Ironman 70.3 Florida Race Report April 9, 2017 Swim(1.2 miles)- 36:13 Bike(56 miles)- 2:45:48 Run(13.1 miles)- 1:48:38 Total- 5:15:44 11th 25-29 F
Oh boy. Not gonna enjoy writing this one. Hold on to your butts, because I'm about to get reeeaaalll whiney.
Alrighty! So this was my 2nd year participating in ol' Florida 70.3. Why did I decide to come back to this wretchedly hot and kind of annoying course (M shaped swim in small lake and massive hills on 3 loop run)? Shit, I don't know. I guess because it's at the very beginning of the season and I'm impatient/stupid! Plus, I actually did pretty well last year, so I had high hopes---which were crushed into smithereens around mile 25 of the bike... But let's start at the beginning!
Unlike last year, my friends and I decided driving 7 hours the day before the race then driving the same 7 hours back home immediately after the race, wasn't the ideal way to do this. So, we decided to drive down that Friday so we could take our time Saturday getting to transition and checking everything in. The ride down flew by, especially since I didn't have to drive…I hate driving…and we got to our Air Bnb around 9 o'clock, I believe. My car mates, Michelle the Incredible and Sondra the Magnificent, are the coolest people ever and after driving for 7 hours to get to our house, drove an extra 2 hours to go pick up our other housemate/ teammate/ friend flying in from Arizona at the Tampa airport. While they were gone I got good and creeped out being in a big house alone and locked myself in my bedroom until I eventually fell asleep. Fun!
The next morning my awesomely badass coach, Carrie, arrived and she and I headed to transition to check in and get our lil' prerace bike and run in. I had been having issues with my right hip and left shin leading up to the race, so I was anxious to see how things felt. Lots of run focus and some fast run races had left some spots a little ouchier than I had liked, but things felt ok during our little shake out. I was ready to get this thing done and see what I could do. Carrie and I had set some pretty big goals for this race. I was aiming for a 3 minute swim PR, a 4 minute bike PR, and a 6 minute run PR….spoiler alert….I met none of those goals on race day. HA! Moving on!
After we got all checked in we headed over to Bethany's (ATC founder/ amazing person and athlete!) parent's house right outside of Haines City for a big pasta dinner and some chill time. We scarfed down food, chatted about race day, then headed home for an early bed time. I was so excited to get things going!
RACE DAY: Woke up to my usual 3:30 AM race alarm, ready to get on it. I wasn't feeling crazy nervous, but I really couldn't stop thinking about my big goals. I really really wanted to have a good day. I was actually able to eat a whole bagel! I usually only manage about a 1/4 before I give up. My early morning tumtum normally consists of nausea and discomfort, but I actually felt fine. We headed down to transition nice and early and got there around 4:50 AM. Getting all my stuff set up was way less stressful than last year, so I was straight chillin’ and taking my time. This was my first year as an All World Athlete so I was soooo stoked about the rad bike rack location. It really is WAY better. Last year my transition rack was half way through the horseshoe shaped parking lot…so pretty much in the shittiest spot. This year I was right up close to bike out and in!
You guys know how transition goes so let's just skip to the part where I get all super-hero-wet-suited-up in my Orca Alpha and hop in the water for the start!
SWIM: As I mentioned before, this swim is ridiculous. It's shaped like a squared off "M", so it has 6 TURNS. I consider myself a "strong" swimmer so I wasn't super nervous for the swim especially since I had done it before. Things started off like normal with the washing machine of arms and legs and jostling for open water. I decided to settle in and let some of the other gals go on and blow it out, hoping I'd catch them later on. Side note: if you're looking for good open water goggles - the Orca Killa 180 goggles are the shiiiiiiit! Sighting has never been easier. For real. Alright, end side note: By the 3rd turn I had caught a few of them, but I started noticing someone touching my toes every few strokes. Someone was drafting off of me, which was totally fine until she decided to pass me at the 5th turn by cutting closer to the buoy and literally punching me in the face in the process. I was super annoyed! Number 1-because she just took it easy in my bubbles for the last 20 minutes and decided to thank me with a smack to the mouth. And number 2- that was smart of her (dammit) to draft and I've always considered it, but never managed to find the right person to pace with/I'm a control freak and what if they start going off course??….so, yeah, that was annoying too. I took a classy moment to stick my head out of the water and yell, "what the f*ck, lady?!" Yes, I know that was useless and she probably didn't hear me, but I was mad OK? My lip got a little swollen for a while from where she hit me and I was wondering if I had a busted lip. Luckily, there was no blood, because that lake is not the cleanest thing I've seen and the words "flesh eating bacteria" kept running through my crazy brain…anyway… I felt like my pace was just fine. I wasn't pushing extra hard because people kept telling me that I wasn't supposed to get super winded during Half Ironmans, because pacing or whatever. Well, I under paced and ended up doing a 2 minute slower swim than last year. I came out of the water, checked my watch and immediately got a little bummed and extra stressed. One goal missed…2 more to try and attain.
