Hitting the target

At 4:12 AM I awoke to a pretty good thunderstorm with very heavy rain. I figured I would call my family at 6 AM and tell them I was not racing in that weather. At 5:30 AM I arose, checked the weather online and went outside to feel the 52 degree air. It was raining lightly and the prediction was for thunderstorms and light rain. I decided I could race under those conditions but changed out of my race tire because I feared the roads would be slick.

I arrived at the park and racked my bike, still unclear how the course would run--would we do two loops in the lake and two loops on the bike and run. Details were not that forthcoming. I was grateful that I had tucked in my wetsuit as the water was 75 degrees. Not awful but with the air temperature I thought I might be cold. I tried to swap my cap so I would not have to swim in the first wave, a friend (who is a much faster swimmer) told me she was in wave 2. I asked that she be kind when she swam by me. Finally, minutes before the start we learned how we would swim two laps and a tiny bit about the bike and run although those details were kind of sketchy.

By the time the race started the rain had stopped and the air was humid which detracted from the thermometer reading. The swim start was a bit physical and took some time to clear. The buoys were ridiculously inconspicuous and spaced 400 meters apart. I spotted off of others in the first loop and lost sight of the buoy the second loop ending up swimming a bit too close to shore and costing me some time. Still, I had a descent swim for me. My wildest hope was 33 minutes but I was willing to celebrate anything under 40. When I came out of the water my watch said 35 minutes. This allowed me (mentally if nothing else) to slingshot off the swim and set a goal of 3 hours for the course. I did not think I could achieve this given the hills on the bike and run but I was sure going to try.

The bike is hilly which plays to my advantage. The early part of the bike was on a pretty bumpy road exposed to wind. It has a nasty downhill section that is long and steep and subject to crosswind. Leading up to this I saw someone on the side of the road and I realized later (when she passed me on the downhill) that it was my friend D. The uphill is my strength so that is where I made ground on people. Let me tell you, the uphill on this course is very difficult. I typically climb in the saddle but even I had to stand to get up several of the hills--all of which repeated themselves on the two looper. The worst hill was on Chard Road and I would say this is comparable to the Beast in St. Croix although not as long. Many people were walking. Heading back to the park we had folded into the Sprint racers so at times I was slowed by them as they huddled in groups. I past them in packs on the hills and once I hit the flats I just kept my speed at 21 so no one stayed close.

Off the bike I looked at my watch and saw my time was 2:06. My 3 hour goal was possible but I really needed to have a strong, consistent run. The problem: The run course was also very hilly--unrelentingly so. I would climb each hill and use the gravity for any flat or slightly downhill section. My first mile was 8 minutes which I knew I had to maintain for all 6 miles to achieve my goal. At the turn around I still thought I had a chance but there was more uphill to wear away at my legs. I was looking forward to the last downhill which I thought may give me enough of a recovery to allow me to finish. A mile out I was not sure I could make my time goal. Even as I entered the park and could see the finish I had only a minute 30 seconds to spare. I had nothing left so there was no last minute sprinting, I left everything I had on the bike and run course.

Alas I finished, 2:59:25. Wahoo! My best performance of the year on a very difficult course. I may have to come back next year to better that effort but as for now I could not be more pleased.