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Augusta 70.3 Race Report 2013

We definitely had the best Augusta trip this year! When we first started triathlon we went to Augusta and had a wonderful time in 2009, and I surprised myself with a performance beyond what I expected. That definitely hadn’t happened since. The year after, I did a relay. The year after that I was sick and DNF’d. Last year we weren’t able to go. So I was hoping to recapture the magic of the first year.

We had over forty folks racing from ATC. I was especially excited to see the performances of those I've been individually coaching- Heather, Sondra, and Rich as they’ve been working very hard and were coming into this race rested and raring to go! My heart was also at Lake Lanier though and I was bummed I couldn't be in two places at once. Over the last 12 weeks we've also been training a huge group from Time Warner to compete in their first sprint triathlon- over 200 newly minted triathletes!

The amazing group of Turner/ATC athletes at Lake Lanier. I'm so proud of all of them!

Right before heading down the ramp to start the swim I was chatting with some folks and stubbed my toe. No big deal, but then I looked down and it looked like I scraped the top of my toe off. Lots of blood and very painful. It was too late to try to get something to put pressure on it. I left little blood glops all the day down the ramp. Sorry Augusta!

Chillin' pre-race with Rich and Suzi3

I was concerned starting the swim. It hurt when I kicked so I just didn’t kick at all on my right side. It also hurt when I kept banging my feet together, which I never noticed I do while I’m swimming.  Maybe it’s because only one leg was kicking. Also, I kept feeling little warm globules against my foot and I was thinking I need that blood and worried about losing too much!

Otherwise, the swim was uneventful.  Due to my late wave (8:52 with a 7:30 start!) we were swimming right into the sunrise so I couldn’t really see to look for feet. I wasn’t too worried, though, because I knew the current was pretty decent this year and the differences between swim times would consequently be quite small.

Ran up the long ramp post-swim and I could see blood squirting out of my toe. I thought about stopping to wrap it but decided not to bother. Hopefully it would sort itself out during the bike and be good to go on the run.

Hopped on the bike and immediately was in what felt like a 3000 person line from one end of the bike course to another. Complicated to navigate legally and frustrating. I know that starting in the back lends itself to an advantage theoretically, but not when there are a million different speeds, folks riding three across, and nowhere to go. I eased into it, because I felt like I literally couldn’t keep my power up because there was so much passing, slowing, surging, and weaving.  In retrospect, I wasn’t aggressive enough in this section and  my power was ~15 watts below goal.

At mile 20 things got a lot better as the course got hillier and strung folks out. About that time my aero bottle setup, that also includes my Garmin came off. I weighed the pros and cons of stopping, but the fact was I had no other way to hold fluid and the next aid station was 20 miles away unless I went backwards. I had to pull over and try to fix it for an agonizing 3 plus minutes as everyone I had passed in the first 20 proceeded to quickly pass me back. Frustrating! After that the upside was that I felt more motivated to push the power no matter what and started riding more aggressively. I had to go sans Garmin because I thought my poor repair job would likely fail and I didn’t want my Garmin to be lost forever so I tucked it away in my pocket.

So I just rode the rest on RPE.  Ironically, once I put the Garmin away I held my race power perfectly for the second two thirds of the race. Hmm. I really love this bike course. I do think they are pushing the limits in terms of the number of people the bike course can safely hold.  At some point it’s a disadvantage to start in the back and dangerous to boot. I was wave 21 and started 90 minutes after the first wave.

The run was good. The goal going into it was to run a 1:30. I didn’t quite make it but I was close. I started out pretty hard. I was feeling a big woozy and I kept talking myself out of the cause being blood loss. (In the aftermath, I don’t think I bled That much) It was very crowded and I just ran to the inside the entire time. 

This is the only pic where I actually look like I'm running fast!

It was great seeing the ATC and Podium cheering sections multiple times. I was actually surprised by the lack of ATC folks I saw racing on the course. Everyone was really spread out. 

Robin at the ATC cheer section

I heard a voice that really sounded like Rick’s and I was very confused as the person wasn’t in a race kit (it turns out that he had to drop out). I saw Ted and Jamal and the rest of the ATC crew and they told me I was in 5^th which I determined to mean that I started the run in 5^th. I knew I had passed at least three in my age group but at some point it gets confusing because there were two laps. 

