Race Day!

I had a hard time falling asleep again before the race. Not because I was nervous, I know I had trained and at that point there is nothing I could do to become more prepared. The time change was just not helpful. I figured it didn't really matter because once you start racing it's not like you are tired.

I woke up at 5am and headed downstairs to the cafe to fill up my water bottle with powerade (which was kind of free, since I had paid $12 for a refillable mug at the beginning of my stay). And to get some hot water for my oatmeal that I packed from home. I had oatmeal with honey and a banana for breakfast. I woke Pedro up and we headed down to the race start.

We were pushing the time since transition closed at 6:15am, though I didn't start until 7:00am. I like not having to sit around so it worked well for me.


We went down to watch some of the other waves start. It was a beach start which is different than anything I have ever done.




I headed down to the water and waited for the start. The water was very warm and I tried to find someone to draft off. It was funny though because it seemed the person I was following kept moving a bit so I couldn't draft. Then I got punched in the face and then overtook some slower swimmers in waves in front of me. I understand how frustrating it can be for a real fast swimmer because slow people get in the way!


Swim finish, you can see me in the back with the purple cap on. I swam in 39min. It was my first non-wetsuit swim, so I didn't have any real expectations. But I wanted to swim a bit faster.


Then a long run to my bike. It was really a long run to transition, through grass and wood chips. Not optimal for putting on socks and shoes. As I came into transition a volunteer handed me a bottle of gatorade, which I needed for the bike so I wouldn't have to stop at an aid station. However, this bottle still had the plastic on the top and the plastic under the cap. Which took me a few minutes to get off when you are trying to hurry..I eventually asked a volunteer to take it off for me while I was changing into my bike gear. I had to wash off my feet with a bottle of water I had and balance to put my socks and shoes on so not to get any more dirt on my feet. I also couldn't find my bike for a second because I am not use to so many bikes being on the rack when I return from the swim, since I am slower than most, most people are already gone!
Here I am leaving transition 4 min later.

The bike was a relatively flat bike with just a few hills. I have decided I like the hills better because I can actually pass people on the hills. With the flat race everyone rode about the same speed. The wind was not as bad as Colorado wind, but it was windy. I thought it would be great for the run to have the wind so I didn't mind it on the bike.
Each bike course is different and you can't compare times from one to the other. But this presented it's own challenges being flat. You had to pedal, pedal, pedal. It was easy to get lulled into a slower speed, you had to focus on keeping up your speed.
I biked in 2hrs and 40min. I was hoping for somewhere between 2hrs and 30min and 2hrs and 45min. So, all in all it was what I expected.

I left for the three loop run. Not knowing if I would like this many loops or not. Pedro found a great place, which was at the start of each loop. Here I am heading out on lap 1.


My legs were feeling great and I was feeling good. Until I quickly realized the breeze I thought would be there, was not. It was hot and humid. People were already walking and it was, what I assumed their first lap. The run had 4 aid stations on each lap. This was good and bad. The first was placed at the beginning of the first lap, another before a run on the grass/dirt, another close to the second and the third seemed to be placed a lot further away and another right before a run in the shade. The problem was about a 3 mile stretch on the dirt/grass. It was hot and humid. On the first lap about the midway point on this stretch I got dizzy. Real dizzy. I had drank a lot on the bike and was carrying my bottle with me so I was a bit concerned. I was picturing passing out because of the heat. I was wondering how long it might take someone to run to the next aid station and let them know. It was funny because there were cones and I swear they were moving!
At the beginning of the second loop I passed Pedro and he told me to "run faster" I could only respond with, it's hot!



I then had a great idea of putting a whole cup of ice down my shirt! This actually seemed to help significantly. I wasn't as dizzy and now I at least knew I needed to take cold sponges and ice at each aid station, especially before the long break between stations. Lap two was going well, near the end I was a bit tired, but not bad.

Loop three, I am excited to be almost done (I am holding up 3 fingers for lap 3)!



Loop three, people were walking so much. I don't think I have ever seen so many walkers. The problem was we were running on this dirt and so there was two worn sides on the dirt. Walkers were walking on both sides. You would have to weave in and out of the people. Besides, when so many people are walking, it makes you kind of want to walk yourself! I kept saying, you walk once, it's twice as easy to walk again and so on and so forth. I wasn't tired at all, leg wise...just HOT. I figured walking wouldn't make the heat any better so the quicker I got done the better! I took a flat ice cube out of my shirt and placed it under my hat and I swear it lasted for 3 miles or more, I was thinking of the candles that lasted the Jewish people 8 days...I have no idea how the ice lasted that long pressed against my forehead under my visor! It would drip down my face and it was great.

I ran in 2 hrs, which was a 9:15 pace. I was obviously hoping for a faster pace, but it was still 16th in my age group for the run. I was definitely not acclimated to the heat and humidity! Having a 3 loop run was actually not so bad at all, it made each lap quite manageable.


I finished in 5hrs and 29min. I placed 16th in my age (out of 94) and 567 out of 2,667 people overall. It was better, but of course I always want to do better!

After the race, we took the boat back to our hotel and I took a quick shower, since we were already suppose to be out of the hotel! Then we headed to the airport for our flight home. We ate at Chili's(which seems to be my post race choice) at the airport and then went to the gate for our flight.

It was a long day! But overall a good one. My quads are sore today, but everything else is pretty good!
Then we got on our flight and headed back to Colorado.