Ironman 70.3 Texas 04/01/12

The first race of the season is under my belt. This was a great opportunity to race against a stacked field and check my fitness, race strategy and mental strength. As always, I came in with some clear-cut goals that were realistic and a bit of a stretch. This kept me focused and motivated to fight through 4 hours and 45 minutes of pain and misery. I executed, met a few of the goals and came out with an understanding of what to work on for my next big go!

First time traveling with the bike bag

The weekend lead-up to the race was stress-free and enjoyable. I flew into Houston Friday morning. My bike (in its bag) arrived safely and I got my rental car with a free mid-size upgrade! The drive down to Galveston was easy and my hotel was right off the highway just a couple miles from the race site. The hotel, Candlewood Suites, could not have been more perfect. I am not a good sleeper, so am a bit finicky with my sleeping arrangements. The bed was comfy, pillows were perfect, air conditioning got nice and cold for sleeping and you could set the fan to run constant instead of kicking on and off all night. Best of all, there was a full kitchen, which I came prepared for with all my groceries ;) I put my bike together, picked up my race packet at the expo, had a home-cooked meal and slept like a baby on Friday night.

Practicing my volleyball serve post shake-out

Saturday morning was a nice little shakeout- 25 minute ride and 20 minute run on the course followed by a 10 minute swim in the ocean. I felt good. Had a big breakfast at Denny's of pancakes, eggs, ham and english muffin. Then it was just relax in the room for a bit, head back to transition to rack my bike, homemade dinner at the hotel of pasta and grilled chicken and then asleep by 8:30pm.

I woke naturally at 3am on Sunday morning. 6.5 hours the night before... I'm happy with that. Breakfast was a banana, applesauce, Gluten free bagel with peanut butter and honey and 2 hard boiled eggs... about 600 calories total. The race weekend was going smoothly so far and I didn't start to feel any nerves until arriving at transition on race morning. I had confidence in my fitness and race strategy, but just started to worry about the uncontrollables... getting my goggles knocked off in the water, flat on the bike, etc.

Showing off my afro thanks to 90% humidity

The pros start at 7am and my wave F30-34 went at 7:45. I took in a caffeinated Powerbar gel about 20 minutes prior.  

Swim:  It was a deep water start. A few minutes before the horn, the 115 women in my Age Group jumped off the dock and found a position at the start buoy. I positioned myself on the front line about 3/4 of the way to the outside. I know I'm not the fastest swimmer there, but the plan was to go out hard and stay close to the front pack. At the horn, I did just that. The water was fairly calm and I found a groove. I was able to focus on a powerful and efficient stroke just like I do in the pool. As usual, I had no idea where I stood in the group, but felt like I was in a good position. I did an ok job with sighting, made the first turn buoy with minimal contact and then it was the long leg parallel to the shore. There must've been a small current because I kept finding myself drifting towards the shore (to the inside of the buoys). I started passing the men from the wave prior and that took some energy to get around them without being kicked or punched. Finally, I reached the second turn buoy and it was just a short swim to shore. I started to pull a little harder and increase my turnover and finally reached the ramp.

Swim Exit

I exited the water in 35:19 (1:49/100m) and 15th in my Age Group.

T1:  As soon as I got on land, I started sprinting towards transition. My T1 times are usually not the fastest and my goal was to get it there. I started stripping my wetsuit down to my hips and pulled off my cap and goggles. Once at my bike, I got the wetsuit all the way off, helmet and sunglasses on, shoes and race belt on, grabbed my bike and ran.

T1 time 2:15. Not bad... it could've been faster if I had my shoes clipped in to my bike, but with the windy conditions I didn't want to mess with trying to strap my shoes on the go. I had a problem with that at St. Anthony's last year and it cost me precious seconds.

2nd race on my Trek Speed Concept 9.5!

