the swim-bike-run pieces. they finally came together at rhode island 70.3. i cannot be happier with my race and i am proud of my hard work paying off! if you know the story from my previous two 1/2 IMs this season they have been far from perfect. i am glad i decided to fit the rhode island trip in just for this feeling of satisfaction that i did my best at ALL three sports.
quick race report: swim was more like a 2pm rough water swim. it did rain the morning of the race and there was even a delay of the start because the buoys were going all over the place. it was stormy, windy and nothing like the beach pictures below. entering the water was easy- no real surf just a lot of chop. every time i reached a yellow buoy i'd look up to see the next one WAY to the left... they should really be in a straight line, but given the conditions i knew right off this would not be the case. i got out fast, made the red turn around buoy and still saw no one from my wave. there were supposedly orange buoys to follow in... i did not see any of those. just the light from the transition up on the beach. following that must have worked because i swam a quick 24 min. and i was out onto the bike. very happy with my swim split- it matches the fastest open water 1.2 mi. i have ever done!
the bike was awesome! was wet and flat the first half. but everything felt good until i realized i made a total ROOKIE mistake. i remembered i had NOT put more air into my tires. usually want them right at 120 PSI. it had been 2 days since i topped them off.... so i think i rode the first 10-15 miles at about 80 PSI. luckily at the water/aid station they had a pump so i pulled over, hopped off and did a quick top off. kind of felt like i was a tour rider- mechanical error fixed- right back on the bike. the second half got hilly on the bike. nothing too steep but a TON of rollers. i absolutely loved it. it was beautiful scenery, cool temp and just fun! i have felt so strong riding hills lately that i rode these like they were nothing. i did not know where i was in my age group at this point until i caught a gal that must have passed me when i was filling my tires. i passed her for a bit and at some point she passed me back up. i guess i ended up third off of the bike but with a 2:39 PR (besides FL).
the run was tuff initially. i think having so much hill work on the bike made me feel a bit tight coming into the run. i got into my own groove and was holding right around 8 min. pace. for me i was back! i was back on the pace i knew i could hold and have held in the past. the run had a hill in it close to 10% grade- so inside torrey pines- that we had to get up and go down twice. having kept 8 min. pace i was happy because that was including the slow climb up hill. i was conservative on the run which may have been both not so good and good. not so good because i got beat by two gals by only 1 min.- they passed me at the end. but really good because i accomplished the half marathon feeling good and confident again that i do know how to race that distance.
the entire 70.3 miles took a whooping 4:57 which is a best time- besides clearwater- that i have done! i also think it was a hard course and not nearly as easy as the time before i broke 5 hrs.i ended up 7th in my age group and must give props to the gals who were smokin fast on that run course! so impressive! all in all i had a ton of fun and feel ready to be re-focused for 70.3 world championship in november!
my dad and i had a great time catching up on our trip. he got to see the full triathlon scene which is always a scene! we also got to experience some quality east coast beach blanket be-bop. see below. the beach was more packed then i have ever seen in san diego- even more so then the 4th of july. i guess when you are not as fortunate as us so-callers you have to soak up the sun when you can.
it was hard to even walk around!
this is downtown providence where we stayed. the race finished right at the capitol building. pretty awesome!
i know these are small- took them off of the web since i do not have my dads pics yet. thats my finish and start. in my new kit!! yahhh!
back to work from here. both training for my clients and myself. our QBS gals have the solana beach sprint triathlon coming up in 2 weeks! it is always a fun day with a big turn out of ladies. goals for clearwater ill save for a later post- but i am already brainstorming!to your health,
c
3 comments:
congrtaulaitons on an amazing race! and cuuuuuute kit- love it!
Just came across your blog. Congratulations on a great race. Glad you enjoyed RI!
You are amazing girl! Congrats on the race. I found your blog a couple of months ago right when I had signed up for my first sprint triathlon. It is in a 7 weeks. I am excited, but really nervous. I think you could put me in the very novice group. Anyways, you inspire me and keep me motivated on the days that it is hard to train. Oh, by the way, my hubby might be going to SDSU to get his masters starting in the fall. Where in San Diego do you live? I don't know anything about the San Diego area, but we will probably start looking for a place soon. Anyways, good luck to you in the up coming triathlons.
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