Coming into this race weekend, I knew my fitness was the best its been all year, but I honestly had no idea how I was going to do or feel considering I was at the end of a big training block for Ironman Texas and I was coming off a month long Achilles injury that finally had no traces left on Thursday. I was physically tired but healthy and was ready to see what damage I could do in Galveston, and boy was it fun!
Swim: The swim was non wetsuit legal for the first time since I started racing in Galveston in 2012. I was pretty happy about that because I'm not a big fan of swimming in a wetsuit. Despite the buoyancy it gives my heavy legs, my arms feel restricted and I tend to overheat quickly. The water was a perfect 76 degrees race morning and I have never felt this strong in an open water swim, ever. By the second buoy, I had already caught up to swimmers who started two waves before me. I kept trucking along and picked up the pace after each turn. I realized toward the last stretch that I hadn't been pushing hard enough because I was still feeling really fresh and comfortable. I popped out of the water at 36 minutes and some change, a nice swim PR, but I know it could've been a few minutes lower. I need to work on transferring my pool speed to open water. But no negatives here! To feel that strong the entire swim and knowing I could do much better showed how much stronger of a swimmer I've become. Can't wait to spend more time in the pool and become a fish!
 |
| Keeping up with this one makes me a better swimmer! PC: Karen Man |
Bike: Turbo Turtle lived up to its name. It's a fast bike! I only slowed down during the turns because the roads were wet and I wasn't used to handling the new bike at such high speeds. But wow!! I made myself focus solely on this leg of the race and not worry about time or speed or the run or if I was going to PR. Keeping it simple and being in the here and now.
 |
| Firing up the Turbo Turtle for its first race! :D PC: Johnny Shelby |
Positives:
1) Instead of caring which way the wind was coming from and focusing on speed, I only had eyes for my power number and tried to keep it at 180W+2) Felt strong the entire time and even the guys I was passing up started cheering for me!
3) Had my first successful left handed bottle feed (I closed my eyes for a split second, bracing myself for a crash, but it didn't happen!)
4) Had two successful snot rockets! You'd be amazed how much faster you can bike when all your airways are clear :)
5) Biking in the rain is always fun :D
1) Within minutes after hopping on the bike, I started burping and throwing up. I'd just spit it out like a champ and kept moving. I threw up a few more times during the ride -- maybe that's why I biked so fast, I kept getting lighter throughout the race!
2) I bonked hard at mile 42, partly due to the GI distress and also because my fueling for Z3 is different. I've been training and fueling in Z1 all year, so racing in Z3 is a shocker and changes the type of fuel I burn and the amount of calories. Easy fix -- I just pulled aside for a minute, slowed down, and chomped down on an extra bar.
A major bike PR of 7 minutes! I think it mainly had to do with the bike and not me, but sheesh, it was fast! My bike split would've been 7th among the Pro women (3 min behind the leader), and the scary thing is... I had a lot more left in me.
T2: I love love love seeing empty racks when I get back from biking. It gives me an extra boost mentally for the run.
Run: I normally immediately feel the effects of a hammering bike ride, but I never felt it. My legs were fresshhhh. So fresh, that they popped out the gate wanting to do sub 7:30 pace. I forced them to slow down but they didn't want to. I finally managed to get them to sit at an 8-8:30, partly because I was unsure about how my achilles would hold up and also mentally because I knew my body was tired from Ironman training and didn't want to blow up (Damn you mind! Always holding me back and trying to be cautious).
 |
| At least my hair looked fast! Good form and strong running for lap 1. Glad there's no picture for lap 2 and 3! PC: Nicole Lamb |
It was awesome until after mile 6. All the vomiting finally caught up to me and I had nothing left at this point. I had to drag myself in the last 7 miles. It felt like I was being suckered punch in the gut the rest of the run. Not the PR run I was hoping for, but I still hung on to PR the race. I'll get that sub 5 hours next time, you can count on that! Finished just 2 minutes shy of the podium - a killer, but can't complain. :)
1) Only you yourself know your body the best. Karen made dinner for us Saturday, and I knew I should've avoided the pork she gave me due to its fat content because I eat real clean and lean, so any extra fat or grease wrecks my GI system. She convinced me it was okay and that the cook had burned most of the fat away, so I ate it and paid for it. I knew right away race morning that my gut wasn't 100% and was wondering when in the race it would affect me. If anything, it was my fault as I should've stuck with my no and ate something else. On the upside, I'm much closer to race weight this week. :P
2) Being in the here and now makes racing so much less stressful. Only worrying about getting the best of each leg at a time is much simpler and easier!
3) I am capable of so much more. If you thought this race looked good on paper, then you and me both are up for a great surprise! Despite every setback this season, to be able to pull out a performance like that at the end of a huge training block and feel that good?!? I'm super stoked for what's to come!
4) I have awesome friends and family and teammates. It was a blast getting to see people I know on the course and cheer them on. It gets more and more fun each year as I start to know and befriend more triathletes. :)
5) Setbacks are worth it. They make me appreciate all the little growths and achievements even more. There's a pep in my step and an extra grin in my chin! Bring it on 2015!
 |
| It's hard not to smile when you're around Karen :) PC: Karen Man |
No comments:
Post a Comment