unfamiliar with this course. Driving it helped, but for whatever reason I continued to feel like Sunday was just going to be another training day.

Sunday morning came quickly, and I had zero issues with getting my breakfast down. Normally I really have to force myself, but this time around no problems at all. I was very relaxed and ready to go although I still didn’t feel like I was racing. I had grabbed all my transition bags to head out the door only to realize that my garmin running watch was dead! Aaaah yes – perfect start  to my day but I shrugged it off quickly. I decided to just race with my basic non gps watch. Thankfully by the time we got to T1 I had my head on straight ready to tackle the course. One thing, I was excited about the most was the fact that all female competitors started together in the same wave, which meant direction competition and that is FUN! What was not so fun was passing all the waves of males that got in the water ahead of us. 

Just let me swim already! 

SWIM: 38:53 (4^th AG, 31^st Overall)

No excuses at all, but this swim was long given a few garmin files. The word on the street was just that. I felt good for most part, and even drafted for a little while before I ventured off on my own. The water was relatively warm but still wetsuit legal, and definitely a bit dark, but the buoys were pretty easy to sight. It really just seemed that there were one too many buoys to go around. Regardless of the time, I was pretty happy with the swim and I know if the distance was correct, I was on pace for a sub 35 min swim, which for me right now would be great! 

T1: 1:46

Not much to report here. Since T1 and T2 were in different places, we had to pack up our wetsuits, goggles, caps etc. so I definitely lost some time here. Also took me a little extra time to stuff my pockets with nutrition for the bike, but other than that I moved pretty quickly.

BIKE: 2:30:22 (Fastest Female Bike Split)

This bike course was deceivingly tough, and had more climbing in it that one would think. There were no crazy steep climbs but this course was definitely super rolling. In addition to that, the never ending 90 degree turns most of which were to the right (my non favorite side – I would rather turn left 1000 times than turning right once) made it super hard to gain and sustain any sort of momentum. Every time I would settle into my pace, I had to pretty much stop and turn which in the end resulted in a few more spikes than I would like. My legs felt like crap, and I just couldn’t quite build my effort rather I struggled to hold on as time went on.  The road surface wasn’t the smoothest either, and the constant vibration combined with perfect execution of my fueling plan meant I was well hydrated but for whatever reason couldn’t quite relieve myself. (Bumps and the urge to pee while hunched over in an aero position is not fun!). To try to take my mind of that, I made sure to thank all the volunteers/cops at all the different turns throughout the course, and I even saved a guy from losing his bottles from behind his saddle as I went by him. (He did find me after the race to thank me which was awesome – there are still nice people in this world!).  My legs didn’t quite feel like what I am used to, but I didn’t force it and just rode with what I had that day. I was still passing people left and right, but just didn’t feel like myself. I ended the day with my power good 10 watts lower than at Timberman, and power that I have been holding for 100 mile rides in the last 3 weeks so I was bit disappointed but ready to run!

T2: 0:53

I was in and out of there quick. Bike racked, socks, shoes, visor on and off I went. 

RUN: 1:29:39 (Fastest Female Run Split, and a new personal best for a half marathon in a 70.3)

I exited the transition as first overall female!  13.1 miles is a long way to go, and I knew that if I wanted to win, I would have to run, and run fast. Since this race did not have a pro race, I was even awarded a lead biker, and she was absolutely amazing! I wish I knew her name, but she was one of the reasons why I ran as well as I did. Of course that running focus in the month of September may have something to do with it as well, but she was a rockstar! (if any of you readers recognize her in the pic below, let me know as I would love to re-connect with her ). 

Mile 6ish and in good spirits :)

She also made me feel like one. The whole time I felt like running on red carpet as she would shout: “Lead female on your left” as I ran by and everyone cheered me on and some people even stopped and clapped! I just really couldn’t slow down even if I wanted to.  She would also take my “order” for the aid stations and ride up to them to make sure they had whatever I wanted ready as I went by! Seriously absolutely amazing! Since my trusty garmin watch died overnight, I didn’t know how fast or slow I was running, and that was probably good for me!

                                              Of course here Jorge is telling me to run faster! 

 I was able to simply just run, and not worry about going too slow or too fast. Usually when I just run, I end up with my best runs. I would peak at my basic non gps watch at the different mile markers and did a very simple math. I knew I wanted to be sub 7s, so I would just multiply each mile marker by 7 and glanced at the watch, so I knew I was running sub 7s but I never knew my exact pace which was for the better. I concentrated on the wheel in front of me and catching my lead cyclist the whole time! I went through the 6.5 mile at 44 and change and knew I was on pace for sub 1:30 which was my goal. That is when my lead biker said: “Lets negative split the 2^nd loop”! Yeah ok I thought – you want to switch places? I bike, you run I said to her but she didn’t want any of it ;). We kept on moving right along, and I was still feeling very strong. I had an awesome cheering section, and Dan and Stacy just wouldn’t let me slow down  – rather speed up (You guys ROCK!)  I had passed 4 times due to an out and back two loop course. 

My awesome EC Cheering Section! 

Things got a bit tough in the last 3 miles, but I didn’t let myself shuffle. I pushed the gradual uphills as much as I could, and just concentrated on staying strong and keeping my form. The last mile couldn’t end any faster than it did because that’s when the legs really just wanted to be done. I pushed the last mile as hard as I could sounding like a freight train that’s about to break down. I willed myself up the last hill (short but oh felt so long) thanks to some motivational words of my lead biker again, and took a turn for the finish line.