How am I doing?

I saw Heather and Sondra running strong and I was very happy that they were doing so well. I also saw Stephanie Dean, Ryan Diehl,  and Carrie. Everyone who I saw in an ATC kit was running and looked pretty good.

Heather running strong on course. She worked extremely hard over the last few months and while she's already a good athlete, it's clear that there is more where this came from!

I passed one more 30-34 and knew there was still one girl ahead because I had met her before the race and she was racked next to me. I picked it up as much as I could but since I started pretty strong that meant keeping close to the same pace.  I heard John finishing and I still had a mile or so to go so I knew he was having a good day too.  I knew my bike was okay, but my main goal on this day was to see what I could do on the run. I could see on my watch early that I was probably going to miss my goal by 2 minutes or so which is exactly what happened.

Was happy to finish and found out that I was ~45 seconds from first in the AG! Very close finish but low stakes/expectations going in meant I was pretty happy with the performance. Originally I really wanted to join the “4:39 club” but I knew when I stopped by the side of the road that I wouldn’t be able to make up the time later, it likely would be the thing that kept me out of the club, and in the end it did.

Afterwards I was very excited to see that John, Rich, and Heather had great races. Rich and Heather basically hit their splits right on the nose!

Rich and Tim finishing within a couple minutes of each other. Rich had a breakthrough race and has already adjusted his future goals accordingly. 

 Also, I got to finish in time to see Sondra CRUSH her goal and finish her first HIM strong which literally brought tears to my eyes. Great day for most everyone on the team.. lots of PRs and first-timers and the atmosphere was fantastic.

Sondra post-race with medal. She has come so far. The best part was her running the entire run, strong and with a smile on her face!

Our group of successful 70.3 first-timers

John hit his goal on the nose, too

John and I had sort of talked about the possibility of going to Mont-Tremblant and whether we would take the option if it was presented. We had almost decided against it, but Kim and Paul, who had great races and got first and second in their age groups, were planning on taking their slots, so in the end I decided to take it! Very excited and looking forward to a few weeks of solid training for IM Florida.

The Toughest Sprint- Sprint the Gaps!

Sprint the Gaps last weekend was a good and tough time. We didn't decide until last minute to to do the race. Not only that, when I got there, I actually decided not to do the race due to feeling flat, tired, and generally blah. We had a busy day the day before without a whole lot of sleep.

Awesome ATC mock triathlon the day before the race. A lot of work, but turned out amazing with about 90 participants!

Then I started thinking about the logistics of trying to get a workout in later- plus missing out on what was sure to be an epic sprint. With about five minutes till transition closed I ran to get my bike back off the rack and get registered and set up. Stefanie helped me immensely.. she set up half up my stuff and body-marked me while I was simultaneously registering and getting everything laid out.

My lack of prep time meant there was no time to be nervous. I wrestled on my wetsuit and jumped in the water with one minute to go! The swim was in a beautiful clear lake, surely the clearest I have swum in in Georgia. I was looking for feet and was surprised to see two ladies go off the front immediately- like way off the front as in I had no shot. Reminding myself that I had only been in the water for technically one swim workout in the three weeks prior, I decided to stay calm. Then I saw Karen, who is also one of the ATC head swim coaches who was tackling the sprint only nine weeks post-partum. Of course, she is a way better swimmer than me, however, I figured since she's only been in the water once in six months or so, she might be a good drafting candidate. So I jumped on behind her feeling terrible the whole time. To me, a non childhood swimmer, there is no pain like the pain of not swimming for awhile then jumping right in for a hard swim. Nothing. The mere 600 meters felt like an Ironman swim- even with a wetsuit on. Ugh.

Karen with the newest member of ATC post- race!

Finally, I got out and was shaking so bad it took me forever to get my wetsuit off. Like, as in I had to sit down to remove it. Then I jumped on my bike and was ready to go. I also didn't mention that I got the amazing gift of DI2 for my birthday as a surprise from John, but I hadn't practiced with it yet. At all. So I was fumbling with the gears as we prepared to hit Wolpen Gap. There was an initial little hill and I ended up having to jump off and run up it cyclocross style, because I couldn't manage getting in the small ring in time.

