Swim
This was my 2nd race with my new wetsuit so part of the goal was to make sure my freak out session in Rocky Point was salt water/ocean related and NOT wetsuit related. I also tested out the QRoo Wetsuit sleeves. My other goal for the swim was to get out of the water with Shari in view. This would help me with goal #2 (or 3?) which was to try and hold Shari off as long as I could on the run. This of course assumed that Erik was going to pass Zac (Shari’s relay partner) and gain me a headstart on the run.
Relays went off with the men, so this would be my first swim start that wasn’t a female wave. I got in the water which felt sort of chilly and was a little difficult to stick my face in at first but I just sucked it up and did it. It’s only 800m after all! I hung out to the side, standing on some rocks until we got started. Once the gun went off, I waited a couple seconds to avoid most of the fray before diving in. I settled into a rhythm pretty early and tried to stay to the right on the outside. The only problem with this idea is that I eventually “ran aground” and started to hit the rocks with my hands. I corrected and lined myself up for a straight shot to the turn. I could still see Shari every once in awhile (at least I think it was her…). I hit the buoy and made about the best turn ever, it was nice and clean with zero effort. After that I got back in my groove and headed for the turn that would take me into the finish. I was feeling pretty great as I rounded the last turn and tried to pick up my pace a little bit, feeling confident that I had past quite a few people and while I knew some of the women had passed me, I didn’t feel like there had been too many. I got out of the water and glanced at my watch to see something around 18:30 and I was pretty pleased. I ran up the hill (thankful I wasn’t getting on my bike) and got the timing chip onto Erik who took off. It was only then I realized that I beat Shari out of the water! Goal 1 accomplished. (Well technically since I was in front I guess I failed?).
Waiting
Shari and I hung out with a couple of the TTGs who were volunteering and got our wetsuits off and ready to run in relative leisure. It was kind of odd actually.
Run
I saw Erik coming in, maybe a little longer than I expected him to take for 15 miles, but I had no idea what the course was like. I grabbed the timing chip and jogged out. I had to try and remember to stay slow so I didn’t totally burn myself out! As I would find out later, Erik had given me about a 16 min head start over Shari and I hadn’t seen Elaine or Liane come in, so the plan was to keep moving and try to stay ahead of them for as long as I could. My intent was to try to run 1 mile and walk 1 min or so. The first part of the run wasn’t too bad, slightly downhill. I was doing great until I started hitting uphill and then the Eliminator. That was a definite walking area. Once I reached the top of that the trail leveled out and I was able to keep a fair pace, stopping at the aid stations. After I hit the turnaround I started looking for the rest of the Tri Girls to get a gauge on where I stood. I saw Shari shortly after the turnaround and it was my mission to hold her off. Finally I saw Elaine and Liane, said hi and kept trudging along. Shari finally passed me at about mile 3.5. I had hoped to keep her sort of in my sights, but she’s just too fast for me! I got to the downhill section before the lake crossing. Yes, this race has you run across the shallow part of the lake. It actually felt pretty good and I went slow, knowing that I was going to be walking the uphill after this.
This year they had decided to throw an additional “XTERRA-like’ obstacle into the course. Turns out they had us heading back the way we came out on the course but we made a quick left before the road which took us down a grassy hill and we had to cross basically a 2’ marsh and then go up a muddy hill! I thought I could jump across but I was a little short and it was a little muddy so I ended up getting wet there again, and then the hill was nearly impossible to get up without sliding so I was trying to find branches to hold on to. The run course has you come back by transition and then turn and run down by the lake before looping back the finish. It is really cruel punishment to see and hear the finish line and still be up to a mile from it. The very end has you running up a short flight of stairs to get back to the road to the finish. I walked up the stairs and headed out the road. Once I got on the road (read: where people could see me) I picked up the pace and headed to the finish. I finished the run in about 1:15, which is on target of my 15 min/mi pace estimate. Could I have gone faster? Probably, but overall it was a pretty good race. Erik and I ended up getting 5th with Shari and Zac beating us by a couple mins. Next year!
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