I had been looking forward to this race for weeks. After doing some checking, I knew the men’s field would be stacked and I was both nervous and excited to test myself against the best.
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| Making Lemonade |
Race Prep: We put everything towards this race and I had a very nice taper going in. I was anticipating an exceptional effort from myself. I also believed this would be one of my better opportunities for that elusive AG win. Everything went well
Swim (28:24 – 44th): This race I knew I
wanted to be as far up front as possible. I was right at the gate 30 minutes
before they even opened it. I ended up being around 20-30th into the
water, and I was very happy with where I started. Swimming with my watch
covered, I wasn’t sure how I was doing, but I was expecting a good split and to
be in the top 30 out of the water. The effort was hard, but maybe not hard
enough… I struggled to get up onto the stairs and lost about 10s fumbling with
the volunteer. When I got out and saw my split, I was immediately disappointed.
I heard the current wasn’t as strong as last year, but placing 20 positions
worse was not ideal. I still have some time to develop my swim fitness this
year, so that will be my goal for the rest of the season.
T1 (3:11): I made the mistake of having a stranger Velcro
my wetsuit at the swim start and didn’t have my lanyard tucked up there. When I
tried to undo it, it was really stuck on and I couldn’t get it undone without
the help of a volunteer. Normally I’d have my arms out before the wetsuit
peelers, so this cost me at least another 10-15 seconds.
Bike (2:30:32 – 113th): I was very excited
to see how my winter training would show up on the bike. I had a goal of
250-260W but didn’t know if I would be hitting those numbers. As I started to
get my feet into my shoes, my right foot unclipped and I nearly lost the shoe. The
hazard was avoided as I managed to recover, but I lost some more precious
seconds getting myself sorted out and up to speed.
The wind was at our back on the way out, and I felt like I was
moving at a good pace. Mostly passing, but still had 2-3 pass me. My first five
5 mile power splits were 246, 247, 249, 251, 251. I was so happy to see the
numbers and thought I had a good chance at holding 250+ for the remainder of
the race. Unfortunately, I am still learning in this sport and had my first
bike mechanical during a race. On the first major climb around mile 25, I
shifted out of my big ring and couldn’t shift back out. Despite charging the battery
2 nights before and checking it in the morning, it died and I lost front shifting
for the last 30 miles. I tried stopping and pulling the battery in hopes it’d
let me get just 1 shift, but no luck. I ended up riding the last 90 minutes cross-chained,
sprinting up hills and coasting down. Needless to say, I was pretty upset as
about 30 athletes passed me during my struggles. This was a mentally difficult
situation for me, and I really just wanted to soft pedal it in and jog the run.
But we’ll get to that.
T2 (2:25): I felt my T2 was fairly solid. Dismount was
good, but I probably could’ve come in a little faster. Everything was smooth
despite my shoes flopping around, and I got to my rack quickly. Socks and shoes
went on and I grabbed my hat that contained a still partially frozen water, 3
gels, base salt, sunglasses and my bib. I ended up walking about 15s as I got
everything sorted, but took off quick towards the run out. I split my watch and
was ready to bury myself.
Run (1:17:41 – 2nd Overall): Starting the
run I was mad, but I had a plan. I knew I wanted to run sub 6’s, but the first
1.5 miles is uphill. I decided to target a 6:20 mile to make sure I didn’t go
out too hot and clocked a 6:19. This is when I took my first gel, and I ended
up consuming FIVE during the run. The 2nd mile had a little bit of
downhill and I was happy to see my pace in the 5:50’s. My HR was just starting
to hit 160bpm as well, so right on target. I mostly ran by feel and would check
my HR and current mile pace to see if I was within myself on HR, but also running
those 6:00’s. At 5K, I had only made my way to 7th place, but Ty
told me I was 30s a mile faster than everyone else. About halfway through the
run, my confidence was building and I was right at 6min/mi average. Ty told me I
made it to 4th AG but had 9 minutes to 3rd with 7 miles
to go. I kept the pressure on and just focused on navigating around everyone. I
anxiously awaited mile 10 so I could focus on the final 5K and holding my HR
above 175. I really leaned into it and pushed it all the way to the line.
Somehow I ended up 3rd in AG by 5s! This was the breakthrough run I
had been looking for and being in the 1:17s gave me a new confidence that my
run is still in fact a weapon. This is also my 2nd fastest half
marathon thanks to some very cool and dry weather.
Post Race: After finishing, I got to catch up with 2 of
my teammates. Our coach Brent was still racing with his brother Kyle and were
in transition as we left the finish area. We got to seem them start the run,
but Brent was more interested in how we did than anything else. For the rest of
the race, I jogged up to the Dynamo tent, had some drinks and continued to
cheer on everyone else still racing.
Closing Thoughts: I am obviously disappointed with the
bike issue and finishing 14th overall. In 2021 and 2022 I hadn’t
finished outside the top 10, so this felt like a step back. The men’s field was
incredibly strong, and I was really looking forward to mixing it up with them. Even
without the mechanical, I doubt I would’ve hit my goal of 4:10 and was certainly
not in the running the win overall. It’s also hard to say how I would have run
had I pushed my race watts the entire time, but we’ll never know.
My biggest take-aways from the race are: Buy a new di2 battery,
I can run pretty fast, and my teammates are the best. Despite a horrible bike split,
but they pushed me to get the most out of my day.