T1: 22 minutes; 27th of 27 in AG!
BIKE 112 miles in 6:38; 13th of 27 in AG
T1 was known for the long run to the TA. I skipped the wetsuit strippers so I could conserve body heat until I started running. But on the way I came to the showers -- they had hot water! I started pulling off the suit but I started shivering-- arms, core, legs. A man in an official looking uniform with a badge took me to the warming tent. NUTS! But I needed it, the towels and blankets helped. I think I spent 7-9 mins in the tent.
I left the tent on my own accord to finish the run to T1. The long run wasn't bad as I thought it could be, I took my time to avoid rough road. Saw DH on the way, he snapped some pictures and I was not smiling in any of them. Haha! I was handed my T1 bag, then off to the changing tents where I took my time to get ready. I stuck to plan: jersey with shorts, no capris, long gloves on and short gloves stowed, arm warms, head band for ears, windbreak vest. I wasn't goofing around, but I wasn't in a hurry either. Bathroom stop, then to Frea who was mostly alone at the racks as most other full distance racers were already biking. Ah well. She's probably used to it by now.
On my way out of T1 DH offered the Garmin, he had it working! I wanted it, but it might have violated the Outside Support rules. It would be nice to have the nutrition alarms reminding me to eat, but I declined it. (And found out later that the hard reset wiped the alarms out anyway).
BIKE: 112 miles in a counter-clockwise 1-loop course, point to point. Flat, great road surface as we had either an entire highway lane or shoulder bike lane to ride in, great traffic control, lots of support. The half distance racers were with us the first 30-ish miles before they turned off. No hills to speak of except for two bridges, at 1 mile and at 111 miles, each having a dangerous metal grating. I think 6 aid stations, one of them also Special Needs.
My first concern was to get focused to cross the bridge gating without crashing. The athletes ahead of me seemed to be dripping water, there was what looked like a wet streak along the right side of the lane? This was worrisome, did that mean the grating was wet too? Couldn't tell, but oh damn that grating was slick!! Huge adrenaline surge as Frea's front tire felt squirrely under me. Stay steady, don't swerve, keep it turning...soon enough it's done.
My next concern was to get warmed up. I knew the temps would only improve over time, but I still had 1-2 hours of cool temps to go. This wasn't as bad as I expected, but the first 10 miles passed by very fast with this distraction.
Next concern was all the half distance male athletes who were powering by me. And drafting. Lots of drafting, so much so that when one of the packs came by me I could feel the pull! They also passed awful close to me, more concerned with their race than with the space between us. I stayed out of the fray and their way. I wasn't racing, they were. Let 'em have the road.
Somewhere around 20 miles was a landfill. Ew the stink! Around mile 25 I passed a cotton field, the first I'd ever ridden by and I wanted to badly to stop and pluck some. Signs indicating that the next aid station was one mile ahead would appear, and I would get fixated on that. This worked against me, I started getting "endvy" and looking forward to the stop too much. There were course signs marking every 10 miles but without the Garmin I was unable to track in mileage in between. To be looking forward to a stop so early around 35-40 miles wasn't a good sign.
The aid station reminded me of a Trailnet ride -- 30+ bikes on the grass or leaned somewhere, riders milling about and chatting, only a few sped though in minimal time. There was a long port-a-potty line and I hopped into it. This was the most relaxed race aid station I've seen,. Other riders commented on Frea's decorations (yellow, black, and silver ribbons) and I said "It's for my birthday!" This spread quickly through the station and happily met lots of racers with that ribbon. About 10 mins at this stop, then onward to the Special Needs, only 14 or so miles away.
Somewhere in this stretch a terrier-chihuahua-ish small dog got loose from a nearby house. The leash was flapping behind it, it was barking and actually keeping up with us. And this dog held on to us for at least 0.25 to 0.5 miles. Damn that dog had some speed and endurance!
I was purposefully avoiding race math to calculate my speed, not that my race math is accurate, but I felt like I was passing large numbers of riders. Many I was seeing multiple times, which meant they were passing me at aid stations, but it still felt like I was speeding by other riders (and by seeing many of the same riders over and over I got multiple Happy Birthdays!). I hit 50 miles at exactly 3hrs, so with a 10 min stop that worked out to just over 17 mph. Of course I didn't know this number in the race, but I knew from training rides that 3 hrs for 50 miles was a easily maintainable pace for me.
But the other reason the pace was nagging at me was that by mile 50 my mental status started to slump. It might have been the "endvy" and looking forward to aid stations, or it could have been fighting what I thought was to be the worst of the headwind (all 4-6 mph of it), or it could have been sugar levels, even though I was right on target with my eat every 30 mins plan. Through the Special Needs stop and through mile 70 I was in a bit of a slump. So much so that when I passed the mile 60 sign I was disappointed because I thought I'd already passed by 60! I started averting my eyes when a sign was coming up so I couldn't fixate on the numbers.
To get myself out of the slump, I ate some more and made a point to quit staring at the road and instead look around. The roads were tree-lined, much of this part of the course was shaded and it was a beautiful course! I started singing songs, no one was really around to hear me so why not. A perfect song for the moment was Nina Simone's Feeling Good: "Birds flying high, you know how I feel. Sun in the sky, you know how I feel. Breeze drifting on by, you know how I feel...". Slump or not, I'm feeling good. Can't believe how good, actually.
Miles 70, 80, 90...they seemed to crawl by but I was feeling better now. We expected a tailwind in this direction, I don't know that I felt one but just thinking I had one helped. Somewhere around mile 80 someone painted BELIEVE on the road. Later on, at least twice more, it was SIMPLY BELIEVE. How did they know that those are just the words I needed to hear? Later on, someone painted "Highest Point" with a number...did they mean that was the highest elevation point for the race? LOL it was on a flat road!
Mile 100 came at exactly 6 hours, I was nailing the pace. I was passing fewer riders but the ones I did pass weren't looking too good. One guy in a Boulder kit was riding down the middle of the road. I'd either have to pass on the right or cross the center line. I called on On Your Left with no response. Called again, nothing. Yelled it, and seemed so scare him! Hope he made it back OK, he wasn't looking terribly strong.
Next concern was the second bridge crossing at 111. Earlier I'd decided that I wasn't going to think about it until mile 110, and well that's coming right up. Should I dismount and walk? That was the plan after the first crossing, no need to fall and ruin what was shaping up to be a great race. But once at the bridge I didn't stop. A rider ahead of me started to veer into my path, I calmly called up to him. He complained about the grating, expressed concern, and I calmly reminded him that we're almost there, stay steady, nothing to jumpy. Just what I needed to hear :)
Before I knew it, the bike is done. Rolled to the Dismount line, handed Frea over to a volunteer after thanking her for a great ride, and headed for T2.
Review of bike: Perfect! No pains, discomforts, sore feet. I did a lot of trainer rides for this race due to the dark mornings and in the end this was wonderful prep for a flat race like this. I probably stayed in the same two gears for 90% of this ride, and only tried the big ring on some of the 'downhill' sections. Stayed hydrated and fueled, I had even EFS left over that I took into the run. I managed my mental slump, kept a casual pace with longer than usual stops. I estimate I was stopped for 20-some minutes. But the stops were what allowed me to keep the pace going so I don't regret them. I felt amazing for the upcoming run, whoop!
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