Galveston 70.3 Race Report
Texas
70.3 was my first triathlon of the 2016 race season, and would be a true test
of my hard work in the off-season and would show me where I need to improve. It
was my first half iron with power on the bike (thank goodness-we’ll get to that
later) and first half iron after getting back into strength work that had
fallen off about a year ago. I will be the first to admit that after suffering
from over-training and kind of blowing up my year last year, I struggled to get
into a rhythm and to motivate myself on a daily basis. But thankfully, I’m not
going at it alone! I have the most amazing support crew that includes my
family, my boyfriend Jeffrey, my coach and his wife-my favorite training buddy,
and a few other close friends. They push me to new heights and keep me cemented
to my goals and comfort me when life gets hard. I would go as far to say they
are the best out there, hands down.
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| #Squad |
But, let’s get into the technical stuff of the race…
PRE-RACE:
I have
always struggled to eat the morning before a race, even in my competitive
swimming days, and even though I was not feeling nervous the night before (and
managed to destroy some manicotti with blackened chicken), I woke up and barely
choked down my food. I will need to probably find a new morning food to help it
go down easier! I felt confident, but I was still crazy nervous getting ready. I
was thankful to have Jeffrey and my mom and dad (and dog) to help keep my mind
off of what was about to happen! My wave went off before Jeffrey’s, so I got my
good luck kiss and made my way to the dock.
SWIM:
As a competitive
swimmer, I always feel an extra load of pressure for the swim because I know it’s
where I shine. I was able to sprint off the line and get away by myself from
our wave and settled into a rhythm. And let me just apologize to all the people
who I may have accidentally whacked, kicked, etc. in the waves in front of me!
It is not on purpose! I thought I swam conservatively and was expecting a lower
swim time, but came out with a 25:24. This ended up being the 2nd
fastest female swim of the day, only second behind pro Sarah Haskins, who also
won the women’s overall!
BIKE:
After
fighting through the people funneling into the swim exit and surrounded by
people coming onto the bike course, I just wanted to get out on the flat
stretch of road… only to be hit by a major head/crosswind. In the days leading
up to the race, we were expecting a tailwind on the way out and a headwind
coming home, so this was a little rough. I spent the majority of the first half
of the bike cursing the wind and sitting sideways with the crosswind. I have
struggled with some lower back pain on my left side when on the bike lately,
and today was no exception. With the wind forcing me to stabilize more than I
would before, my back started hurting sooner than usual. I just kept telling
myself that I will have a tailwind coming home and it will get better. I
struggled to hit the power that I wanted, but knew there was still a run to do.
Coming off the turnaround, we got a slight tailwind, but nothing spectacular…boo.
I focused on nutrition and hydration as I knew the day was getting hot very
quick. I finished under my goal time at 2:38:45, but still a bike PR!
RUN:
I have
always been more confident in my run than in my bike, so I was very happy to
get on the run course! It was a very hot run course, very little shade and lots
of little turnarounds. It was great to see so many familiar faces on the run
and that always makes it easier! The first lap felt great-smooth pace, felt
steady, and not too tired, but did feel a little tight in the chest when
breathing. I was a little nervous about nutrition intake with all the heat and
humidity, so at the start of the second lap I took in quite a bit of Gatorade and
Coke…something I never do…which proved to be a bad idea towards the end of the
second lap where I started to get nauseous. I slowed my pace down just trying
everything I could to not puke in front of everyone. I only took in water after
that, which helped because halfway through the last lap I started feeling
normal again and could get my pace back up. By this point though, I was ready
to get off that dang course. It was hotter than any of my previous runs this
year, and they were already beginning to run out of ice, water, and sponges. I
tried to pick up my pace for the last half of the last lap, feeling the fatigue
in my legs, but pushed all the way through the end. My run was 1:39:58, about 4
minutes over my goal time.
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| Runnin with Coach! |
OVERALL:
When it
was all said and done, I finished with a time of 4:47:31, a new 70.3 PR by 12
minutes. I finished 5th in my age group and 8th female
amateur overall. I was happy about the time, but not ecstatic, yet I know there
is only one way to go from here…up. I learned where I need to improve and where
I did well. Also, my friend told me I look like Mary Beth Ellis on the course
and I will take that compliment any day! The race helped me spark a new fire in
my motivation for the rest of my season, something I very much needed. Overall,
I very much enjoyed the day! And boy, did I miss racing!
My next 70.3 will be
Buffalo Springs on June 26th in Lubbock, TX and then Tempe 70.3 on
October 16th. There will be other events before and between those,
but those races will be my main focuses for the rest of the year! I have also
started a new strength program under ECFIT Boulder and so far, it is amazing!
Bonus Longview Sprint Tri Recap:
Not much
to say about this race as it was just a training day to support our community,
but I had one of my proudest events thus far in my triathlon career…sharing a
podium with my boyfriend! This was his first overall triathlon win, and he
deserved it. I am so proud of all of his hard work and dedication he has put
into his training, and it is showing off in big ways! It will be a big year for
both of us!
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| Necessary PDA. |
Thanks for reading!
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