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November 12, 2007
70.3 World Championships Race Report
The Swim: 31:52
When I swam in the Gulf on Friday, the day before the race, I was a little on the concerned side to say the least. I have never swam in an ocean before so the choppy waves and salt water taste left me feeling a little nauseous. But race morning came and the water seemed much calmer. In addition, the weather was absolutely perfect. My fears of 80-90 degree temps were not going to come to fruition. Instead it was 60-70 degrees, clear and sunny. We were off to a great start!
I was in the 3rd wave with all women 18-34. The pro women and then the pro men were in the waves before me. Standing there watching the pros start off on a breath-taking morning, crazy energy all about, hundreds of triathletes milling about, thinking about what was to come, I tried to remain calm and take deep breathes. And then I looked over and saw my college teammate standing right next to me! We hugged and she said "well, this feels about right, on the starting line next to you, nervous..." Of course back in the day our races didn't involve running into an ocean! :)
The start of the swim was pretty rough for me - I've never started in a wave so big (but I'm not going to complain seeing as how full IM races start with 2000++ people - I can only imagine!!). Once I got 200-300 yds out I found open water and got into a nice rhythm. I made it out to the turnaround and although it seemed to take FOREVER to get back to the beach I came out of the water and looked on my watch to see 31:xx. I was pretty pleased with that although one day my goal is to break that 30 min barrier and I will do it if it kills me! :)
T1: 2:57
Welcome to big time races where they have wetsuit strippers!! I was loving life because I'm horrible at getting my wetsuit off! I charged up the beach and ran straight to the volunteers that were ripping wetsuits off. I laid down on the ground and before I knew it my wetsuit was off and the wonderful man was pulling me back up to my feet and handing me my suit! Now I'm spoiled!I have to admit I was majorly stressing about the whole changing tent/bag situation but of course it was all worry for nothing because transition went very smoothly. I cannot even tell you how wonderful the volunteers were all weekend, including those in the changing tents that spread all my stuff out for me and helped me find what I need. What a treat!
The Bike: 2:26:45
I'm starting to think I should have been a cyclist because it seems to be my strongest discipline in all my races. The bike course is definitely flat and fast and at times there seemed to be a tailwind pushing me to speeds of 26-28+ MPH! I felt very good on the bike and was able to push but still keep my cadence high. I didn't see too many people out on the bike until about mile 20 when large packs of AG men who started after me started to pass. When they passed I usually took the opportunity to sit up a little and take in some nutrition so as not to get caught up in drafting.
I don't have much to say about drafting. I know it's a huge issue for this race and some people get really burned up by it. I definitely saw a lot of drafting but I did also see several marshalls out on the course and both times I went past penalty tents, there were people in there serving their time. I did my very best to avoid drafting myself but I will say in some spots it was really difficult. When a huge pack of AG men would swallow me up on very tight sections of the course there is nothing you can do! I would sit up, stop pedaling and watch them ride away to only get swallowed up by another pack. I honestly didn't really let it bother me, even when I would see some of my competitors riding by in big packs. What can you do but focus on your own race? And although some definitely abused it more than others, I would argue that every single age grouper benefited in some way, at least a little, by drafting.
Anyway, I hit a tough stretch from mile 40-50 where I started to feel some fatigue and my pace slowed. I think there was a headwind as well as many people seemed to slow down on this stretch. But once I made the final turn to head back over the bridge to T2, I got some life back in my legs and was feeling strong again. I saw O around mile 54 and he told me I was in about 5th place in my AG. Right on!
T2: 2:26
Again, how nice that the volunteers take your bike and rack it for you - all you have to do it get your bag, change your shoes and be on your way!
The Run: 1:43:46
I looked at my watch as I was coming out of transition and did the math to figure I only needed a 1:37 half marathon to achieve my goal of breaking 4:40. I had run 1:35 in my first half IM so I knew it was possible and I started off feeling pretty good. I was a little nauseous at the start of the run but it wasn't as bad as in previous races. The nausea did keep me from taking my gel in during the run because it was just bad enough to make me think I would throw the gel right back up, but I was able to take water and even some Gatorade at each aid station. For the first 4-5 miIes I started off at the 7:20-7:30 pace that I needed and was feeling pretty good. But then despite my effort level ramping up, I started to run slower and slower. As I mentioned yesterday, my theory on this poor run was my loss of run fitness from not running much the past 2 months! Although it could have been due to several reasons (going too hard on the bike, not taking in adequate nutrition, etc...) I really feel like I just didn't have it in my legs because of my limited training.
Overall it was a great experience and while I didn't quite achieve what I set out to do, I now have plenty of motivation to make it back to Clearwater in 2008 and break that 4:40 mark, get on the podium AND to stay healthy all season long!
I saw so many cool things at the race I can't even remember them all! But here is some of them:
1) The Hoyts - O and I saw Dick Hoyt carrying the little boat that he pulls his son along in during the swim down to the beach the morning of the race. I almost got teary eyed just seeing him! How truly inspiring. I also saw them on the run - Dick pushing Rick and it was just an awesome, awesome sight. Makes you realize that just getting to the starting line is a huge blessing.
2) Major David Roselle - I passed him on the bike and yelled out "great job!" and he yelled back the same. In case you don't know his story, here is a little piece on him. He is a Kona finisher and again, a huge inspiration.
3) Pros here, there and everywhere. The women's winner, Mirinda Carfrae, passed me on the run when she was finishing and I was on my 1st loop and it was just awesome to see her. She was running so strong and hard - and her run split of 1:18 shows it! I was so impressed. I just really love the sport of triathlon (just like running) where the pros and age groupers alike all line up on the same line and go at it. I was racing right next to the very best and because I was in the 3rd wave behind the pros my bike was racked next to all the stars' bikes! Very, very cool.
4) The whole production of the race was extremely well done from the check in to the course to the finish line to the awards ceremony...the whole nine yards! It was a great experience and I'm already looking forward to a return trip next year!
And so it goes! I think I've written enough for one day (and bored you all!) so I will save my "season review" and my "what's next" for other blog entries this week. I won't have any training to yap on about so I'm glad I'll have other topics to yap on instead. :)
Posted by beth at November 12, 2007 3:53 PM
Comments
Argh! So Awesome!!! Kudos!
Posted by: Joseph Vinciquerra at November 12, 2007 7:28 PM