After that there was a lot of climbing- I mean a lot. I wasn't feeling too vibrant and my watts were 10-15 below what I would expect- three weeks is still a little soon for me to race all out and well. There were two girls in front, one, impressively, on a mountain back who I passed rather soon. The other one I didn't see until the very end.

The course was an out and back so we climbed the 2.5 mile Wolfpen gap twice. At the turnaround I was amazed that Alex had already caught up with me despite starting five minutes behind. John and a couple of other guys, and gals were there too. I tried to push it harder on the way back but I was lacking that top gear. About that time I heard an ambulance siren. Not good. There was little question that it was likely someone from the race.

I finally caught up with the other girl at the very end but a third girl had caught up with us at that point. We all ran out of transition together. One girl fell back and I decided to just run right behind the other and see how things shook out.

We chatted a bit and after about a mile it was time for me to move forward. Very hilly and tough. Lots of cheers from the folks camping in the campground. I tried to give my poor legs a break on the uphills and ran the downhills pretty strong. At the end John was about to catch up despite starting way behind. I figured he let me cross the line first in the final quarter mile. Tough stuff! Almost a 4.5 mile run of the hilliest terrain I've done in a race.

Right after crossing we learned that Ted had crashed out and gone to the hospital so that was a huge negative. We went to pick him up from the hospital later, and he had unfortunately broken his clavicle and will have to sit out a few weeks. Huge bummer.

John on the podium

The race itself was awesome, and it was a beautiful and tough course.  Love all the Zone 5 races- they do a great job! Would love to see another race (or the same race) at this venue going forward, especially loved swimming in the clear lake.

Alex Solomon and I at the awards

Ironman Louisville Race Report 2013

So I can’t start the story off without beginning and ending with my poor foot. When I got in the car to drive to Lou my foot was fine.. when I got out of the car it hurt really bad and progressively got worse over the next few days. The day before I was a little grumpy and got upset a couple of times because I didn’t think I would be able to do the race

ATC Underwear Run Most Colorful

John came in on Friday night and was super helpful and encouraging. I was starting to get upset and worried about if I could run and if I should even do the race since it was hurting more and more just to walk around. John kept telling me that adrenaline would get me through and once I got started I would barely notice it.

ATC Pre-Race Dinner

We came up with a perfect plan of attack for Sunday morning to try to hit the front-ish of the line. John drove Ted and I to transition.. we were first in line for the compressor, got everything done in ten minutes, then John and Rich drove us to the swim start so we nabbed a good spot in line for us and Rick. It was really nice getting down there early. Totally worth losing a couple minutes of sleep! I thought being in the line was relaxing and I wasn’t in a hurry for things to start.

J and I in the swim line

The Swim- We had been talking all week (half joking, half serious) about how we were going to work together on the swim and Rick had generously offered to pull us down the river. Right after jumping in, we all got separated and I started swimming nice and steady. The plan for me at this race both years is always to go a little harder on the upstream part and then cruise the downstream.

In 2011 I got a fantastic draft that carried me through about half the swim and led to what was, at the time, my PR IM swim split. This year, even though I started farther back, I wasn’t ever able to find a good drafting candidate. A couple of times folks passed me but they were moving way too fast.

 This is probably the best I have ever felt during an IM swim. I experimented with resting my swim a little more than usual and I felt great.

The Bike-  I knew my whole race would hinge on not getting too far behind on the bike. In 2011 my ubiquitous shoulder issues led me to sitting up for several hours of the bike. This year I had a plan and a mindset of aiming for progress not perfection. 

Overall, the bike was relatively uneventful. I kept an eye on my power, but wasn’t overly tied to it. I went more by feel than anything else and tried to keep the emotion out of it. I started out a little lower than target after the swim and allowed myself to build into race power instead of forcing it.

Matt and Greg at Podium Multisport made an adjustment to my bars and had to put on some special hardware to move them farther apart. I think that really helped keep my shoulder pain under control Also, I have been getting a lot of chiropractic care from Josh Glass at Georgia Sports Chiropractice which is keeping everything more under control. Finally, I made it a point to basically not ride outside for more than an hour at all in the two weeks leading up to the race which helps keep the inflammation down so I feel better for longer on race day.

