RACE: 5:50:56
YES! sub 5:51! haha!
Songs in my head: Have A Nice Day, Fat Bottomed Girls. haha!
The morning went smoothly, water temps were 79.8F and air temps in the high 60's. No wind, so Yay no water chop! I took everything easy and never felt too stressed, even about the swim. My goals were to keep it easy, and save something for a great run. The only thing I forgot was to take off my rings, which I didn't realize until minutes before the swim.
SWIM 1.2 miles in 53:54 40th/53 in gender; 7/7 in my AG.
OK, so I said the swim goal was just to survive. That I did. But gee whiz my goal wasn't to SUCK! Whatever. The temp was such that you didn't notice the water on your skin. My goggles fogged up quickly, and I think I need new goggles. We were to go north under a bridge to a green buoy, turn back to swim a long backstretch under the bridge to another green buoy, then back to the dock. My swim was seemed very tiny! This was a blessing in the end, the lack of contact allowed me to stay calm. My biggest fear in thinking about this swim was that I'd sink low in the water and spend too much energy trying to stay on top of it. This wasn't so bad in the end, I settled into a rhythm and stuck to it. I turned more than usual to be sure my face wasn't hit with water (I feared if I swallow/inhaled water I'd panic), I took my time sighting, and stayed calm when I couldn't clearly see the turn buoys. No inhalation of water, no panic, and no fear. Overall, great!
The only problems seemed to be some chop (I though it was just me dragging in the water, but other racers said it was chop), my legs dragged low in the water and I couldn't get them up, I kept turning left in the backstretch--so towards the shore and across the other line of swim traffic (TH said there was a current pushing us), and I had one other swimmer swim right into me in the last stretch to the docks. My goggles got smooshed into my face--OUCH-- but I kept going. And at some point in the backstretch I realized the skin on my torso had an itchy-burning feeling. Never did figure that out, but I did have a rash under my shelf bra later on. I'm disappointed with the time, but so happy to have just done it!
T1: 2:11 36/53 and 5/7. I didn't hurry here at all. I jogged to the bike, fighting off disappointment with happiness. Mixed bag. At the bike I saw TH coming up behind me and gave a WHOOP. We talked a bit, loafed a bit, then took off. There were some rack problems with the rail sagging, TH lost most off of her nutrition into her jersey. I couldn't help her, unfortunately.
BIKE 56 miles in 3:02 for 18.38mph ave. 21/53 and 4/7.
The bike was not a major goal here, but I do love the bike segment! In preparation for this race, I probably did only 5 long rides, only a few over 50. So I really can't say I trained for this, I had some prep rides but for the most part my best strategy was to ride at a sustainable pace and not burn up.
I had a brief moment in the first 5 miles of "oh man I'm going to be here for 3 hours". Slow down, pace it, put it in low gear and let the cardiovascular engine idle. It was also hard because the half distance bike racks seemed empty in transition and there seemed to be nobody ahead of me. Usually I get spurred on in the bike by chasing those ahead of me, but no carrots today! Was I really that far behind?! Idle....idle...
The course had out-n-back segments so I started looking for friends. I saw most of them, but they bumped my HR and pace up when I saw them. Ha, not their fault, so I quit looking. Today had one of those headwinds that was everywhere, shouldn't a headwind turn into a tailwind at least in one direction? And the road conditions were rough the first 20 miles. Idle...idle...
Finally in a longer stretch we benefited from less headwind (OK maybe it was a bit of tailwind!). I saw PT with a flat tire, but that was about it. Everyone must be in the loop ahead of me. I got passed by a strong woman in a pink jersey, but otherwise it was me passing everyone. I enjoyed a few small hills in the loop, then back home into the headwind. I was pretty happy with how I managed the wind, sometimes I fight it and mash away trying to maintain speed. Today I just stayed steady, no fighting and no numb feet. Win!
I went through half a powerbar, 2 gels, and 2 servings of Infiit on the bike. I emptied all 3 bottles and took no handups. This is more gels than usual for me, but it seemed a good choice.
T2: 2:11 ?/53 and 6/7. I'm still not hurrying here, and I had big trouble racking my bike. There was no space! I had to move bikes over, and when I did that they threatened to fall off the rail. So I took my time, made sure the bikes were OK, slipped shoes and socks on, then ran out with my belt, garmin, and gels in had. BE was at the T2 exit! Yay a boost! But I had to pee, so I quick stop in the portapotty (the second one as the first had an occupant and unlocked door!). I put on the garmin and belt as I pee'd then dashed off for the run.
RUN 13.1 miles in 1:49:28 7/53 3/7 pace 8:21
I'm pretty sure the timing mats counted me as I exited T2, so I started my Garmin as I exited the potty so as to catch my actual run time. I knew the mat would get my real race time for later. I took off fast, up the small incline to the bridge, over the bridge, an onto the course--fast! The first mile was I think 8 m/m! And so was the 2nd! WTH was I doing?! Well, I'm a runner right now. That seems to be all I do! So....let's run!
I decided that if it felt good, I would keep doing it. If I burn out later and have to slow down, oh well. But what if I could hold it? Time to find out.
The course to my surprise was mostly shaded, and it wasn't city streets but rather more like country roads meandering through trees and houses. I'd expected sun and concrete. This was a pleasant surprise! I started seeing more people I knew, starting saying "hi" and "good job" to everyone, and was enjoying the run.
And enjoying the pace! I was maintaining a sub 8:30 pace when I looked, which I was trying not to do. I took to downhills at full speed (taking what I learned from trail running, lean into it) then paced up the hill comfortably. This was feeling good! Gel at 4 mile with some caffeine. I passed the Club group (they sounded like a frat party!), then another gel at 8, then the turn around. At which point I noted the woman in the pink jersey again. Can I catcher her? Let's find out!
I tried. I did. Even passing by the Club group again wasn't enough. She remained a pink spec in the 100y or so ahead of me. We came back across the bridge, still feeling great considering my pace, running as fast as I could, and hit the finish strong.
The first think I did was seek out the woman in pink, and congratulated her. Turns out she knew I was there and pushed to stay ahead. Win-win for both of us!
I couldn't be sure until the final results were posted, but this run looked to be a PR! My first crossing of the 1:50 barrier! Once I got home I confirmed it--A HM PR by 3-4 minutes! Yahoo!!!!!!!!!
Recovery was smooth, sometimes I wondered if I could have raced harder. I was very surprised to learn I was 3rd in my AG (bumped up to 2nd) with a pedestrian finish time. But the real fun was hanging out at the tent, cheering in finishers, and catching up with friends.
Overall a great day. It has me excited for triathlons again!
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