Some days you just feel good. I had one of those days and it just happened to fall on a race day... lucky me ;)
With my inaugural Ironman just 3 weeks down the road, my focus in the lead-up to Leon's was more just continuing to build fitness and refine race strategy. Race week was business as usual except for an easy day on Saturday. I didn't feel great that week and it was one of those 'just get through each workout' weeks. I was struggling with heavy legs, low energy and motivation, hip flexor pain while running (something I've been learning to cope with and control... for the most part... since college) and getting accustomed to my new riding position. I was, however, keeping a positive outlook and knowing that it's all part of the process- there are good days/weeks and bad ones. You get through the bad and savor the good. Michael came into town for the weekend and I was really just enjoying my time with him and looking forward to a super fun day on Sunday with the VisionQuest team and all the other racers.
Sunday came with perfect weather conditions and I woke up feeling rested, energized and excited about the day ahead. VisionQuest had a pretty big showing at this event and, over the past year or so, I've also come to know many of the other local teams and their members. It kind of just felt like a big party. Also, having the media there, and Robbie as the commentator, brought a whole new level of excitement.
After picking up my race packet and setting up transition, I went out for a 20' warmup ride and 10' run with Julie. I had a great time chatting with her a bit while getting loose. I ran into Shannon after and we headed over to the water to get in a quick warmup there. We chatted a bit about how we were feeling and I told her that it was strange how good I felt. I don't usually feel that good on a warmup. I didn't really know what to make of it. It was 10 minutes until race start and I felt rushed to just get a few minutes to warmup in the water... not sure why I always put myself in that position :P But, I did get in a few strokes and the water temperature felt perfect with the wetsuit (66 degrees is what they reported).
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| Exiting the water |
Swim: We were in the Amateur All-Star wave and had the luxury of going off first. It was a decent-sized wave consisting of both men and women. Being an Olympic Distance race and knowing that most racers in this wave are strong swimmers, I positioned myself in the back. At the horn, it was a washing machine and I did my best to find a position and avoid getting kicked and punched. After a few minutes, I found a rhythm and made my way around a few swimmers. I hoped to find some feet to follow to help with sighting and maybe catch a draft, but did not have much luck. I did some zig-zagging on the first stretch. After the first turn buoy and now paralleling the shore, I got into a better rhythm with sighting and found a more straight line. I was feeling pretty strong and not at all panicked (as I sometimes get in the first half of the swim). After the second turn buoy, we were now heading towards shore and straight into the sun. I was totally blinded and could only sight off the swimmers in front of me. I focused on pulling hard and keeping my head down, butt up. I eventually made it to shore in 23:14... 3 minutes or so off the lead women.
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| Headed out of T1 |
T1: With the perfect weather and flat course, it would've been a perfect day to get more practice with having my shoes clipped into my pedals... but, I chickened out and went the rookie way of putting on my shoes in transition. If I ever decide to focus more on short course, I will be forced to get more comfortable with this. T1 time: 1:46.
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| Finishing loop 1 of 2 |
Bike: A flat course and perfect chance to test out my new riding position. About a month prior to the race, with the help of the fantastic fitters at Trek of Highland Park, I installed my comfy, new Cobb Saddle and moved into a more aggressive position by lowering the front end. Since then, I'd made several small adjustments to the saddle position... bringing it forward and up. The day before the race, I actually raised the saddle height just a little more and it felt good. I finally felt like I found a position where I can take advantage of the aerodynamics and also feel both comfortable and powerful. A flat course doesn't necessarily play to my strengths, as my small build makes me more of a climber, but I've been working on my cycling power and fitness and feel I've made some gains. I just focused on pedaling hard and staying tucked. My power was in the mid-160's for the first 10 minutes and then in the mid-170's to low-180's for the remainder. It felt hard and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to hold it for the two loops, but I actually got stronger throughout. I took a lap split after the first half and my average power was 5 watts higher for the 2nd loop compared to the first. I finished the 24.8 mile course in 1:07:40 (21.9 mph).
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| Dismount! |
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| Onto the run |
T2: My dismount was pretty smooth and I was quick about racking my bike, putting on my running shoes and grabbing my other goods to don on the go. T2 time: 52 seconds.
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| Home Stretch |
Run: As I ran out of transition, I heard Michael tell me I was in 5th place. At this point, I thought to myself that I'd be happy to run my way into top 3. My first mile was relatively slow at just under 7 minutes. Just after the first mile marker, I caught 2 girls and as I passed the second one, she told me I was now in 3rd. I just love this type of friendly competitiveness! Now, being in 3rd with still 5 miles ahead of me and my running legs starting to come around, I thought I had a pretty good chance of moving into 2nd place. I would certainly be happy with a 2nd place finish against this strong field of athletes! I eventually got her in sight and could see I was gaining on her. I think it was right around the 2-mile mark that I caught her. I was feeling really strong at this point and starting to see 6-minute pace on my watch. I now had a golf cart and camera leading the way for me... which is good because I'm not sure I would've known which way to turn otherwise ;) It was a strange feeling having a camera on me for the next 4 miles... certainly a new experience. But, I think it helped me to stay focused. I heard someone on the sidelines tell me the leader was about 1.5 minutes ahead. I had no idea what kind of pace she was running and whether I had a chance of catching her. I started doing some math to figure out how much faster I would have to be running per mile to catch her within the next 3 miles. I saw her on a couple of the turn-arounds and she looked fast and strong. All I could do was stay strong and focused and run the best possible race my legs would allow. I saw a couple sub 6-minute splits which reinforced my positive thinking. Shortly after the 4-mile marker, I could start to see her up ahead and this gave me some hope that I was, in fact, gaining. I continued to close the gap and eventually overtook just prior to the 5-mile mark... I think. As I passed, I told her great job and that she was strong. The motorcycle then led me the rest of the way in. I kept a solid effort all the way to the finish since I didn't know if anyone was coming up behind me. As I came down the finishing chute, the energy of the crowd just got ahold of me. There was a finishing tape... I've never broken the tape before! And then there was Robbie (with the camera crew) and his huge, sincere smile there to greet me. I couldn't believe what had just happened. It was really an unforgettable moment for me. I got choked up and could not hold back a huge smile. I finished the run in 37:17 for a total finish time of 2:10:51.
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| Robbie Ventura- bringing even more excitement and energy to this race! |
Coach Dan's response via text: "Tapering is overrated" :)
The rest of the morning was super fun hanging out with all the VQers at the tent... recovering with FRS drink, eating pretzels dipped in peanut butter (YUM!), Jen treating us to a post race rub-down and a bonus when VQ was announced as the Coed Team Challenge winners!!!
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| VisionQuest- Taking home the Cup! |
What an all-around great event! Leon is first class... standing at the finish line to greet and shake the hand of each and every finisher. I just LOVE these fun, local races.
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