I came seventh but wow it was close to a fourth place finish.
The swim was great. I have improved so much this year it is awesome. The biggest difference is that I come out of the water in a solid position and am not totally spent. This means fast transitions and being in a good spot for the very fast start on the bike.
The Bike - Holy smokes it was hard work! We started with a pack of 6 girls I think. There may have been more but the pace was hard so I think a few were shot out very quickly. The course was pretty tough in that there was a wicked wind, some serious divets/holes/rough patches to avoid and a gradual hill one way that didn't seem nearly that bad until you had to do it 4 times! Unfortunately two girls crashed - one by crossing wheels and the other by hitting Mary-Beth Ellis (eventual winner) when she accidentaly went into one of the significant divets in the road and had to sharply pull out. For me - all went well but I made the stupid mistake of not drinking and totally screwing up my nutrition. Although the day started quite coolit gradually got hotter and ended up being really deceiving. I had maybe 3/4 of a water bottle and one gel which was not nearly enough to sustain me through the run. The other dumb ass thing I did was not gearing down in the corners - had to work super hard in a high gear to catch up each time. Thankfully I have good power but may have wasted some energy. I have to say that when the going got tough, I had in the back of my mind Ken's voice saying (in his very laid back andconfident way) - No problem for you on the bike, you can stay with these girls. I figured that he is usually right so I did stay with them for the most part and when I did drop back was able to pull myself back into it. I was happy.
The run - Started great! First two laps were solid. The third lap I started to lose some form. The fourth lap I just kept thinking - go go go - you have to want it. Problem was that on the last km my body just didn't want to go any more - I hit the wall big time. Apparently I was not running in a straight line anymore and to be honest, can't remember running the last 100m or so. I almost went the wrong way at the end but somehow crossed the finish line. Apparently the medical people were calling me in :) So in the last 1 km or less I was passed by Kerry Spearing and Susan Williams. There was no doubt though that I had put everything I had out there.
So a strong race. Lots to improve on and I am super excited about the next one. Just imagine if I get my nutrition right! Austin is a lot a lot hotter so there will be no option to be smart on this one. So next time -faster.
Thanks for all your messages and fast thoughts - they really came in handy! Follow this link for the full results breakdown.
http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_plain_text.php?race_id=10778
The swim was great. I have improved so much this year it is awesome. The biggest difference is that I come out of the water in a solid position and am not totally spent. This means fast transitions and being in a good spot for the very fast start on the bike.
The Bike - Holy smokes it was hard work! We started with a pack of 6 girls I think. There may have been more but the pace was hard so I think a few were shot out very quickly. The course was pretty tough in that there was a wicked wind, some serious divets/holes/rough patches to avoid and a gradual hill one way that didn't seem nearly that bad until you had to do it 4 times! Unfortunately two girls crashed - one by crossing wheels and the other by hitting Mary-Beth Ellis (eventual winner) when she accidentaly went into one of the significant divets in the road and had to sharply pull out. For me - all went well but I made the stupid mistake of not drinking and totally screwing up my nutrition. Although the day started quite coolit gradually got hotter and ended up being really deceiving. I had maybe 3/4 of a water bottle and one gel which was not nearly enough to sustain me through the run. The other dumb ass thing I did was not gearing down in the corners - had to work super hard in a high gear to catch up each time. Thankfully I have good power but may have wasted some energy. I have to say that when the going got tough, I had in the back of my mind Ken's voice saying (in his very laid back andconfident way) - No problem for you on the bike, you can stay with these girls. I figured that he is usually right so I did stay with them for the most part and when I did drop back was able to pull myself back into it. I was happy.
The run - Started great! First two laps were solid. The third lap I started to lose some form. The fourth lap I just kept thinking - go go go - you have to want it. Problem was that on the last km my body just didn't want to go any more - I hit the wall big time. Apparently I was not running in a straight line anymore and to be honest, can't remember running the last 100m or so. I almost went the wrong way at the end but somehow crossed the finish line. Apparently the medical people were calling me in :) So in the last 1 km or less I was passed by Kerry Spearing and Susan Williams. There was no doubt though that I had put everything I had out there.
So a strong race. Lots to improve on and I am super excited about the next one. Just imagine if I get my nutrition right! Austin is a lot a lot hotter so there will be no option to be smart on this one. So next time -faster.
Thanks for all your messages and fast thoughts - they really came in handy! Follow this link for the full results breakdown.
http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_plain_text.php?race_id=10778
