race morning
I love racing in the desert. Beautiful sunrise, clear blue sky, minimal chance of rain, dry heat. Similar to my home in Flagstaff except that we have been waking up to temperatures in the low 20s or less and, fortunately, most races don't take place at 7,000ft. So to wake up to air that was about 52 degrees with lots of oxygen in it felt pretty amazing!
part of the beautiful swim course
The campground (i.e. RV park) we stayed at was anything but great and in order to cut cost we all shared one spot. Karl and the boys in a tent, Audrey under the stars, Karen and I in her VW van. Nice and cozy! The good news: We only needed to ride our bikes in the dark for about a mile and - voila - we were at the race site. Plus, the run course went through the campground and right by our site. Twice for the Half and four times for the Full. If I got to tired, I could just sneak into the van and take a little nap!
view from T1/2
It seemed like there was so much to do once we got to the transition area even though (or maybe because) start/finish/T1/T2 were all in one place. I've got racing preparations for a 70.3 nailed down but this long distance stuff - not so much. Although I was pretty ready, it still took forever to have everything in just the right spot and I barely made it out of transition before they closed it.
Don't worry. I didn't eat all of this during my race. But close.
race director, Mark, leading the prayer
On my way down to the water I ran into my swimming buddy, Jim, whose stepson was racing the Full as well and we had a nice little chat. It's always nice to see friendly familiar faces! Not sure if I was talking to Jim or some of my Utah racing buddies but somehow I missed the pre-race prayer. I had no idea it even happened until after the race. I think it's a great idea and I am sure it helped to calm down a few anxious racers.
I was super excited for the beach start. Definitely haven't had many (if any) of those in my 16 years of racing triathlons. And we would get to come out of the water and run around a buoy before starting our second loop. Sweet!
found Carlee who was also doing the Full
Just as Carlee and I were in a deep conversation about nudity in the transition area, the gun went off. Whaaaat? Waaaaiiiit for me! So my beach start wasn't quite what it could've been but it was still fun! The women started 3 minutes behind the men which always makes for a much calmer and smoother swim until we run into the guys. So the calm and smooth only lasts about 5 minutes... There were about 100 athletes doing the Full and 250 racing the Half, so either way it wasn't too crazy.
I was loving the swim! Water was on the cold side but comfortable, buoys were enormous and hard to miss, sun was rising in all its beauty but not in our face. Perfect! I was with a group of women for the first 5 minutes until we got gobbled up by the men. With about 800m to go, I noticed a girl next to me and so I backed off and got on her feet. I could tell she was doing the Half by the color of her swim cap, so I figured she might as well pull me around a bit. Good times!
thanks for the ride, sleeveless-wetsuit-girl!
I got out of the water right behind her and heard Mark, the race director, yell that she was in 3rd for the Half and I was first woman for the Full. Wow! Really? So I ran around the buoy feeling pretty special and dove back into the water. So fun! I didn't see a single soul for the entire 2nd loop. But I didn't care. I was thoroughly enjoying my lonely self! My inner dialogue went something like this: Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I am leading the race! This is awesome! I am going to win this thing wire to wire. -- Aehm. Hello! You have been racing for a total of 40 minutes here and have another 10 or so hours to go. Don't you think it's a little too early for a happy dance? Put your head down and shut up. So that's what I did. Until the same dialogue started over again.
Yep. That's a smile on my face coming out of the water. I had no clue about my swim time and, to be honest, I didn't really care. I forgot to start my watch but looking at the time of day once I was on the bike, I thought it might be under 1:05.
Time to ride my (I mean: Sean's) bike! Seeing how I am part hamster, I was excited for this course! 4 out-n-backs means you ride the same stretch of road 8 times. Bring it! I like to break things down into smaller, more manageable chunks and I don't get bored easily, so this was going to be a great fit. Or so I thought. My biggest pet peeve when riding my bike is crappy roads. Come to think of it, it's my only pet peeve on the bike. I love hills, don't mind twists and turns, can deal with rain, and have become friends with the wind. But crappy roads? Not a fan. To say the least.