I had a couple of minor mishaps… the whole top came off my aero bottle so anything I put in there instantly bumped out and drenched me. Also, I dropped my full bottle of EFS liquid shot right out of my hand early in the ride on a big hill. That was my whole plan for fueling so I literally jumped off the bike and sprinted backwards down the road to save it before it rolled in a ditch.

It was dangerously crowded on the second lollipop with riders coming out on their first loops and mixing with second loop riders. I also almost died when a rider drifted in front of me too soon after passing. I feel blessed for avoiding going down there!

The bike was overall uneventful. I was amazed to feel that I actually felt really good the second loop and picked up my efforts a bit for the last thirty miles.  I did still end up sitting up a lot on the way back as that torn up section of River Road is just too much for me to bear! The difference was though, I wasn’t upset about it and it was by far the best I’ve ever felt on an Ironman ride. I didn’t push it as hard as usual and it felt just like a training day. To be honest, I was almost worried as I felt a little bored at times. An Ironman has never felt like that to me before

I purposely avoided knowing my exact time as it helps me be more mentally positive. Overall, my average power was 13 watts higher than in 2011 and 3 watts higher than Texas. At Texas though, I was already cramping up and basically done for the day at mile 100.

Overall, I am not where I want to be and it’s a bit frustrating to know that my power is better for my size than my bike splits show. Although the flip side of that is I could be the most efficient rider in the world and have my power be worse and maybe that would be harder to overcome.

What I do- Never look at speed or even time. Those two metrics are irrelevant whether you have a power meter or not. Even watching miles tick off is like watching grass grow. They all will lead to emotional decision making. Hydration is key when it’s hot. If you don’t drink enough you can throw all your time goals out the window.

What I did different that was good- Put all my cals into one big bottle of EFS liquid shot. That was a lot easier than juggling multiple flasks. Completely rested my shoulder by riding indoors or very short in the two weeks prior to the IM. Went more by feel with power and didn’t stare at my Garmin the whole time. Avoided looking at total time.  At each aid station grabbed two bottles instead of one. Sprayed down my shoulder and whole body with ice water to keep cool

What I did different that was bad- wore socks on the bike. I have never done that before and it was the WORST mistake. I was soaking myself at every aid station and with the missing lid on my aero bottle my feet were basically sitting in water (and perform) the entire time which made them ready to get super torn up on the run

The Run

Getting off the bike, I could definitely feel my foot running through transition. I jogged it easy and tried to be efficient getting my stuff together.

Right after I left transition, I got passed by the eventual second place finisher (I think) in my age group. I decided to stick with her for awhile and probably really annoyed her running right on her shoulder. Sorry, you were just such a good pacer! Her pace was just a teeny bit harder than I wanted to go.. not aerobically but my right calf was telling me that it might decide to cramp at some point so I backed off after about five miles of running right behind her.

That darn calf! I am going to get serious about strengthening it before next time. It is the weakest link in the whole chain at this point and bothers me to various degrees in any race longer than Olympic.

Other than that, I felt okay.. not amazing, but okay.  I didn’t feel panicked but knew there were at least two girls ahead of me running super strong in my age group. It was pretty darn hot once you got out of town. In town it felt great and there was the added boost of spectators. Out of town, it was  blazing and lonely. I entertained myself by trying to count the girls in front of me at the turnarounds. It didn’t mean anything because of the time trial start, but it passed the time. I ended up walking about four aid stations to try and ‘reset’ my calf before it totally cramped up. I felt comfortable enough except for that.

It was a HUGE boost getting back to town and seeing the rocking ATC/Podium cheer party. Everyone really outdid themselves this time! I had asked John to tell me if he could where I was and he said he thought I was in 5^th. 5^th was a good number. It meant top three was in sight but certainly not guaranteed which made me push as hard as I dared with my calf and foot.

I didn’t see a ton of ATCers on the run but I saw Daria (who looked great), Alexandra (who was right behind me!), Ted, Rick, Jimmy, Paul, and Chris Nassar.

