70.3 race report

woke up at 4am sunday without a race plan...this you might say is a really bad idea...but at this point in the weekend it ended up being my saving grace...i was going to go out there an complete a 70.3 with what ever i had left from a full week of training...an 18 mile long run friday...a 90+ bike on saturday and no rest day...yeah...oh and a paper, test and quiz to study for as well...

the lack of goal other than completion was utterly liberating...there was _no_ pressure (from myself...ok maybe a little) to do anything more than my best on that day...i was so relaxed it was a little weird...but i was so happy that i was relaxed...there was not time to get nervous...there was a 15 minute delay to the start...and by the time the red caps were lining up i was _ready_ to be in the water...i started towards the front of my wave...on the right side...totally in the lake weeds...very weird...but i was totally fine...started swimming right away...and just went with it...didn't easily come on to any toes...but was in my own groove so i went with it...then i found some legs...i thought they were a teammates...still not sure if that is true or not...and hung on...the whole way around to the last turn buoy then a little more...then the really fast guys from the wave behind caught up...and i drafted on Noah's feet to the finish...i was a bit worried for some of the green caps out there...saw a few on their backs...that always worries me...finished the swim in 30.22 (uhm...the first thought that crossed my mind was...that would be a 1h ironman swim...there is no way that course was 1.2 miles) but i was happy anyway... :D
30.22

ran up to T1...did my thing and was off on the bike...i am always surprised at the strange things people do in T1...do you have to stretch every major muscle group after the swim? anyway...
3.14

due to shear numbers of people...i did just a normal mount on the bike....wasn't dealing with shoes on the bike with this mess of people...was on the bike and rolling before i even knew...saw amy b on the bike...asked if she wanted to play tag :) (we did this at cap tex)...and tried to settle in for the ride...was still feeling the ride from saturday in the saddle...so i just tried to get as comfortable as possible...i noticed i was feeling like i needed to burp...or something...this happened at cap tex too...so i tried when i could to sit up and move around to get the air bubbles out when i could...the more bike...the better i felt...i never felt bad...i knew what was up and i knew what i needed to do to fix it...and wiggled it out along the way....the turns came faster than our practice tri...and i pushed it when i felt like i could (when the headwind was a little lighter)...was able to do hand ups easily...calling out what i wanted...slowing down...and doing some swift moving when bottles were dropped or all over the road...pushed hard when we got a hint of a tail wind...but did not go all out...i knew i needed to save something for the run...after the first aid station...which i rolled by...i told myself that i needed to hydrate and fuel according to plan...even though it was feeling cool and overcast...i knew i needed the fluids for later...so i kept on plan...and let me tell you from what happened to others...this was key...overall good bike...
3.05.41 (18.something average)

T2 was a blur...thought about stopping at the porta-potty in transition...but decided against it when two people ran in ahead of me...i knew there was one at the first aid station so i decided to wait...that aid station was like three feet from transition...so i decided to keep going until the second...saw j on my way out of the park on to the road!!! nice...and hit the second water station after cheering everyone in T3 blue on...grabbed a sponge and a gatorade and veered to the potty...woot empty!...nice...best...bathroom....ever...anyway...who knew that peeing could be that great...after that i felt good...but knew (from coach amy's advice) to be a little conservative on that first loop...and pick it up on the second...ok...i just kept chugging along...amazingly...i felt really good....and was on the back into the park and through the T3 cheering section and into the woods...then back to the second loop...still feeling good...sticking to gels/hydration/gatorade...and tried to pick it up when i could really pick it up...like downhill...but up that back hill that was dubbed "quadzilla" i was literally the only one running when i hit it that second time...and that felt really great...got a great cheer from logan on that hill :) from then i knew it was just a little but more...so i picked it up again...and chugged pretty well through that last mile and something...saw j again just before the chute...i had a huge grin...heard a volunteer say "you know they are done when they have that look"....i must have been grinning like crazy...i was pumped!...crossed the line...and was done!...first 70.3...done with a long weekend of training...and i had run a 2.04.40 half marathon...sweet...

time: 5h 45m 55s

i couldn't have asked for a better first 70.3...feel like i could maybe have pushed it a little more on the bike...but having never done the distance it was tough to figure out how hard to go each section...super happy with my results when my super secret don't tell anyone goal was to break 6h....i think it's a good benchmark on the road to IMAZ