BIKE: Transition went just fine. Got my wetsuit off after some time stuck on my watch, then grabbed all my stuff and ran out. Hopped on and got down to business. Now…I've had lots of issues on the bike the last year or so. My lower back sucks…all the time…but especially on my bike. It has a tendency to tighten up and scream with pain after a while- and after getting re-fit on my bike, I’m still trying to figure it out. I had only done 2 long rides before this race and my back had felt fine. Well…it didn't feel fine this day. After about 20-25 miles I started feeling it. My lower back was tightening and my quads were joining in on the party. My goal had been the usual 80% of FTP for power. I kept checking my watch because things felt so hard and I had only been holding 50-60% this whole time- not just when my back tightened up…the whole time! And it felt SO HARD. I didn't understand and I definitely wasn't happy about it. I kept trying to make myself feel better about it by telling myself it was ok, because my run was way stronger than last year. It's cool, I got this. Well, you can only believe that for so long…that's when I started getting caught by more gals in my age group. At one point I re-caught one of them and as I was coming around her on the left…she literally spits a big blob and hits me on the leg…like who does that?? Who spits to the left? People pass on the left, ya ingrate! Anyway…she caught right back up after a few miles and left my ass. Not the best thing for my mental game when everything already felt like it was falling apart. THAT. Mental game. I definitely need to work on that. This race really proved that your mind really is a huge part of endurance racing. My mind went…and my body followed. The rest of the bike consisted of me huffing and puffing, praying for hills so I could get out of aero, getting left in the dust by my age group, and holding back tears as I watched another goal slip away. I rolled into transition (after only getting one foot out of my shoe soooo still had the other one on!) with a time 1 minute slower than last year. I know I know! That's not a whole lot slower and it's technically not slow…but it sure as hell wasn't the 4 minute PR I was hoping for. I was bummed, but hopeful that my run still had a chance.
RUN: Made my way out of transition after taking that other cycling shoe off and replacing it with my Saucony’s. My legs felt a little wobbly, like usual off of the bike, but the main thing was my quads. Holy crap, my quads were so mad at me. I felt reasonably ok on the run, though, and at the 1st mile I realized my pace was actually great! I was holding 10 seconds faster than my goal and it really didn't feel hard. My spirit was getting a little boost and I just kept trucking along. Now this run course is pure evil, in my opinion. 3 loops (which I hate) and 2 massive hills right smack in the middle of each one (which I extra hate). Those hills are cruel! The first loop, the hills went by fast and even though my quads were screaming, I was able to hold my pace. I was taking in water and gatorade at every aid station and trying to stay cool. It was heating up and I wasn't very acclimated to heat yet. Atlanta had only gotten up to the low 70's by then, so 80-85 felt really freakin' hot!
Heeere comes the whining again. Mile 5 comes around, my pace is slowing, but I'm trying to hold it together. Mile 7 hits and I'm freakin' miserable. I mean begging for the finish line kind of miserable. My legs had lost it. They felt like they literally had nothing left. Out of nowhere, I went from holding a great pace to getting slower each mile. I refused to walk, though. F*ck walking. That means it takes longer to get to the finish line and stop moving! I wasn't holding my goal pace anymore, but I was still going so that was good enough for me. My amazing friends, Michelle and Sondra, were dressed as cows and screaming their heads off when I made that final turn into the finishing chute. No matter how miserable I am, I've always been able to pick up the pace for the last 2 miles of any race I've done. My desire to be done can take over and push my little leggies a bit harder. I sprinted into the finish line and immediately started crying. Now I want to say that I was crying because I was proud for even finishing after such a not fun day….but that's not why I was crying. I was beyond disappointed. I had been dreaming of a sub 5 hour Half Ironman all winter and instead finished with an extra 2 minutes added to my 5:13 from last year. I was 2 minutes slower and finished 3 places further away from the podium than last year. I had gone from 8th in my AG to 11th, after a year of hard training and sacrifices for said training...and I felt so overwhelmed with crappyness.
This race was a true eye opener for me. I kind of lost sight of what I love most about triathlon and started putting all this pressure on myself to do well. Since my last season was pretty dang good, I felt very much like I had to top it. Of course, I still want to top it…who doesn't love a PR, right? But I also want to HAVE FUN. I want to smile and laugh and scream for my friends while racing. I want to set big goals and I want to meet those big goals, but I want to enjoy doing it. I want to be proud of any finish line I cross no matter the time or if I got a podium and to just have a good damn time. I love this sport so so so much and it has absolutely changed my life for the better in so many ways. I don't ever want that feeling of gratitude to slip away again. I now know that making your mind strong is equally as important as making your body strong. I let the pressure get to me and I choked. From now on, I'm going to do my best to truly enjoy every moment of triathlon I get and to remember IT DOESN'T GET EASIER-YOU JUST GET STRONGER! Love y'all. Thanks for reading!
Cheers! CJ
