I can't get enough of this place!
Pre-Race
The day before the race certainly didn't go as well as it could have. I am a planner and I like things to go according to plan. D'uh. Who doesn't? I take pride in being organized, calm, and prepared but ended up being none of those. Go figure.
Highlights:
- Remember how I got a ride with a guy I'd never met? His brother joined us as well and it turned out to be fantastic! Super cool guys and a fancy car made the drive go by way more quickly than usual. Despite the detour through Las Vegas because, what do you know, D and P like to gamble, so we stopped at the Mirage and they placed their Kentucky Derby bets. I wasn't about to complain...
- I was fortunate enough to stay at my favorite hotel! Hotel de Rue. Which isn't a hotel at all. We just call it that because C and A Rue are incredibly nice and open up their home to many of us many times a year. Such a blessing!
breakfast with friends
- Potluck breakfast at the park on Friday morning! What a great time to hang out with friends and make new ones before everyone gets busy making final preparations for the race. Thank you, Southern Utah Triathlon Club!
- Bike check-in at Sand Hollow Reservoir. Dropping off the bike was nothing special but I just love that lake and got to take a little 'ice bath' while Colleen's kids played in the water for a while. I didn't get a chance to actually swim in it but I have done so many times in the past and wasn't worried about it. I mean, look at how clear the water is! It just made me even more excited for race morning!
- Getting our number tattoos on late Friday night. This was quite the show but eventually we managed. Can you tell which ones are my legs?
Lowlights:
- Having to figure out how to get back home after the race. Traveling to St. George not knowing how I am going to make it back to Flagstaff was a huge mistake. After our accommodations fell through last minute, Karl and the kids decided to stay home. Which meant I had to find yet another ride. Unfortunately, Flagstaff is a remote place 5 hours from St. George and it took most of Friday making sure I had a way to get home. Super stressful and not what I want to be dealing with the day before a big race. It made me want to quit the sport of triathlon all together because, really, we just can't afford it right now.
- On top of that I got a phone call late Friday morning from the superintendent of Noah's school saying that there was in incident this morning on the school bus. To make a long story short: Some crazy guy at the hospital close to our home broke his hand cuffs and jumped out of the window. He made his way over to our apartment complex, tricked the bus driver who was waiting at her first stop into opening the door, and got on. He was clearly mentally ill and, according to Noah, had a knife with him. While the bus driver is busy calling the police, Noah also gets on the bus not knowing what is going on. The guy, who has been hiding behind some seats, starts freaking out because he is sure that people with guns behind trees are trying to shoot him. Eventually the police comes and gets him off the bus. Craziness! It was hard to find out details over the phone and to know how Noah was really doing but Karl took good care of everything. Not a good time to be out of town!
Race Morning
I was excited to say the least! I really don't get nervous much anymore and have learned to keep the pressure under control. The work (i.e. training) is done and now it's time to have fun and see what your body and mind are capable of.
Highlights:
- Race morning was super fun. I lived in Utah for 10 years before moving to Flagstaff, so this was basically a hometown race for me and I loved seeing so many people I know! This really is the best part of racing!
- The weather was perfect! Warm but not hot and calm winds. This was shaping up to be a great day!
Lowlights:
- I was not hungry for breakfast. Big deal, I know. But, for me, this is unusual and not a good sign. It was difficult to get anything down and, as I feared, this was indicative of the rest of the day.
- I had told Coach M the night before exactly how much salt I was going to take on the bike, which we knew would be crucial on a warm and dry day. But when I was going to put it in my bento box, I realized that I didn't bring any! Craptastic! Luckily, two friends had a little extra and shared with me. Thank you, Mindy and Heath!
The Swim
30:29 - 1:34/100m
8th ouf of the water
Coach M really wanted me to break 30 minutes today. Well, that didn't happen. As usual. But how was I supposed to know? Not like I am looking at (or even wearing) a watch while swimming. Close enough though!
Breanna: all focused, Me: adjusting my cap
Highlights:
- Hanging out with friends right before the start. So much better than alone. I love the 30-34 girls! They are fast and awesome!
- The amazingly clear water. After swimming in reclaimed water in Vegas, mucky soup in Flagstaff, and the infamous Tempe Town Lake, this was the best thing ever! It might have been a little cold and I had a hard time getting my face to stay in the water but I was loving it!
- I found some feet here and there. Small miracle. Very simple course and plenty of buoys. Loved it!
Lowlights:
- Wussing out last minute. I was supposed to start smack-dab in the middle and hang onto the fast girls for as long as possible. This freaks me out because I can't stand the thought of feeling like I am about to suffocate. It's happened before and I don't really need a repeat. Even just treading water in a small space with lots of people touching me makes me want to run and hide. I don't like being touched. (Maybe that's why the bike is my favorite: Nobody is allowed to even get close to me!) Anyway. I ended up on the very right side and had a nice and calm start. Just the way I like it but not the way M wanted it. Oh well.
- That's it. The rest of the swim was rather enjoyable and I just tried to stay focused and keep up some sort of decent pace.
The Bike
2:38:19 - 21.2 mi/h
3rd fastest bike, tied for 2nd off the bike
I was super excited for this course and it didn't disappoint! I love hills and there were plenty of them! Unfortunately, what goes up must come down and my descending skills aren't what they should be. Bummer!
Love the climbing!
Highlights:
- Coachie's race wheels. They rock! Thank you, Heath, for hooking me up once again! He also brought his aero helmet but I decided to ignore it. I am not about to change my mind about that piece of gear anytime soon. However, if he had brought a carbon bike for me to ride I would've been all over that.