With the fear of cramping I felt like the smartest decision was to remain conservative until mile 22. Mile 22 came and I took off pretty hard. The only thing on my mind was the time trial start and how I had to push it if I was to have any shot of top 3. For me with needing to make up time after the bike, it always has come down to a close call on the run, whatever my goal may be that day.

Louisville is an awesome finish and passing the ATC folks on the final stretch was awesome! Of course, immediately crossing the line I could barely walk on my foot and my calf was immobile as well. For positives, my run fitness is feeling fantastic right now and I know I can run faster if I can get my chassis to support it.

Right after finishing with Chris Nassar

What I did that was different- I didn’t even try to fool myself that I would need a bunch of extra crap for the bike and run. No special needs for the run. No food to carry.. just good old perform, coke, and chicken broth. It’s just a waste of money for me to put anything other than shoes, socks and compression sleeves in my bag.  Lost about 5-7 lbs. This made a huge difference in efficiency. Now I just need to stay at that weight and build muscular endurance at the faster speeds my engine will now support

Afterwards had a great time cheering everyone in. ATC represented well, in cheering and in racing, and it was great to see everyone’s hard training shine through. This is only a glimpse of what IM FL, Roth, and Chattanooga will be like!

Turns out there were only two kona slots in my age group, but I had a feeling it would all work out. Truth was, it wouldn't work out well to go this year, but I wanted to be able to compete. Anyways, I got the chance to roll it down to fourth in my AG, and it was a really neat experience. Anyways, she was only three minutes behind me, and truth be told, if I didn't have the unfair advantage of the ATC cheering squad she definitely would have beat me anyways!  :D 

Onto the bad news... I ran through my foot pain without Too much pain but ended up at Dr Julians for an x-ray a few days later. It's some sort of freak infection or a stress fracture, they aren't sure which yet. I had to get carried around the house for a few days, but it's feeling much better so I'm hoping for the infection diagnosis.

Ten Pieces of Unconventional Advice for New Triathletes

Here is a post I wrote for the tri club blog on unconventional advice for new triathletes!

There is a learning curve to everything, and triathlon is no different. When you first begin you’re given lots of helpful advice on using speed laces, practicing transitions, and not going all-out at every workout. But there is some advice that people won’t tell you and this is my attempt to pass along those ‘other’ lessons that I’ve learned- some the hard way!

1. When you first start training, the sky’s the limit. Let’s say you run a low 50s 10k then train for a short period, and run a low 40s 10k. Immediately your mind starts calculating how soon you’ll be running toe to toe with 30 minute 10ker Shalane Flanagan! (Not that a similar thought has ever gone through my head, of course. Actual ETA:never) The point is that the improvement curve is steeper when you first begin regular training and it’s important to celebrate the big achievements as well as the smaller ones.

Read the rest of the article!

Ironman Texas Race Report- 2013

First of all, I want to say that I So enjoyed training and racing with the IM TX group. We didn’t all always train together but it was really fun the times we did. There were plenty of long epic indoor rides over the winter, pouring rain outdoor rides, and other fun stuff. Excited that pretty much the whole crew is signed up for Roth!

Pre-race banquet of TX crew. I was sleeping already when this pic was taken. Sara, Rick, Tim,  Ted, and Klo. Missing from this pic were Paul and Jim Linck

Also, want to thank the amazing support crew. First off, John was awesome. He took the Sherpa-ing to a whole new level this race, shuttling me (and Ted, and whoever else) around TX and anything else that needed to be done. Also, he did something SO cool that you guys will probably see on TX footage, he hung the ATC banner on the bridge that crosses the canal everyone swims over. It was so cool to see that.. look for in TX video and pics!

Check out that banner!

Also, it was awesome having the Gills, Casey, and the other families out there on the course. What a great boost it was to pass you guys! Part of the loop on the run was really tough, exposed and similar to the state park at Gulf Coast. It was great to look forward to seeing everyone under the bridge. 

