“The one with the hills..!” Pre Race – Friday afternoon I picked up my packet at Austin Tri Cyclist and that evening I headed up to my parents ranch in Marble Falls. We spent the day on Saturday by the creek, my dad and cousins had built a zipline over the dam and although it was very relaxing it probably wasn't the best idea to spend all day in the sun! Dinner was some very basic veggies with rice and the usual glass of red wine. I tried to go to bed around 9 PM, but was up until midnight waiting for Matt to come over :( He had spent all day helping his parents move into their new home and STILL drove the hour to come help me fall asleep Saturday evening. Best Fiancé ever! Race Day – Woke up at 4:45 AM, got ready, forgot to eat breakfast (first mistake of the day!), and drove over to Lake Marble Falls. It was a short walk from the parking lot to the race site; one of the benefits of a small race is lack of congestion in the morning! I arrived around 5:45 and was one of the first people there. Marble Falls Tri has open bike racking so I found a prime spot near bike out and quickly set up my small transition area. I had about an hour to kill before my race start time so I just kind of puttered around. It was strange not having a T3 tent to hang out at, but luckily there were a few other T3 athletes at the race. We all just kind of found each other and waited out the morning until the first wave went off at 7! Swim – I started out the swim going fairly hard to break away from the pack and it was pretty uneventful. I rarely had anyone swimming near me and the swim course itself is very straightforward. I was a little disappointed with my time but ended up coming out of the water 3rd in my age group so I guess it wasn’t too awful! T1 – At the time I thought my T1 was THE WORST! But when looking at the results I somehow had the fastest transition in my age group and I moved up from 3rd place to 2nd place during T1! I think this says a lot about how important practicing your transitions is! Side note: the girl with the 2nd fastest T1 time was also a T3 athlete! Obviously we are doing something right down in South Austin. So back to what actually happened.. I got out of the water and immediately began running up the steep hill to transition; my heart rate was through the roof. I was able to quickly put on my shoes, helmet and sunglasses but the bike rack was so short I had trouble getting my bike out from under it! My water bottle kept getting stuck and my hazy brain couldn’t figure out what was going on. Props to all the guys out there with tall bikes who continually face this problem. It really through me for a loop! Bike – I went into this bike course knowing there would be hills, but I really thought they couldn’t be worse than Buffalo Springs 70.3. And I was wrong. So, so wrong. The hills were long, slow climbs. The kind that don’t really feel like hills but instead just make you feel like something is wrong with your body. I pushed myself too hard and maxed out my heart rate around 178 , when it should have maxed out at 170 (my second mistake of the day!). The way out on 1431 had a strong headwind, but once we turned onto 71 the wind was gone, and all I thought I had to deal with were the hills! Unfortunately miles 8-14, guesstimating here, were horrible chip seal (what else would you expect from a genuine Texas bike course??) If it doesn’t hurt a little bit then you aren’t really racing, right? ;) My coach had given me a race plan that was a little different from normal; I was going to go HARD on the bike. Normally my race plan is to hold back on the bike and do well on the run (where I make up any lost ground). Suffice to say, I went very hard on the bike. A little too hard and this showed up on the run course. It was definitely a learning experience! Even with all this nonsense I passed the 1st place girl in my age group and came into T2 in 1st ! I have never had the fastest bike split in my age group! Even though I wish I had raced smarter I am very excited to see how much better my cycling has gotten in the past few years. T2 –
I honestly don’t remember much about T2…I just switched out my gear and started running! Run - I can typically start off a run feeling pretty good and light. Not this time. My heart rate was high, I was having trouble breathing properly and my legs felt so heavy! I kept telling myself to push through, it would go away, I would settle into a good pace. And this just never happened, it kept feeling worse. Eventually my hips started cramping up a little bit and it was painful just to stride like a normal person! I tried convincing myself that I could do anything for 4.4 miles, but it just wasn’t working. And around mile 3 I was passed by the girl who eventually got 1st in our age group. A very sad and annoying moment... The course itself wasn’t anything too hard, it was slightly hilly and sunny (just like most other courses in the Austin area). But I think the most difficult part other than how I felt was how lonely it was! I almost got lost at one turn, when I couldn’t find another competitor to follow!
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LPCoach & Team - Austin T3 (Whitley Atkins) & Team Nuun |