Skip to main content

70.3 World Championship - Bike



Good thing there weren't any hills in the lake (swim report here) because once we hit dry land there was not a flat spot on the entire bike or run course! I heard that there was something like 5,000 ft of climbing on the bike. Bring it on! I am a fan of hills on the bike. The more - the better. I had already had the pleasure of racing on it during the RAGE triathlon back in April and fell in love with the course - smooth roads, little traffic, big rollers, fast downhills. What's not to like?

I passed Beth right at the beginning and then Sarah Piampiano and I thought: "Holy cow! I am in front of these super stars who are supposed to win this thing! Yikes!" Of course I knew it was not going to last but it sure was fun! Sarah passed me back just a little while later and she was gone. When Beth passed me at mile 15 I figured I would have to let her go as well but I was wrong! We were actually in close proximity for most of the ride and I was stoked. Beth is a super nice gal and always had something nice to say when she passed.

I really tried hard to stay on top of my nutrition and even purchased a bento box the day before the race. I never thought the day would come that I would carry a picnic basket on my TT bike. Well, it has. I was having a blast cruising along the beautiful shore of Lake Mead, basking in the sun, and choosing which treat to consume next. The race photographer even caught me with my hand in the lunch box:


Once I hit mile 45, I have to admit I was pretty done. I had been pushing hard and was getting tired. I also assumed that the last 10 miles into Henderson would be mostly downhill but I was so wrong. It was either up or a false flat. I actually started looking forward to the run...

Finally T2 came into sight and a nice volunteer grabbed my bike, but not before I ripped the Garmin off and stuffed it into my chest pocket:


Some good-looking dude following me with a camera. Sweet!


I had good intentions of finishing this race report today but it is just not happening. Time flies when I write and it is getting late... Sorry! You will have to stay tuned for what happened on the run. At least I hope you do!








Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New PR at a High Cost

St. George Halfmarathon Report I have a feeling that this is going to be long . Even though I am going to tell you about the rest of the weekend in my next post. So. Sit back and enjoy, if you are interested. A few days before the race, I told Karl that I have two options : 1. Run the way I usually race. Conservative . Start out at a decent pace, log negative splits, finish feeling strong and in control. 2. Start out faster than usual, hang onto that pace for as long as possible, die a slow and painful death. Karl just laughed . He knew how unlikely it was that I would choose the second option. But, to be honest, the idea kinda grew on me. It was a running event, after all. No pressure. Simply a way of testing where my fitness is at. On my way to St. George, I called Coach M . She told me I was going to choose the second option. Oh, how I love to have coaches! No need to try to figure things out in my own little head. I just ask and do as I am told. There was ju

Swimming in Germany - Lakes Galore

Baggersee Weingarten Let's see.... I've been in Germany now for 4 weeks and have had the privilege to swim in 5 different lakes. Let me count how many times I have swum in a lake in Arizona since moving there 2 years ago... That would be 1 time in Lake Mary during the MountainMan. And I am not planning on swimming in it again until this year's MountainMan. As you might have already guessed:  I am in heaven !  Baggersee Weingarten So are the kids. Appropriately dressed in German swim wear.  That's my mom next to me in the picture above. You see where I get it... Growing up we would either go on a hike or bike ride every weekend and take a dip in various lakes along the way. Good memories!  My niece Lynn at Bad Waldsee This lake was especially fun. It was basically at the center of a beautiful old little town. I saw people walk out their front door and go for a little swim. No motorized anything allowed as on most lakes here. Platf

When the wheels come off...

(some of) NAU Masters I know I have been racing pretty well lately. I also know that I have plenty of workouts where I don't even come close to nailing it. Some days I feel like crap the minute I leave the house and would rather go back home than keep running or biking. Monday was one of those days... I took the week after Boise pretty easy . Lots of fun workouts, very little structure. I absolutely love having a coach and a plan but I am also a big fan of just going out and doing whatever I feel like. The next week was still pretty low-key . Partly because Karl was out of town, partly because I was still enjoying a nice little mid-season break. Then I had a couple of good training days and was ready to get back at it. Or so I thought. Monday actually started out better than anticipated. I was excited to be back with the NAU Masters and we even had 2 famous visitors: Leanda Cave , triathlon world champion. Thorsten Abel , Leanda's husband and successful German pro triat