Bike:  This is a flat out and back course along the seawall. The winds were a headwind/crosswind from the left on the way out... mostly steady with some gusts. I felt stable (not going to get blown over), but my speed and power was relatively low. To make matters worse, I couldn't find the right gearing. I typically race at ~93rpm. But, with the flat course, I was stuck in one gear and it was either 85 rpm in a harder gear or 100 rpm in an easier gear. I did not like either of these, so just toggled between the two throughout the race. I focused on staying tucked, keeping 4 bike lengths to avoid a drafting penalty and just pushing hard. I was passing people the whole way out... got passed by some men, but no women. My power numbers were lower than I would've liked, but my perceived exertion was fairly high. My glutes and hip flexors were burning from the get-go. And, with over 2.5 hours in this tuck position, there was no relief. It was uncomfortable and I was not enjoying myself. But, my motivation was high. I had my eye on the prize and despite how much pain I was in, I just kept believing in my fitness and told myself that my run will be there. My nutrition seemed fine. Pretty simple... I had 200 calories of Infinit in my front bottle and I refilled with Ironman Perform at each Aid Station, so ended up taking in ~700 calories (4 bottles of fluid) throughout the bike course.

I reached the turnaround in 1:25:02 (19.76 mph). Heading back with the wind now from the right and slightly behind, I was looking at 25+ mph for the first bit.  Aaahhh... thank goodness! I started to enjoy myself a little thinking about how quickly this second half would go. But, it didn't last. I don't know if the wind shifted, but for the majority of the return I was looking at ~23mph.  My power numbers remained the same throughout.  At least I was being consistent and hanging on. My glutes and hip flexors were still on fire, but I just focused on a smooth, powerful cadence and kept believing that my run will be there. I had never hurt this much on a 1/2 Iron bike course before, but kept my motivation and confidence.  I reached the turnoff from Seawall Blvd and then just a few minutes of rough side roads to transition.  I kept hammering through until I recognized the area. Got my feet out of my shoes and approached the dismount line.  I started to slow, swung my right leg around the back and hopped off to start running. This was dramatic, as my legs were so locked up (and I may have had a little too much speed still) that I nearly fell. The volunteers all let out loud gasps as I tumbled forward and caught myself. "Nice save!", they yelled.

Bike split 2:37:31 (21.33mph) and now 4th in my Age Group.

T2:  I started running with my bike and my legs felt so disconnected from my body. I had no clue if I was sprinting or shuffling. I racked my bike, took off my helmet and put on my socks and shoes, grabbed my visor and watch and swung my race number around as I ran towards the transition exit. I wish I had thought to take a seat for a second like Lance and some of the other pros ;)

T2 time 1:42.

Run:  My Garmin took a few minutes to find satellites as a wondered how fast I was running. My legs felt so foreign. I typically run my first mile of a triathlon a little too fast, but this time I thought for sure that I was slogging along at an 8 or 9 minute pace. This made me a little nervous, but I was patient and confident that my legs would come around. Once my Garmin found the satellites I noticed that I was actually running a 6:40 pace! Wow- surprising. My goal was a 1:28 run split, so this was not far off. For the first 1/2 of the run, my mile splits were all between 6:35 and 6:45. It was hot, humid and windy. With a 3 loop course, it got pretty crowded with runners and hard to get nutrition at the aid stations. I took in water about every mile and threw some ice down my top. I also took in Perform at most aid stations to get some calories. Mile 9 is where I usually start to really feel the pain... it's kind of like mile 22 of a Marathon. I saw a 6:49 and 6:53 for mile 7 and 8.  I started to do the math and told myself to just keep it under 7 minute pace. Mile 9, 10 and 11 were 6:55, 6:36 and 6:56... obviously affected by headwind/tailwind portions. I felt a huge blister on the bottom of my right foot from my soaking wet socks rubbing on my orthotics, but just ignored it. With just a couple miles to go now, it was time to dig deep and start pumping my arms for a strong finish. Mile 12 @ 6:43 and the last 1.1 miles at 6:33 pace.

I crossed the line with a run split of 1:28:20 (6:44/mi).

Hand-crafted Hardware

My overall finish was 4:45:07. 2nd in my Age Group, 5th Overall Amateur and 28th Female.

The end result was slightly off from my goal, but I did the best I could with my current fitness and the race conditions. I'm proud of the effort I put in and I know what I need to work on moving forward. Looking back, I think I could've swam a little faster... I think I've made some great improvements in my swim technique and fitness, but I'm still learning to find that comfortably hard effort in the open water. But, in reality, a minute or two faster in the water would not have made much of a difference in my overall result. As far as the bike, I just need more time in the saddle. My marathon focus last fall definitely hurt me there. Hopefully cycling camp this month will help with that. I'm happy with my run- that was right where I wanted it to be. It was painful, but I gutted it out.

The weekend was a blast! I had a great time traveling solo, doing my thing and meeting fantastic people along the way. I love this sport and I love racing!!!