Gills in their festive cheering attire

The Swim 

Expected time: 1:10 plus/minus 3 minutes
Actual Time: 1:10

I swam as far to the inside as the kayaks would let me. I think I avoided some of the violence that way although it was one of the most physical starts at the beginning I’ve experienced. I like to play a little game when I’m swimming in a race. (Or maybe like is a strong word, it’s more that I force myself to play a horrible game    )  I try to go the whole swim with no breaks in stroke, little change in cadence, etc. If someone whacks me, which happened numerous times, I just keep on going.. no breastroke to site. Nothing. I have to keep swimming like my life depends on it and it’s very uncomfortable. I try to pretend that I'm a 'swimming machine' and I won't stop for any reason. The swimming machine doesn't waste energy trying too hard to find clear water, or weave around trying to find a good line, or break stroke  when people grab it and dunk it. The only thing the swimming machine can do is swim exactly the same.   That’s the rule.  So I got pretty punched and pummeled but I just forced myself to keep going no matter what. 

Looks like there is plenty of space before you see everyone funnel into a single  path!

John actually got a picture of me swimming!

After the turnaround it opened up a good bit and based on the crowd around me I was starting to realize I was having a good swim. I didn’t intentionally try to catch a draft because it was too hard to see and I felt like I was getting an inadvertent draft just because of the crowd. I was dreading the canal a little bit but when I got there, it actually wasn’t too crowded and that was the nicest part of the swim. 

John had hung the ATC banner on the bridge which was AWESOME! It gave me a lift and I wondered if he could identify me from above through my slightly gimpy stroke, which I assumed was magnified because of fatigue. 

When I got out I lost my footing and fell on my face but no worries. I was fine with it. Got into transition and was surprised by the bikes on the racks and the pretty empty change tent.

The Bike

Expected Time: 5:30 plus/minus a few minutes
Actual Time: 5:44

Got out on the bike and was prepared to work my plan. I know my bike strength is way better than it was the last two years. My target wattage was 10% higher than any previous IM's and I was hitting it right on target.The issue I have is my shoulder/ back seizing up/nerves firing/muscle weakness leading to inability to stay in aero. Would actually love any advice as I have pretty much reached my wits end and my ability to manage it. 


I have the bike fit angle covered. Matt (from Podium, best bike fitter ever) has helped me a TON and my position is better than ever thanks to numerous bike fit tweaks. I have also gotten a lot of help from Greg (mechanic at Podium) with my setup. Small changes in where I put my computer, bottles etc. actually make a huge difference. Finally,  I have also gotten a ton of help from my PT (Ben at Benchmark Physical Therapy Perimeter) All that has been enough to keep me riding and get me to the start line of all these Ironmans whereas I’m pretty sure anyone normal and reasonable would have (wisely) decided to quit cycling a long time ago. 


The good news is that I was able to maintain a positive attitude and I am able to maintain a much higher output than previously. I realized I’m going to have to look a this as progress on a continuum and not whether I can stay in position perfectly or not, thus rendering the whole thing a failure.  The problem is I’m always looking at the bike as “I should have been able to do x time, if only I could hold my position”  So that was the bike. Legs are strong and could have kept pedaling forever. Rest of body was weak and falling apart.  

Then there was the matter of the heat. I wasn’t too concerned about it beforehand but it felt pretty hot out there. One other thing I will change going forward was my hydration setup. I basically only used one bottle with my backup bottle of coke for a mid-ride boost. I was okay with this because I thought the aid stations were every ten miles. They pretty much were, expect for one time (either 80 or 90) when they skipped one, then I refilled my aero with the coke till the next aid station. The next aid station my bottle was then full so I stuck some water in the back bottle cage and it later fell out. SO I was without anything hydrating for an hour plus. At mile 100 I was starting to feel pretty woozy and bobbing/weaving a bit.  Also my hamstrings were starting to cramp, which has never happened to me and I was on the verge of getting chill bumps. I kindof shut it down even more at that point because I realized I was looking at a bit of recovery before I could run. 

The Run
Expected Time: ~3:45 due to heat
Actual Time: 4:09

Got to the run and wasn’t thrilled about my time but it was a race of attrition at that point. I have never had cramping issues previously and thus was pretty darn dehydrated. Could only take very small steps to keep hamstrings from seizing up altogether. At that point I knew it was going to be a jog from aid station to aid station.  Several girls passed me the first couple of miles and amazingly I was still able to keep a positive mental attitude. I told myself that they would be slowing down later while I would be speeding up.

