After almost 2 months since my last triathlon, I came into this race with high hopes and a little uncertainty. Since my last race at Pleasant Prairie, it's just been a solid focus on training. I'd been stretched a little thin with juggling training, work and social life... or lack thereof ;) I knew that a big training block was necessary to peak properly for the end-of-season races, but I couldn't help but feel a bit burned out. I even started to question why I even do triathlons. Since this was the first race of the season that I officially tapered for, I also placed high expectations on myself.
Friday afternoon (2 days before the race), I received an unexpected phonecall from Robbie Ventura, former Pro Cyclist and founder of VisionQuest Coaching. He commended me for my positive representation of VisionQuest thus far and also gave me a pep talk for the upcoming race. I don't know if he realized how much this gesture meant to me, especially at this vulnerable time in my racing season. I listened closely to his words of wisdom- stay aero, cut the tangents, think positive and pass that positive energy along. This short conversation helped bring back some of that lost motivation- Thank You, Robbie!
Saturday, I got the pep talk from Coach Dan. In so many words, he reminded me that I'm well conditioned for this race. I've put in some solid training and I should be riding 160-170 watts on the bike. My lowered confidence didn't believe this was possible, but I said I'd do my best and try to make him proud. He also told me not to start racing the run until after the first hill at mile 1-ish. Wilco!
My goals going into this race were many. At the top of the list was to have fun and remember why I do this! After that, were the more clear cut goals. Since I raced Steelhead last year, I had a good idea of about what times I wanted to put out:
1) Improve last year's swim split of 34:59 (1:50/100m).
2) Improve my bike split by about 10 minutes (last year was 2:47:41, 20.04mph).
3) Break 1:30 on the run (another 10 minute improvement from last year).
Altogether, I was looking for a finish time between 4:40 and 4:45. I knew I had the ability to accomplish these goals, it was just a matter of all the pieces falling into place.
The big variables for me are always proper eating and sleeping the 2 days prior. If these 2 things go according to plan, I am ready to rock! For this race, all was good. After a solid 7 hours sleep, I felt fresh, rested and light on race morning. Let the games begin!!
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| Trying to stay warm pre-race |
Swim: Didn't happen. Some things you just can't control. Mother Nature was in charge here and with winds around 25mph, 7 foot waves and riptipes... I think the race director made the right call. The triathlon-turned-duathlon was bittersweet. Despite the swim being my limiting factor, I was disappointed that we weren't able to do the full triathlon. I've been training hard and was looking forward to seeing where I stand overall in the field. Guess I'll just have to wait until Vegas, baby!
Bike: The race started as a Time Trial in order of bib #. Athletes were sent 2 at a time ~every 3 seconds. I'm used to coming out of the water from behind and having to pick people off on the bike and run. Starting together with about 6 other girls that were similarly paced was new to me and I didn't quite know how to approach it. I was trying to avoid a drafting penalty, so I either had to ride below race power to stay out of the draft zone or above it to stay out in front. We all jockeyed for position for most of the ride. I was focused on efficient pedaling and staying tucked in the aero position like Robbie said. My average power was in the low 150's and dropped a few more watts over the last hour when it was a tailwind and mostly downhill. I was a little discouraged seeing the lower power, but my speed was much higher than expected and I finished the 56 mile bike in 2:31:22 (22.2mph).
T2: T2 was actually T1... but who's counting. I decided to keep my shoes on since there was wet sand all over the transition area. I figured it would be faster to run in my bike shoes and not have to wipe off my feet before putting on my running shoes. Transition was pretty smooth at 1:49.
Run: After a fast bike split, I was feeling strong and settled into a comfortably hard pace just below 7:00 miles. Just after the 1 mile marker and starting the first of 2 loops, I saw Coach Dan and put my arms up in a 'what the heck are you doing here?!' way. He yelled "don't smile at me... RUN!". I was not expecting his support out there and really appreciated it. I was having a great time during the run and tried to pass my positive energy to other racers with words of encouragment as I passed... remembering why I do triathlons! I felt strong and my splits were solid. As I started the second loop, Dan told me to run 'a hard 5 miles'. So, I picked it up and knocked out a few 6:35 to 6:40 splits. This felt good. I was able to maintain the pace all the way to the finish. Dan rode behind me for a bit just before the last mile telling me "don't leave anything on the course". My effort level rose a bit and I finished strong. I was proud of myself for the effort I put out and even gave a fist pump as I crossed the finish- ha! That is not like me ;) But, I was happy...this race was fun- just what I needed after all those hard training weeks. And at that point, I didn't even know that my run split was 1:29:59 (6:52 pace). I broke 1:30 by 1 second!!
I am officially out of my funk. My confidence and motivation are back and I'm ready to tackle these last few weeks of the season. For Vegas, I'm going to push the bike a little harder and try to be in that 160 to 170 range. Also, Dan says I have the ability to average 6:40's on the run and I agree. Oh, it's on.
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| 3rd Place Female 30-34 |
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| Me with Aubrey, Jen, and Kristy...A few of my 'Vegas Girls' |