My number #1 fan took this pic from the couch! 

My legs felt like they may lock up on me in the last quarter mile, but they didn’t. I glanced at my watch and so 1:29:xx and that’s when I knew that sub 1:30 is finally mine! (No the course wasn’t all downhill either and just like the bike course was rolling). Nice little finish line banner would have been nice, but maybe they just had two for the Olympic and Half male winners, which is ok. I was soooooo happy to finally RUN like I knew I could.  Jorge was also right there waiting for his finish line hug (I didn’t pee on myself at all really ;) ) and seeing him as happy as he was, was better than raising up any finish line banner! He is the one that have been telling  me I can run fast off the bike, and probably believed I could more than I ever did. Surprise, surprise – he was right, and now I know for myself! I can’t thank him enough for all the guidance in the last 3 years!

Final Time -  4:41:34 – first overall female, and ever so close to breaking that 4:40 again on a pretty tough course. I had looked at this race as my last prep race before going into IM Cozumel in 7 short weeks, and I am walking away with a huge confidence booster especially for my run! I have never felt stronger, and I know that when I toe that line on December 1^st, I’ll be more ready than ever to not only ride like I stole it, but to also swim like there is a shark chasing me, and run like I KNOW how! I am now taking applications for a biker to lead me through the run and clear people out of my way ;)

Icing on the cake, this race was the USAT Long Course National Championship so I am now your 2013 USAT Long Course Champion, which means I have just qualified for 2014 Long Course World National Championships in Weihai, China! Date is to TBD as of now, but I am accepting any sponsorship offers because China isn’t exactly around the corner!  J

Colin - men's 30-34 AG National Champ, and me

Next Up – 6 weeks of work, week of taper, and Cozumel IM and I can’t wait!!!

Vegas/Kona World Championship Races

For the first time in the last 3 years, I will not be toeing the line of the 70.3 World Championships this weekend. I am a bit bummed. Seeing my fb, and twitter world being taken over by those that are, is making it hard. I love a challenge, and I love GREAT competition so to be missing the Worlds this year for the first time in the last 3 years bugs me a little bit (a lot). At the same time, it’s not because I couldn’t make it there, but it’s because at the end of last season, I (together with my coach) chose a different path towards my longer term development as an athlete. It was a tough decision for me, but  I know I will benefit from it down the road. 

It really wasn't easy. I really wanted to go back to Vegas, and back to Hawaii this year, but I really had to look at why I wanted to go back to these races.  Sure, it was for the fun of it, for the great competition, plus it’s always nice to follow the sun when the east coast starts to feel like fall or worse yet winter, but I knew I wanted something more. Having few of these races under my belt, I knew I wanted more. Participating at the world championship races of any distance is a huge accomplishment and I am by no means discounting that at all, but I have been there and done that. I have been somewhat competitive at that stage as well, and so my goals have now shifted from simply make it to that stage, to actually winning at that stage.

I came in 6^th in my AG in Vegas last year (1 spot and 1 min 45 sec. short of the podium, and 21st amateur female overall), and 15^th in my AG in Kona (29ish or so minutes off the podium) Little further of the podium there but with Kona being my very first ironman, and a marathon, I really couldn’t dream up my day all that much better. Sure, I could have been faster, but my goal last year was to enjoy the experience, to enjoy my first ironman. I did that and some. While at the awards ceremony in Hawaii last year, I knew right there and then, that one day I have to stand on that stage. I am pretty sure I called my coach and told him that. I just couldn’t stop thinking about doing Kona again and standing on that stage next time I race in Hawaii. And that’s how my racing/training schedule was born.

I fully realize that the goals I have are tough/very tough, but I also know that longer term, I will have what it takes to get it done. 2013 just wasn’t the year yet. With that said, I didn’t race any Vegas or Kona qualifiers this year, but I did race Timberman 70.3, where I punched my ticket to Mt. Tremblant 70.3 the new host site for 70.3 Worlds in 2014, and I will be racing Ironman Cozumel on December 1^st in the hopes of getting that Kona 2014 slot. Again, that will not be easy, but I will be ready to give my best. If all goes well, I will have my ticket to both World championship races in my back pocket by the end of 2013, and will have another full year to get ready to accomplish my lofty goals.

I just totally put myself out there, but I believe that with a bit more time, I will have what it takes to get it done.  It all started with a dream, and with each day that goes by, I can feel the dream becoming more and more of a reality. I may be reaching for the stars,but I know that I won’t stop until my dreams come true.

So for all of you racing  Vegas this weekend, and Kona 5 short weeks after – stay cool, go fast, have fun, and most importantly regardless of what your goals are - enjoy the experience because it is like no other!  For those of you that aspire to get to Vegas or Kona, keep working and you will reach your goals. I am sure most of you have seen Diana Nyad completing the 110 mile swim from Cuba to Florida this past Monday and the 3 messages she shared with everyone following her swim:

1. We should never give up

2. You are never too old to chase your dream

3. Looks like a solitary sport but it takes team

All these messages fit well with triathlon as well so chase your dreams, and don't be afraid to tell the world what you are after! I am listening :)