Ironman Racine 70.3 Race Recap

DIVE IN AND GO!

Racine 70.3

WHERE IS THE LAKE???

My father and I made the 24-hour road trip to Wisconsin.

When we first got into town, we drove straight to the race start to see Lake Michigan.  Which should be called Ocean Michigan.  It's huge. And unlike a typical lake, there are 'ocean' waves.  Which made me freaking nervous and text Teresa instantly. WTH is this?? How do I swim in this?? and her response...

DIVE IN AND GO!! 

One of the things I love about Teresa is she has the perfect balance of caring AND toughness.










We ended up staying at the Radisson.  Location was awesome.  Hotel not so much.  Next time I'd probably choose somewhere else to stay.

Friday and Saturday were filled with pre-race swim/ride/runs, driving the course, pack-pickup, met-up with some IG friends, and taking it easy.


OH - and hydrating.  I was to

'hydrate like it was my job.'

<<<<Water bottle in hand at all times :)

The morning started off with an amazing sunrise over Lake Michigan.  The reflection made the lake look like it had a shadow of fire across it.  Perfect weather.  Quick transition set up.  

SWIM

You walk 1 mile to the swim start.  Amateurs were allowed to warm up, so I took advantage of this.  The water was sub 60 so it was nice to get that initial shock out of the way. 

I have been seeing improvements in the lap pool. They did not translate today.  Kicked off goggles started the series of 'road bumps' I would have throughout this race.  I refused to let these ruin my race.  You can not change what has happened, don't make excuses, just keep moving forward... JUST GO!

Point to point swim followed by a longer than normal run up the beach to transition.  (Practice running in/out of about knee deep water to prep for this race)

Transition 1 went smooth.  My glasses got moved, but other than that I grabbed Rocky and we were off!

BIKE

During my pre/post race rides, the less than ideal road conditions were super annoying... they have road seams about every 15 feet.  During the race, I do not remember being bothered by this at all.

This is a fast bike course.  Flat with a few rollers.  The first and last 30ish minutes of the ride have several turns that slow you down a bit.  I rode a new bike PR today which I am super excited about.

Right out of transition you have to mount on a hill.  I made sure to be in my easiest gear so I could spin right up it.  As soon as I got to the top, I fixed my watch (accidentally had it on Auto Powerdown mode) and then started focusing on nutrition.

Time to put my head down and hammer!

The series of unfortunate events followed me to the bike with some flats... chain drop... water bottle flying off.  HELL NO was I throwing in the towel.  You can not change what happened - JUST GO!

>>>>>>>>>> Missing water bottle (I think i was more mad I was going to have to buy a new Profile Design water bottle)>>>>>

The miles flew by and I was back to transition.

Jumping off my bike I thought I was in for a solid run.  Leading up to this race I have had a few niggles in my calf but I was feeling fresh and ready to GO!! 

My legs on the other hand...

were not ready to go like I would have preferred :)

RUN

The run is a 2 loop course.  Flat with a significant climb that you hit at mile 1 and 7.  Now that I am getting more courses under my belt I can compare a little better - I'd say this one is similar to Lake Stevens.

My rating so far (St George > Lake Stevens/Racine > Kansas > Boise)

So back to the race - I did not have 1 mile that felt good. 

I kept thinking...

1 more mile and my running legs will show up.

Take a GU! How about some cola?

I repeated every dang mantra I have.

Counted steps... tired to work off other ladies...

Add in the heat and my legs just would not respond.  I stopped looking at my slowing pace and told myself just.freaking.GO

AND - Do not walk!  I wanted to walk so bad.  But in the back of my head I knew the 'tough T & my dad would kick my ass... :)  There were quite a few other Team Zoot'ers out on the course that helped as well.  

Ended up finishing in the top 5 of my AG. Thumbs up to that! :) 

Racing is my favorite aspect of Triathlon.

You can not replicate the feeling of it in training.  Pushing your  body.  Testing limits.  Responding to the unknowns.  Truly seeing how you respond under pressure. And learning.  Not so stellar races serve as huge learning opportunities.  Gaining knowledge for your Big Picture goals. 

Of all I learned today, most important is to not allow your mind to make excuses.  

Make up your mind to 

JUST.FREAKING.GO!!!!

Most awesome dad award goes to this guy!

Racine... I will be back for you next year!!!