I’m not sure what’s up with the splits on the tracker website because that’s pretty much the opposite of what I experienced. I started off very slowly and gradually built my pace throughout the run, as I recovered.  The tracker says that I gradually slowed down. I think where they decide those timing mats are is completely random ☺ 

Anyway, the run was pretty hot. I had stuck my Garmin in my top and it filled with water and shut off. It was okay, I really didn’t want to look at pace because I didn’t want to become discouraged. I could tell by the women around me that I was still in the relative front-ish of the age group field and most of the women around me were running on a mission. I thought some of them may fade and I thought I could recover and rally. It was definitely a race of survival. I drank water, perform, and coke at every aid station and walked for probably 15-45 seconds apiece (which I normally don’t do) to try to reset my legs for the next mile. 

My calves are often the limiter on these runs. They tighten up and almost feel like they’re tearing and I usually have a significant amount of muscle damage there post-Ironman. So I was starting to feel those along with my hammies and it was frustrating because my RPE and heart rate were very low after I ‘recovered’ the first five miles. (Most of) my body and mind were mostly ready to pick it up but I couldn’t in any significant way. 

Sara on the bike looking happy!

After my first loop, I saw Sarah starting out on the run which in my head I calculated roughly that she was having a great first race with or without hot conditions. Next, 
it was amazing seeing everyone from ATC under the bridge. That was a seriously huge pick me up and the best part of the course.  The neighborhood part sucked as it was exposed and sunny and there were a lot really really minor twisting on the path which normally wouldn’t mean anything but today just the minor change  in muscle firing pattern had me cramping up.  At mile 12 my hamstring seized up entirely and I had to stop and stretch it out. 

The 'happy' part of run.

After that I was pretty concerned and I was surprised that I could stretch it out and keep jogging at all. I kept up the same pace and noticed some of the women that passed me before starting to come back to me. On the first loop folks were passing me and moving quickly. On the second loop people started to come back to me, and on the third loop not many people were running. 

I had asked John before the race that I really really needed him to tell me what place I was in. He wouldn’t be able to tell by folks passing because of the three loop run, but I wanted him to look at the tracker and tell me. I asked him on the second loop and he told me fifth. So that gave me a boost that it was possible to finish in the top three but the problem is I couldn’t speed up because if I lengthened out my stride I would cramp up!

At about mile 22 I saw Ted which I knew meant that he was not having a good race and I was bummed for him. I invited him to run with me but he had gotten even more dehydrated and was taking it slower. I also saw Rick, who was hurting in the heat and had gotten horrible blisters in the bike to run transition on the pavement  (I actually read about that happening to several people, the pavement was pretty hot!) 


Finally on the last lap I decided to risk not being able to continue at about mile 23 and started to pick it up (again, opposite of what tracker says.. strange!) I’m pretty sure that’s where I finally passed the last couple of girls in my division to get to third. I was really really happy to be done. 

Overall, I think my training was good for this race. The recovery has also been great due to the fact that I wasn't able to run hard. I have also been drinking Chuice (drank in the days before and after) which I think is helping me recover faster and feel better. My execution, however, was poor to fair. The good news is that (at least sometimes) execution stuff is easier to fix. The more of these races I do, the more I realize that you’ll have some good to awesome races, a few horrible races, and mostly medium races. I would say that this was a ‘medium’ race and I enjoyed it still. Overall, I’m making improvements on the swim and bike, which was my plan this past winter. I’ll put it all together soon enough. 

We're done! All smiles...

I ended up third in my division and there were two kona slots. For whatever reason, I wasn’t bummed, probably because I felt like this was a ‘medium’ race so I wasn’t expecting to get one. I really like doing these races so for me it’s about a long journey  of improvement over years rather than how this or that one race goes.   I was looking forward to doing Louisville and Augusta and now I’ll get the chance to go!

John and Brian, who came to visit/cheer from Dallas

Female 30-34 awards with Jen Vogel, who rocked it!

KLo getting 3rd AG in the 50-54 group. Great job!