Race morning began at 4:45. I had my staple pre-race meal: oatmeal and coffee, both made with soymilk. I was surprisingly calm as we walked to transition.
We got the cool stamps at body marking, I got my rocket set up fairly quickly, and made my way to the beach to begin the process with my nemesis... the wetsuit. After I finally wrapped myself in neoprene, I walked down the beach for a warm up swim and to clear my head. As time passed the music on the loud speakers switched from nice and calm to pump-you-up (Dad couldn't refrain from bustin' a few moves!).
The weather could not have been more perfect!! The wind was calm, the water was calm (and warmer... an ironic 70.3 degrees!), and all my butterflies were flying in the same direction (phew... finally!). I was walking back to my crew after the practice swim when I see this tiny ball of energy jumping towards me. It was none other than Heather who left me with some parting words of inspiration... I was ready!
SWIM - The corral took forever. I was lucky wave #13, so we weaved through one hoarding area to another, until we were finally dumped on the beach. I got a great spot in line next to a girl I knew was fast. The canon blew (soooo loud) and we were off!
Going out felt great. I found my space, not too choppy, stayed with my girl. Then we made the turn and began heading back to shore when the boys caught us. It got a bit crowded, more choppy, and the sun was bearing down... but before I knew it I was on my feet and skipping towards the shore. It wasn't a fast swim, but I felt ready to make it up on the ride.
BIKE - My new hot pink aero helmet definitely made me faster!! I was climbing the first causeway at 20+mph, and halfway through the ride I was right on pace at 23mph. Huge packs of drafters came flying by me, but I raced my race and remained unphased. I didn't even try to hang on to give my legs a break... cheaters never win. The last 10 or so miles were pretty tough. The wind had picked up and my legs were ready for a rest. The packs became more and more tempting, especially when girls that I had passed were flying by me on the tails of the pack. I stayed true and dug deep to T2, watching my average slip away. I came in at 2:33.
I ran into T2 (that's right, I successfully managed to get both feet out of my shoes without unclipping... this girls' getting gooood ;-) ) and had a small laugh as one of the chicas who came whizzing by me in a paceline was arguing an the penalty tent that she wasn't really drafting, just trying to pass and it was unfair for her to get carded. You reap what you sew.
RUN - I started out on the run assessing how I felt: legs - good, nutrition - good, hmmm - for once I actually felt good! The first loop was easy peezy and I managed to hold an OK pace. The third time over the causeway hurt, but I knew I was cutting it close to the 5-hour mark and didn't want to lose it by walking over the silly bridge. By mile 8 I was feeling it and by mile 10 I knew I was dropping off. The last few halfs I did, I fell apart at Mile 10. This time I was determined to push through. The final climb over the stupid causeway sucked! I knew if I would slow to a walk I would climb faster than the silly hop thing I was doing... but I was determined not to stop.
The final few miles felt amazing!! I knew I would break 5 hours and it was all down hill!! I came through the chute in 4:56. 7th place AG. A new PR, not as well as I had wanted, but felt really solid throughout!
My fellow Kentuckians all had pretty great races too. Joanie is a powerhouse who deserves a pat on the back!! Jeff (who passed me twice on the bike) killed it in 4:23!! And my new buddy Tony was the 2nd Male Amateur overall... way to represent Kentucky!
The rest of the week was super chill and so much fun! Next up... off season till December. Then start gearing up for full time training! Until then...
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