IM Texas 70.3 Race Report

Ironman.com posted this great shot!

I went into the 70.3 in Galveston feeling confident about my preparation and ready to find out exactly where I am at. The field was surprisingly deep for a 500-point race, but I find deep fields motivating and am encouraged by the number of fast girls in our sport these days!

 

I was glad to have friends Sonja and Jim from Vic there to keep me company a little bit. Jim did a great job of handing out splits on the race course, he was only off a little bit and only a couple times... ;)

 

I woke up race morning in a good mood and ready to go. I wanted to test myself. I went out hard at the beginning of the swim but just couldn't keep the pace of the front 3 or 4 girls, including Kelly Williamson and Cait Snow. I knew I was in my usual position of pulling the second group, but I felt good. About half way through the swim another girl came by swimming well, so I got on her feet, happy to not do all the work. The two of us then overtook a girl who had dropped back from the first group.

Before leaving Vic, I had a record-breaking swim during my taper week, so I think I am swimming a little faster than last year. Its difficult to find the right feet at the swim start. I told Clint afterwards that instead of finding feet, I think I should improve my 400m time and treat the first part of the race like a 400m tt. I'll let you know if this theory works....

 

On the bike, I put my head down and rode hard. The course is pancake flat and windy! We had cross winds the whole time, so there was no fast, tailwind section. I focused on staying aero and keeping an efficient pedal stroke. To my surprise, I actually started overtaking people on the bike! In the second half, I could see that I was catching up to most of the girls. I kinda got excited with the idea that I might be able to get close to the front of the race.... on the bike (!). This is new territory for me. With about 7-8 miles to go I started to cramp up a little. I know I was riding harder than my body was trained to ride. I slowed a little, then Jessica Jacobs and Heather Leiggi came by, but I was still making good progress. I came off the bike in 10th, but 8 of the girls in front were in view when I hit the transition area.

 

T2 was a bit of a struggle since I couldn't run at first (cramping thing again) and was left to walk/hobble to my shoes. Eventually I was (of course) ready to run again, but from the times it looks like I lost about 45 seconds maybe...not a big deal.

 

I started running and felt a little flat right from the start. This is normal so I just thought, ok, i'll warm up into it. I knew I wasn't running as fast as I had hoped, but I also wasn't running slowly either, so I settled in for the 13 miles. I overtook a few girls and was pleased to finish 6th. I had to up the tempo for the last 400m or so because there was a fleet-footed girl running fast behind me. I think her name was Jennie. We hugged at the finish line. Its not often you have to sprint to the line in a 70.3!

 

All in all, I felt satisfied with the improvements I saw in my cycling especially but also in my attitude towards my cycling. Turns out its kinda fun to race bikes. Who knew? ;)

 

Big thanks to my sponsors Zoot Sports, Rudy Project, Trek Pro City, Synergy Health Management, RUMBLE, and Sportexcel. And always thanks to hubby and coach Clint. The best guy ever.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the season.

S.