This year my time was 37 minutes faster at 5:17*. The asterisk is because the BIKE course was about 3 miles short, and the swim course had to be short too! What!?!?! How can you set up a 70.3 race course that is not 70.3?! The bike is supposed to be 56 miles long. My GPS read 52.5 as I came into transition. The directors said it was actually 54 miles long, but when they realized it they had already marked all the roads and didn't want to confuse us by re-marking (understandable) - but get it right the first time! I don't buy that it was 54 - my GPS is not that far off. So anyway if you add back on the 3 miles they left out of the course at my average bike pace (20mph) that would add in about 10 minutes. Then the SWIM, it had to be short because it had my swim time as 36 minutes, and that includes a 100 yard jog up to the transition area before you cross the timing mat. My goal was to be 38/39 minutes and I know I swam straight and fast (for me). So if you add back a minute or two there to my 5:17, plus the 10 minutes for the bike being short, then my "apples to apples" time was right at 5:30. And my transitions were way better this year!
Before the start
Mass start with all the female participants (about 100) plus the relay team participants. Always a little crazy at the start, but I am getting used to it and really just focused on swimming strong and finding someone to draft behind. That part of it was on and off, I'd get behind someone and they'd take off, or they were too slow and I had to get around them. Drafting doesn't always work out! I felt good through the swim and as always was just anxious to get that part over and get on with the race. I came out of the water 23rd in the women (I only know this because of the results posted after the fact). I ran up the hill and got my wetsuit stripped off and ran into transition. I was out of transition in 47 sec (3rd fastest T1) and off on the bike.
BIKE
It was a warm day already at this point (about 8am) and was only going to get hotter! Forecast was for high 90's by mid afternoon. The bike was flat and I got busy eating my PB&H, gels, and downing fluids about every 20-30 minutes. The course was an out and back, so as I was getting close to the turnaround I started to count the girls that were coming at me the other direction to see how many were ahead of me. I counted 20 or so, then I passed a few, and a couple passed me. I got to the turnaround in 1hr 20min, and was thinking I was good to finish at my goal. The turnaround was not 28 miles though on my watch so I was trying to figure out where the extra distance was going to come from since it was simply an out and back course. I didn't worry about it too much just kept peddling away. My average speed was right at 20mph and that was where I wanted to keep it. Right behind me at the turnaround there was a pretty nasty crash - after I turned around I saw two cyclists down, I don't know what happened but then the volunteer yelled that they needed to call medical. Such a bummer. There was one girl on the bike course that I kept flip flopping with, she'd pass me, then I'd pass her. She passed me near mile 40 and I didn't catch her again after that on the bike. I came in off the bike and my watch said 2:38 - a full 24 minutes faster than last year, but again, approx 3 miles short. I thought I was probably right about 20/21 going into transition off the bike.
RUN
I flew through transition in under a minute (59 sec- 6th fastest) and passed a few of the girls that were just ahead of me off the bike, including the one I kept trading places with. She then passed me shortly into the run and was going a pretty good pace. I tried to calm my breathing and steady my pace. I was going 8:30 and felt ok doing it but knew I needed to slow down to make it the whole 13 miles. I slowed my pace to a 9, that was my goal pace for the run. last year I ran a 9:20. I held that for awhile but it kept slipping. So I forgot about pace and ran where I was comfortable. Last year I distinctly remember absolutely hating the first 3 miles and questioning my sanity for doing the race! This year I never felt that awful and just kept plugging away. It really was just a matter of getting through it this year. the run was hard, but doable. My pace was not what I wanted, but faster than last year's pace (9:14 this year vs. 9:20 last year) There were times I wanted to walk and I just would say in my head, "just keep running, just keep running, don't stop, slow down, but don't stop." It worked. I ran the whole thing and passed a ton of people, mostly guys (weird). But I think it's because the girls ahead of me were great athletes and I wasn't going to be passing many of them, while the guys I was passing were the slower guys (all the guys started 5 or 10 minutes ahead of the girls based on age) so when I passed them I was not just passing them, but I was 5 or 10 minutes ahead of them based on their age and their start time. The run course is fabulous! 70% shaded which really helped a lot! I was slower than I wanted to be and I don't know if it is because I went harder on the bike or if the heat was the reason - maybe a little of both?! I did pass a few girls in the first few miles though and thought I was probably positioned in the top 20 females. You can't really make a goal based on placing, or winning your division, or being in the top 10 or whatever, because you just never know who is going to show up at these events. The competition this year was much better than last year! If I had been under 5:30 last year I would have won my division and been in the top 10 females. This year I was 5th in my division and 19th overall female. Nonetheless I am pleased with my performance.
I came to the finish and 3 of my 5 kids jumped in and ran across the finish with me. It was great to see them at the end and my husband also. His time was 4:46 - and with all the same adjustments as me, he was under 5 hours, which was his goal for the day. Overall a great day for both of us.
The race was easier this year than last year on my body. The recovery was nothing to complain about. I wasn't sore. Tired the day of the race, but that's normal. I got back to training on Monday and did an 80 mile mountain ride (6200 ft of elev gain) on Wed - that equals my longest bike yet - and at 6 hours on the bike for that one, it is hopefully close to the time I will be on the bike for the Ironman in November.
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