Rev 3 Williamsburg

I’ll keep this (relatively) short since I have another race this Saturday….

Rev 3 Williamsburg

Olympic Distance (1500 meter swim, 27.2 mile bike, 10K run)

Sunday, July 10^th

I came. I saw. I didn’t conquer.

I was not looking forward to this race. Just being honest. I felt like I put all my energy – physically and mentally – into the Half Ironman I did last month (my coach calls this “post race blues”). I felt like I was losing my mojo and needed a pep talk just to make it to the starting line. I reached out to my friend Crystal the day before the race… she was a force to be reckoned with during her triathlon days by the way (Matthew Dale profiles Ironman 70.3 World Champion Crystal Pruitt). Oh and if you’re reading this, send positive vibes her way. She just had surgery!

“It is normal to go through a lull after a big race. Can’t be firing on all cylinders 365 days a year. That’s the ebb and flow of the ‘preparing, training, peaking, recovering, repeat cycle. I think you’ll enjoy it when you get in the racing atmosphere. You’ll get your race day endorphins back.” ~My forever positive friend, Crystal

She was right!

There is something about the ritual of the race – putting on the number, lining up, being timed – that brings out the best in us. ~Grete Waitz

Race Day

I got to the race site around 6:30 Sunday morning. Ran into a few friends. Had some laughs. The endorphins started kicking in – and like she said – I got my mojo back and was ready to roll. It’s kind of like going to the gym…you don’t want to go, you’re tired, not in the mood, but once you get there and do your workout you always feel like a million bucks after. It’s ALWAYS worth it ;-)

The Swim – 1500 Meters – 20:35

Yes, that was my time. 20 minutes and 35 seconds. No, the swim course wasn’t short. We raced in the Chickahominy River and we got to swim DOWN STREAM. Cha ching. It was awesome. Who doesn’t love swimming with a current. The only thing that could have been better is if I had an inner tube and a wine spritzer.

3, 2, 1 …the horn blew and us ladies were off. I’ve been sticking to the same plan my coach gave me at the beginning of the season – go out hard, get on fast feet, and swim with a pack. I’ve been doing really well with putting myself in a good position, not getting swam on top of, and protecting my space. And this time I managed not to get kicked in the face! The only issue I had with this course was spotting. I swear the buoys had a mind of their own. The current was causing them to drift. So I stopped sighting and trusted that the girls I was swimming with knew what they were doing. Just follow the feet.

Out the water and up the ramp....

Side note: before the start of the race, I was a little confused about the Olympic swim versus the Half. A funny gentleman said “well, just make sure you turn at the red buoy..if you see an orange buoy you f*cked up”. It’s the little things that make us laugh J

Swim Exit
Goggles off. Cap off. RUN.

The Bike – 27.2 Miles – 1:26:22

Ho hum hum. Can I skip this section? What can I say? I’m a sad case. Not only am I not competitive on a bike, I’m slow. It’s the same story over and over again. I’m tired of it. I don’t really want to talk about it. There’s not much to say. It’s a work in progress. I won’t give up. I’ll keep at it and hopefully something will click one day. Maybe I need more time on the saddle, or a better position on the bike, or I need to learn how to use the right muscles. For now, I’m just working with what I have. Just get from Point A to Point B then run FAST.

“At least you look like you know what you’re doing.” ~My Dad…thanks Dad

The Run – 10K (6.2 miles) – 41:08

This is the only part of the race that I look back at and feel like I didn’t give my all.

As you can see I was only 23 seconds away from placing 2^nd in my division. I think I could have made that time up on the run. Unfortunately I held back a little too much within the first 3 miles. By the time I spotted the two women ahead of me, I tried to kick with two miles to go and ran out of road (so to speak).

Mile 1: 6:54 (up and over a bridge)

Mile 2: 6:46

Mile 3: 6:47

Mile 4: 6:41

Mile 5: 6:33

Mile 6: 6:36 (up and over a bridge AGAIN then cross country style run on grass…so cruel)

By the time I got to the run I felt pretty fresh. The heat/humidity wasn’t nearly as bad as the previous days, and nowhere near what I experienced at Eagleman. No complaints there. Generally it takes me at least a mile to get my legs moving after being on the bike for so long. So I didn’t freak out when I saw how slow my first mile was. But miles 2 and 3…I have no excuse. Around mile 4 I started picking up the pace, spotted two women. Tried to run hard in mile 5 because I knew the bridge was coming up. I was closing the gap but I started the kick too late....

Time: 2:31:17

Place: 11^th Female Amateur

Division Place: 4^th

Next up…..Tidewater Triathlon in Hampton, VA. My favorite sprint triathlon. In fact, this was the very first triathlon I ever did…back in 2013.

2013 Results: 1 hour 21 minutes

Swim – 11:53, Bike – 44:17, Run – 21:48

44^th Place

2015 Results: 1 hour 6 minutes

Swim – 9:29, Bike – 35:19, Run – 19:37

14^th Place

2016 Results:

Let’s see how I do this weekend!