BOULDER 70.3 Race Report (2017)

Ever since I started working with Siri this past December, I knew I wanted to race in Boulder this year. I wanted to race against some of the best pro women (even if I was just racing as an amateur) and I wanted to race in the US triathlon mecca. And even since I watched Jeffrey race Boulder Ironman in 2015, I knew I wanted to go back there and race. There’s something special about Boulder that calls out to me-probably because I can see myself within the community of hard-working, talented, relentless triathletes who call Boulder home, whether part of the year or year round. Plus my Sirius tribe is there! It’s where my dream lives, but I just take that dream home with me to Texas every time I leave.

Okay, enough with the sappy introduction, let’s get down to the race details!

                Leading up to this race, I knew I put in a lot of hard work, but what most people didn’t see was the emotional roller coaster I was on outside of training. Unending stress, pressure, and frustration. I broke down A LOT in my training block leading up to this race, not because of the training, but because of outside factors. Lots of tears and exhaustion from it all, but I knew where my heart was and where I wanted to go with my dreams and I have the massive support system to help let go of all that and jump into chasing that dream. Thankfully, Siri is one of the most understanding people and even guided me through this rough time. Right before this race, I left my full-time job of 2.5+ years to open myself up to my pursuit of pro triathlon racing. I wanted freedom and flexibility to jump headfirst into my dream and passion. Is it scary? Yes, absolutely. But is it exciting? Hell yeah. I knew this is what I wanted. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m not here because it’s easy, I’m here to see just what I’m made of.

                So even though I had some great training up to this race, I know (now) that my stress level in those 6 weeks between here and Buffalo Springs was detrimental to my recovery and overall well-being. I wasn’t thinking about that before the race though, I was excited to be starting a new venture and I was very excited to be back in Boulder! And this time I got to share it with Jeffrey! We ran the first night we arrived, nearly right out of the car (but not before empanadas with the Sirius crew, of course), so I felt like I knocked out some of the altitude roughness early and I never felt like I was struggling to breathe after that first run. The next morning was cold and drizzly. Jeffrey and I both left any type of cold-related outfitting at home thinking the weather would stay mild. Won’t make that mistake again! But my next morning swim went well! From there, I decided to run instead of ride because we didn’t bring a trainer and I didn’t want to get stuck out in cold rain 2 days before the race. I regret this decision now because my body really wanted a flush out spin. But I got it done and felt great and light on my feet, got a solid nap in, and we picked up my race packet—on the scooters of course!

Scootering is life.

                Friday race prep went very well! Got a good swim in and mid-day did a pre-race bike/run to check all my gear. My shifting was a little wonky and my bar tape on the hoods needed re-wrapping, but nothing Jeffrey couldn’t fix! While I felt great on my pre-race bike, I cut my run short because my legs were really feeling like crap. I wanted to come home, shower, nap, boots, RECOVER! And that I did. I was feeling great after a long nap and recovery boot time and we had some lasagna, salad, and grilled chicken for dinner. Everything was prepped and ready to go for the morning.

#1 Supporter :) 

                Race morning was a little nicer this time around because I didn’t have to wake up terribly early since my wave started so late! Plus all we had to do is roll the scooters over to the race site without worrying about parking. The only bad thing pre-race was the race start being pushed back nearly an hour to allow for people to get parked and settled, but I remembered to stay off my feet and relax to warm up. Wetsuit swim for us, so I got a short run in, hopped in the wetsuit and warmed up in the water! I was feeling nervous, but much better after getting in the water. The weather was also amazing-I knew heat wouldn’t be a problem for the day!

SWIM (25:55):

                Probably the most memorable part of the swim wasn’t even the swim. The 50+ ladies went ahead of us and there was one who was unfortunately running late from parking and struggling to get her wetsuit on to start in time. The gun went off for them but she still wasn’t zipped up-without any hesitation, I ran/waded through the water to help zip her up and send her on her way! I hope I made her day a little less chaotic! My swim actually went really well. I felt smooth and strong and got out ahead of the pack quickly and easily. The only thing that was not easy was swimming through the packs of people from the waves ahead of me. It was some of the worst swim traffic I’ve had to navigate through, so I’m really happy with the time I posted with all that!

BIKE (2:22:33):

                I came out of the water feeling a little nauseous (maybe hungry also), but still made my way quickly to my bike. Jeffrey was there calling out my swim time and wishing me a great bike leg J Out on the bike, I quickly realized I was going to have A LOT of traffic with other cyclists. Thankfully I was passing quickly, but at the single-lane turnarounds I know I missed some time getting stuck behind others. But I was feeling great! Strong and fast. About mile 10-15, I did almost get hit by a car thanks to a police officer who didn’t realize just how fast I was coming to the intersection. The car barely stopped in time to miss me. I tried to not waste any energy over that, I still had a long way to go! I was still feeling great and steady until about halfway through the bike. My legs were not exactly feeling the power. I couldn’t land on my cadence and I felt I was either grinding or spinning, but either way, I won’t lie-I felt like shit. I’ve never felt so crap on the bike ever before! I made sure to go through my checklist of water and nutrition and I was still on target there, my body just was not having it. This was going to be a fight. I was so happy to get back into T2 and onto the run. I had a great time and pace, but I know if my legs had been there, I would’ve gone even faster.

RUN (1:36:45):

                I was so happy to see all my people nearly immediately on the run! Jeffrey and the whole Sirius crew was out and that made my shit feeling a little better! My legs hated me. And I hated them for how they felt! But Troy reminded me, quick feet and keep your form in check. I made sure I was doing everything right on my form so I would not fall apart. Just keep moving forward. And that I did. It was nice to know my run form actually looked as good as I was trying-a man on top of one of the hills complemented me on both laps how great my cadence looked! Little win! Both Jeffrey and Troy made sure to check on me throughout the run, which helped out so much, especially when I was really hurting. Both of them also noted they had not seen the second place amateur female anywhere close behind, but I knew I needed to push regardless of where they were. No slacking allowed here. Thankfully about miles 4-10 felt pretty great! I was able to pick up the pace. But from about mile 11-the finish, I was in fight mode. My form was still solid but I was fighting with everything I had so I could finish under 4:30. My legs hated me, my body was tired, but I was not about to give in to the pain. Constantly reminding myself: “I’m not here because this is easy, I am here because I am a fighter. I’m here to see what I’m made of.”

It was probably one of my least glorious finishes this year, but it was a true fight, and I am proud of the fight I put up! It wasn’t my best run time, but it was certainly the worst I’ve felt out on the course this year! I was proud that I did not give in, and I was even more excited when I learned that I was still first amateur female overall and placed 8^th place within the women’s pro field (top 10)! Those were my goals and I reached them and for that, I was incredibly happy.

No acceptance of the 70.3 Worlds Slot for 2018, but we will see just how many people read this far in my blog! I am making the decision to race on the professional level for 2018 and I cannot wait to see what that has in store for me! It is incredibly exciting. I will make a separate blog post about that as it is a very sentimental topic for me!

Off into the sunrise of new adventures..

Only one week until I leave for this years’ 70.3 World Championships in Chattanooga and I have had some even more ups and downs since Boulder, but I know I have grown so much in that time (not only in my fitness, but in my personal life as well). LET’S DO THIS!