Outta my way!

Move over Michelle, it’s my turn to blab…I mean blog for a minute. Admittedly, I haven’t been the best at posting my race experiences, but as my tri season came to a close this past weekend I thought I’d get back into the swing of things. Who has time to blog when they’re out there training 40 hours a week anyway? Seriously people, more training and less blogging! (Michelle’s going to beat me for saying that).

I’ve had a blast this season, and learned a lot! Swimming for one was a good start! You Race Directors can all rest easy now...I can assure you, no animals were harmed in my swimming in these triathlons. I also learned that running on a seriously upset stomach is much less fun than anticipated. I don’t recommend it. I also don’t recommend chaffing, especially in the nether regions, but that’s a different story for a different time.

All in all it was a great second season, and definitely one to build upon.

As for the Utah Half (70.3) this past Saturday…I really didn’t know what to expect. I haven’t really had much interest in putting time in on the bike. Not sure what it is, but it seems to be running in the family these days…go Michelle, I know you will rock LOTOJA. My run has been okay, but not great. My swim…well it is what it is, an area for major improvement this offseason. That being said, I just really didn’t have a feel about how this race would go for me. I wasn’t nervous, or overly anxious either, which is somewhat out of the ordinary. Bottom line I had no clue how Saturday would turnout.

On to the recap…

Looking my coolest...NOT!

The Swim

The water was absolutely perfect. Total glass…I was actually really surprised to see Michelle as I exited the water. I was certain she’d have met some ski bums and been cutting it up out on the slalom, but thankfully she was there cheering myself as well as everybody else on. Ironically, I now know why she was the head cheerleader back in high school! Thanks dear…it’s really great to have you out there leading the cheers! Back to the swim…nothing too eventful, the washing machine feeling is slowly becoming less and less intimidating, and I actually like mixing it up with the boys in the front, even if it is only for a few seconds. I’ve really improved in that area a TON since last year. Anyway, the typical elbow to the face, foot to the face, etc. Nothing too crazy, except maybe the taste of gasoline from the Ranger boat….yikes. No worries, couldn’t be any worse that the water in Utah Lake itself, could it? The course did feel a little long, and it seems like everybody’s time validates that. I came in just after 40 minutes, which is about 4-5 minutes slower than I had hoped. Time to kick it in on the bike…

T1

Not bad…wetsuit came off just fine, I was a little confused by the g-string tri shorts I somehow managed to wear without my knowledge. Oh wait…silly me, my shorts had just decided to impersonate something you’d find in the Victoria Secret catalogue I guess. Nice timing for that…oh well, maybe someone got a good chuckle out of it. I know I did! Not a bad time (1:50ish), considering my transition area was on the far end from the bike out. Really need to consider sacrificing the extra 30 minutes of sleep so I can get a good transition spot. Mental note for next year!

Bike

Being a pretty flat course, I really wanted to push it on the bike. My goal was 2:30, which is roughly 22 MPH. It was a stretch, considering I’m not riding a TT bike, and haven’t been putting a ton of miles in, but I really thought I could push it today. The wind cooperated for the most part, a few miles where it was tough, but I managed to push it pretty hard for most of the ride. Other than stopping at three stoplights due to some road construction, I felt pretty good about it. Came in just over my goal, but I’m totally stoked with my 2:32 split. My favorite part of the bike was my nutrition. In the other two 70.3’s, my nutrition on the bike has been terrible…I’ve literally limped into T2 on empty and had to get some calories immediately before I could get moving. This time I had plenty energy and came into T2 strong…or so I thought.

T2

Smokin…nothing else needed here. Third fastest out of the whole field (0.56 sec). To be honest, I don’t even remember T2…it was just so dang fast it must have blown my mind.

Run

I’m really not too sure what to say about the run. Coming off the bike I felt great. By mile 1 though, I felt awful. My stomach was not happy at all and was letting me know it. I managed to get some coke and a little food down just before mile 2, but by mile 4 I just wasn’t feeling it and had to completely stop and walk for a minute. I was having my own little Michelle-Boise moment, and I couldn’t understand why. Nutrition on the bike was great, what happened? I really wish I knew, but I haven’t a clue. Anyway, I told myself enough of this, and I forced myself to jog to the next aid station. A little more walking here and there and finally, at about mile 6 things started to turn. I must have done the first 6 miles in about an hour, because I was getting passed like crazy. It was not going to be a great run split, but at that point I knew I would finish. Michelle was a huge help on the run, and I think the second half of the run was one of the more memorable I’ve had. I went from feeling like garbage, to running pretty hard. Yes, I was sore, and not 100%, but who is 65 miles into a race? I’ve always heard of this strange “negative split” concept, but my egocentric self could never come to grips with what it meant…until now. My first true negative split! I’m kidding of course, but I truly had such an enjoyable second half of the race, and I owe a ton of it to Michelle. She had somehow managed to befriend about 20 people on the course, and somehow over the multiple times I passed them, they remembered my name and cheered really loudly for me. I felt like Tom Brady out there…by the way, GO PATS! Anyway, Thanks Michelle, you really are the best.

Coming into the finishers shoot- 4.56!

Afterward

I always love to chill after a race and just chat with the other athletes. Loved having my parents there to watch, thanks Mom and Dad for coming! Chatted with some cool people, and hope to stay in touch throughout the winter and next season. Final time was 4 hours 56 minutes. Scary, but 11th place (including overall winners) in my age group…19th place overall. The 30-34 age group is just so competitive, but I love it. Great job to all the racers out there, and major thanks to RaceTri for putting on a spectacular event.

Mom and Dad

Until next time…Tri Hard!