Swim:12972.40 Yd
whew.
Lonestar 70.3 Race Report...
Saturday
Saturday I got in a short run before we hit the road. I didn't really [okay, I didn't at all] taper for this race. I planned to view it as a training day where I'd go fast. Goal was sub 6.
My friend Karen got to my house around 9:30am and we set out for Galveston, Texas. Got there four hours later and checked into our hotel. Then to packet pickup. Packet pick-up started at noon, we got there at 1:30 and ALREADY they were out of small race shirts. Apparently the order got screwed up. So, I asked for a medium and was told no, that in order to avoid more chaos, they were only giving people the size shirt that they registered for. I am PISSED because I paid $275 (actually $300 with the on-line "convenience fee"), and I want my shirt, and I am about to get very angry. Then I was directed to talk to someone else, who tells me I need to send them an email, and they will get me the shirt. I ask if it will be a size small shirt, and they say NO, it will be whatever is left over. I am now fuming, but realize throwing a fit will do no good. I pout for the next hour. I send an email as instructed the next day promptly after the race explaining that I want my shirt. Have not heard back. I will continue to send them a daily email until I get my shirt. I am stubborn and relentless, and I am determined to get my $275 shirt. The whole debacle is incredibly annoying. Anyway...
Race Morning
I’m accustomed to getting up early for my weekend workouts but 4am is pushing the bounds of decency.
Yet, 4am is what it was. Up, coffee, bagel, yogurt, double check bag, put bottles together. Little more coffee. Hit the road.
Swim
The Olympic distance triathlon was on Saturday, and they actually canceled the swim due to high winds which made the water very choppy. It looked relatively peaceful on Sunday morning until I actually got in it and realized that wasn't the case. This was a tough swim. It was chopppy and there must have been a current because it just took forever. Every time I tried to sight, I got a mouthful of salt water. I was not going forward very fast. It's demoralizing to see someone doing the backstroke and someone else doing a modified doggie-paddle IN FRONT OF YOU. Good news is that I never freaked out, never stopped swimming, had no problem swimming the distance...I was just god awful sloooow. But, apparently there were others even slower than me. Huh. And, I cut my toe on some clam shells getting out of the water. It hurt. Swim time = 1.2 miles -52:57:00
Bike
The bike was billed as "flat and fast" although I have come to learn that people's definitions of words like "flat" "fast" "rolling" and "hilly" vary greatly. ... the course was pretty flat though. Without the wind, it would have been perfect. The course was an out and back. Going BACK over the bridge + headwind = yuck. Headwinds in general kind of suck. You feel like you are pedaling normally, same amount of effort... and then look at the bike computer which reads 13 mph. wtf? During the bike I thought about how long 112 mi was on a bike (or, um, in a car). When I saw the bike dismount I was elated. So was my butt. A little disappointed with my overall bike time...probably could have pushed a little harder. Oh well. Also, sunscreen on my back would have been great.. I am still in pain from the sun burn I got...Bike time = 56 miles - 3:27:04/16.2 mph.
Run
I am always so so happy to start the run. Running is my first love and, unlike the bike, I can pass and am not too often passed (plus, those fast guys on the bike are already way ahead of me. Or, well, finished). Starting the run is always a big of a downer though... so happy to be done with the swim and the bike but it's daunting to have 13.1 mi to run.This was my least favorite run course for a half-iron race. It was four laps around Moody Gardens (not scenic even though it sounds that way) which means you had to pass the finish line 3 times before you could actually cross it. Four laps that made you dizzy and completely disorientated!! Yeeesh... they need a better run course!!! They have so many great places they could take us but they wind us around and around. I felt like cattle being herded through a maze. No shade either! I started out waaay to fast. By the last lap, I was so ready to be done. Bonked a little on the last lap, but overall was pretty happy with my run time. Wanted to be a little faster to make up some of the time I lost on the swim, but I left it all out there. Run time = 1:39:42/7:37 pace.
Finish
I ran the last mile hard and saw my watch turn to 6:00:00 when I was still a 1/2 mile away from the finish. At that point I played the whatif game (whatif I had pushed harder on the bike, whatif I didn't have such a shitty swim) but I tried to push it out of my head and finish strong. Total finish time was 70.3 miles in 6:04:58.
Post race thoughts:
Conflicted. .. I miss my goal here by 5 min - but still have my second best half-iron time - and I feel meh. That's how I feel - meh. I had a pretty good race - a crappy swim but a pretty solid bike (for me) and run - and I feel meh. I start comparing myself to others. I start to think I need to work harder, but then I realize I am working as hard as I can. And, then I remember something Dan's grandma said in a letter we got from her a few weeks ago: "A Champion is someone who does their best." And, I did my best.
anyhow, onward and upward to IM C'ouer D'Alene.
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