- After an hour or so into the ride, it suddenly occurred to me that I was probably in the front 'group' of our age group. This was a first because a) I don't do a lot of big races and b) The course is usually super crowded. It was awesome! I knew Katie K was a strong biker, I figured the incredibly toned girl might be Rebecca T, and I recognized Sonja W right away when she blew by us. I knew I was right in the mix and I was thrilled! I also knew I had to go with Sonja. Lucky for me we were on a long uphill, so I was able to 'stick' with her. As it turns out, I am a pretty strong climber while Sonja can hammer the downhills like nobody's (especially not my) business. So for the next 40 or so miles we went back and forth, back and forth. I happened to think that this was the coolest thing ever! I have admired Sonja from afar for quite a while but never had the chance to race against her. I knew she is incredibly strong, so I was super happy to be in the same zip code as her on the bike.
An incredibly scenic 4-mile climb? Yes please.
- Snow Canyon. I love that place. Everything about it. I was able to get a little gap on Sonja and super swimmer Christine (who we had caught up to at one point and who came with us). Next year we will be more on top of things and get one of those coveted camping spots in the canyon. At least for the boys...
- When doing the math after the race, I realized that I didn't get nearly enough calories in on the bike. Dang! I knew that I should be eating/drinking more but I wasn't aware that I ended up only taking in 500-600 calories. I had about 1200 calories with me and was shooting for at least 800-900. Not good. But like I mentioned, something wasn't quite right with my stomach all day and I was worried about making things worse by stuffing myself.
- It took a long time for my legs to come around! My left calf was a mess from the beginning and my quads felt sore for some reason. I had no idea why. But I just figured that, hey, everyone has a bad race every once in a while and maybe today was my turn. No big deal. Just stay in the game and see how things unfold.
- The last 10 miles were basically all downhill. Bad news for me! Have I mentioned that I need to work on my descending skills? Sonja flew by me like a rocket and so did Christine. And there was nothing I could do about it. So I enjoyed the scenery instead.
The Run
1:37:40 - 7:27/mi
6th fastest run
I caught up to Christine right before T2 but was able to run by her in transition and get out of there ahead of her. This was good. Now all I had to worry about was Sonja ahead of me. Ha! Who am I kidding? There were a few super runners most likely not far behind me turning on the jets any minute. But I made a conscious decision to focus on what's in front of me and not what's going on behind me.
One of the many hills. This course was a beast!
Highlights:
- The best thing about this race was all of the incredible support I had on the course. I love the (Utah) triathlon community and it was out in full force! Thank you for the cheers and words of encouragement. It means a lot!
- Seeing the Pros battle it out on their way to the finish. The run was one out-and-back, so we were able to see the action and cheer them on (in German even) as they went by us on the other side. Loved it!
- Coke! It's all I was able to take in on the run and it definitely saved the day!
- My Zoot shoes. I am not sponsored by Zoot (unfortunately) but I love their shoes. I decided to go without socks this time and (unlike at Oceanside in 2012) I didn't regret it one minute. No blisters, no chafing. Awesome! It helped that I was able to not pee on myself during the run. (Or on the bike for that matter.) I dumped plenty of water (and the accidental energy drink) on myself but acidic pee is definitely the worst. (I am sure you all really wanted to know that tidbit of information!)
Lowlights:
- Took off my sunglasses in T2. How pathetic is that? Still can't get over it. I hate running without sunglasses but here I was taking them off and putting them into the transition bag. Are you kidding me? Good thing I had my TriSports.com visor!
- I was able to make up some ground on Sonja in the first few miles and was faintly hoping that I would be able to slowly reel her in. Strong and steady was my mantra. But while she was always right there, I never got super close. Around mile 6 I noticed that she started to pull away from me again. Shooters! And then I did what I have been regretting ever since: I settled for 2nd. Instead of putting up a fight, digging even deeper, taking a risk, and leaving it all out there, I gave up. Because, hey, if I can just keep it together and hold off the girls behind me, I am going to take 2nd behind Sonja. I was hoping to be Top 3 in my AG, so this is awesome! Goal accomplished! Sonja is a phenomenal athlete and I really have no business catching up to her. And even if I did, I know she wouldn't just let me pass her. Do I want a neck-to-neck battle for the next 5 miles? That sounds excruciatingly hard, so no thanks! Could I have caught her if I had been more on top of my mental game and had someone out there giving me splits and yelling at me to go after it? Maybe. I don't know. I don't care. The point is that I didn't try hard enough. So, to quote Andy Potts, I am 'happy but not satisfied'. Lesson learned. Moving on.
It was a fantastic day. I had been excited for this race since the minute they announced it more than a year ago and it didn't disappoint. You bet I will be back next year! But first I got a few more races coming up this season which is a good thing because I love racing! And guess who signed up for 70.3 Worlds two minutes before the start of roll-down? That would be me. We were already back at Colleen's house when I realized that I had made a mistake by foregoing my spot. So I jumped back into the car, cruised back to the race, sprinted over to the tent, and handed them a check. And I am so glad I did because WTC just announced that this will be the last year that Worlds are in Vegas. I certainly won't be regretting my decision!
Vegas, here we come!
I owe a few heartfelt Thank You's to
- Dave and Paul for the ride there
- The Watsons for the ride back
- Colleen and Adam for their unmatched hospitality
- Karl for being my bike mechanic and best friend
- TriSports.com for their wonderful support
- All of my training buddies for putting up with me
- Kai Bennett for being a great chiropractor and friend
- Stephanie Del Giorgio for providing excellent massages
- Heath and Mahogani Thurston for being the best coaches an athlete could ask for
- All of you who have made it through this very long race report
The following is just data I want to have in a place I can actually find it later...
Comments
Great race lady!!