I can deal with less-than-ideal roads but the course also included a lot of gravel and sand. Riding through this the first time, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it seven more times without losing it. Fortunately, my head was in the right place for most of the day and I got over it. Huge thanks to my in-house mechanic, Karl, for taking care of my bike. It was sad to see so many mechanical issues and DNFs.
The highlight was definitely the three super steep but pretty short hills at the end of each out-n-back. The climbs weren't easy but it was a nice change and the descends were a blast!
During the first two loops we had good company with all of the Half athletes out on the course. Then it got a bit very lonely. At mile 55, I passed a guy who shouted: Go get him. He is not far ahead. Me: ??? Turns out he was talking about Brian who was leading the race. I did get a glimpse of him at the turn-around and realized he is only about a mile in front of me. Crap! Who do I think I am? I am clearly biking way too hard and am going to have to pay for it big time on the marathon. I'd better slow down. I have no business being this close to Brian. I did slow down on the last lap but as it turns out Brian and I had almost identical swim and bike times. But because of the separate women's start, he was always 3 minutes up the road.
I did a pretty good job taking in food and water on the bike and had only slight stomach discomfort here and there. But for some reason (probably the same reason I always clear my plate even if I am already stuffed) I decided that I needed to eat every last bit of nutrition I had with me before pulling into T2. It wasn't hard to get it down but I certainly paid for it on the first 6 miles of the run with a major stomach ache. Lesson learned.
The run was somewhat of a struggle from the beginning. Once my stomach finally started to settle down, I couldn't quite wrap my head around the fact that I still had about 20 miles to go. If the bike was lonely, the run was desolate. Listening to music would've saved me big time but is not allowed in a triathlon for good reasons. A Garmin could've provided some entertainment but I didn't take mine off the bike because the battery doesn't last that long.
The run was a constant up and down mentally and just when I was about to get pissed that my friends and family apparently forgot that I was still out there racing, Karen and Audrey showed up. They had both had fantastic races in the Half and I was about to put them to more work. I instructed them to constantly pass me on their bikes, cheer, stop, wait for me, cheer more, pass me again. Over and over again for 16 miles. They happily obliged and basically saved my day. I owe them big time!
I knew that if I could just make it through the campground (for the fourth time), I would finish no matter what. And when I was finally there, to my big surprise, none of the other men had passed me still. Brian was now much further ahead but for the first time that day I got pretty excited that I would be the second racer across the finish line in the Full. Before that point, all I cared about was getting to that darn finish line.
In an interview after the race they asked what was going through my head during the last mile. I am sure they were expecting something rather philosophical and inspiring but I told them the truth: I counted my steps to 20. And again. And again. Until I could actually see the finish line banner. I was hoping to finish before dark and I made it just as the sun was setting. What a day!
Max and I running into the finish chute
I wasn't nearly as emotional as I had thought I might be. Which might have to do with the fact that the second I cross the finish line, I am a mom again and the kids couldn't care less about what I just did. They were hungry and needed some attention. Then I found Brian and we had a nice little chat lying in the grass. Good times! The kids were ready to go back to camp, so we packed up quicker than I would've liked and got out of there.
Unfortunately, I missed Monica (Brian's fiancee) and Carlee who finished 2nd and 3rd female. It was great to be out on the course with them all day. We cheered for each other and Carlee and I even shared a hug at one of the aid stations. Thank you, ladies!!! We did get to chat a bit the next morning at the award ceremony which was nice.
Overall I am pleased with how the day went. The race director, Mark, and his crew did a great job putting on this race. A heartfelt Thank You! The plan was to finish in 10:30 and my overall time ended up being 10:33. No complaints. My main goal was to have fun and I feel like I fell a bit short here. I can't really claim that I was having a blast on the run. So there is a lot of room for improvement and I can't wait to do another one!
Ok, actually, I have no problem waiting to do another one. While recovery is going better than expected, my season is over now and it's time for other kinds of fun! Like, for example, going down to Phoenix this weekend to watch Noah play in a soccer tournament and cheer my friends on competing in the Ironman. I would be down there already if I hadn't caught a nasty stomach bug yesterday. I was up sick all night and can count the times I left my bed today on one hand. Max was not pleased when I was still in bed when he came home from school. So he threw a fit and yelled: You just don't want to get up. You are lazy! That kid cracks me up.
Comments