Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Lake Stevens 70.3 Race Report



Lake Stevens 70.3  - 5:05.08

8/64 AG
36/421 Female
205/1222 Overall





Lake Stevens 70.3 was my first half distance Tri last year finishing in 5:35.  I am in love with Washington, Coach T is from there, and this course has been my favorite so far so I had to do it again. 
Leading up to the race, I felt the most calm I have ever before.We got into Washington Friday night and then spent Saturday doing all the usual pre-race stuff… driving the course, short shakeout run/ride/swim, and ended the day with dinner with Teresa and Mark - perfect! 

Going into this race, I wanted to have a good run.  T and I decided to take the bike course more conservative in hopes of accomplishing that goal. 










Swim


I was in wave 9 which took off about 30min. after the pro's.  
This was my best swim to date.  I really felt great in the water.  I think what made the difference in this swim was making sure my mind was continuously focused.  

It is very easy to let my mind drift, especially when swimming, and especially when I have the bike and run to think about.  Instead, this race I stayed in the moment. When the finish line was in site, I went over what I was going to do in T1 and before I knew it... it was ROCKY time.















Bike


Absolutely gorgeous course... you are basically riding through a canopy of greenery the entire time. I found the ride more challenging than St George.  I honestly do not know how I did this course last year on a flat pedal bike! 



The plan was to not be in attack mode the entire ride which was my prior race approach.  I made sure to keep my cadence up, spin up the climbs, and try to keep my heart rate more even throughout.   

Finding what balance I need to take to have a good run is going to take time… maybe I held back a little too much on the bike, maybe not… either way, I came off the bike feeling fresh and ready to run.   




Run  



Right out of transition I saw my dad which gave me tons of energy… always does.   

This is a 2 loop course which means a lot of crowd support.  Since we were racing where TNMultisports is based, there were many TN athletes out on the course for encouragement.  









This is not necessarily a flat course, so my paces were not even/consistence; but I feel like my effort was.  

I never looked at pace the entire run, only HR. This was the first run off the bike that my HR was not through the roof coming out of transition.  

I was feeling awesome until about mile 10. When I high fived T and Mark before the second loop I should have took another gel.  I think that would have prevented the energy loss. Going back up the hill at mile12 hurt but crossing the finish line is always worth it.  Especially with the 70.3 distance. I am addicted to the feeling of finishing on completely empty. Seeing my dad and Teresa's faces there at the finish was awesome!  













It is hard not to get frustrated with yourself when you pour your whole heart and are putting in the time and  not necessarily seeing the results. You cant help but question, 'oh I didn’t train long enough, go hard enough, give enough.'  My head and heart want to be racing with those top girls but my body just isn’t there yet...   

YET!
Big goals take time...
Patients. Consistency. And listening to coach T.  

 







Friday, July 5, 2013

DinoTri Race Recap



DinoLand Tri - 1:17:33 (1 AG, 2 Female, 4 Overall)


This past weekend I drove to Vernal for the DinoTri.  This is my new favorite short distance race. 

Great venue (who knew Vernal was pretty?), honest course and organized as well as an IM event.  I was nervous traveling by myself, but the race directors were so helpful; they personally took extra time going over how to find the different transition areas with me. Oh – and the prizes are freaking awesome... cash prizes for overall winners, fun rock plate awards, and differed bonus prizes like 'beat the race director' and 'King/Queen of the Hill'.  



We were bussed up to Red Fleet Lake. Gorgeous area for the race start.  Warmed up with a jog and short swim. **Typically I take a GU right before the start and I forgot one this time

Swim 15:51
I positioned myself very front and center at the swim start.  Swim was going perfect, until I noticed I wasn’t swimming with anyone… stopped and looked up and saw the start line buoy! Freak – missed the turn, swam back to the loading ramp completely frustrated. 


T2 2:10 
Up the boat ramp running pissed. Chip timer came off when I took my wetsuit off.

Bike 38:01 
The bike is where things turned around.  Awesome bike course including some climbing, a steep descend, then rolling hills to the finish.  Right out of the bike you start the 2 mile climb. LOVED it. I was so angry with my swim that I just powered up the hill.



T2 :34

Run 20:55  
Leaving transition I could hear a girl right off my shoulder.  She was breathing very hard so I just focused on keeping my breath calm and fast turn over. You turn 3 times on the course so you could see your competition very well.  Felt strong, didn’t break 20 though! I still need to figure out how to make my legs move fast off the bike!


Fun day! I highly recommend this race... I will definitely be back next year.