Ironman 70.3 Syracuse - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

RDs announced that the start of the race would be delayed by 15 minutes because of traffic and people not making it into transition by the cutoff time. That meant I was going off at 8:03. Had my wetsuit on by 7 am and hung out with our crew until the guy's start time @ 7:27. Then Kristin and I hung out with Ally until K's wave went off. Picked Ally's brain about her swim strategy, as she is a kick-ass swimmer.

I should mention that between putting on the wet suit at 7 am and 7:48 am when our wave went off, I peed SIX times. That was an insane amount, and I was a bit nervous that I was somehow over-hydrated (although I hadn't drank that much).

By the time they got to my wave, they were back on track and I still went off at 7:48 am. As soon as I hit the water, I bent down and let some into my wetsuit. I knew it was cold and i wanted to get acclimated. Did it a second time to make sure the water worked its way down to my legs. Our wave went off without a hitch and had open water pretty much from the start, as I started wide and cut over to the buoy line when I had the space to do so. I felt good in the water, and my sighting was on point. Turned the first buoy right on top of it and stayed directly on the buoy line for that straightaway to the next turn buoy. Felt like I was able to pick up some speed on the last leg, although the annoying thing was that there was way too much space in between the turn buoy and the next marker....not to mention that I started to catch up to the orange caps, which I kept confusing for buoys. But all in all, I was able to stay close to what I assumed was the buoy line (and it was) for the rest of the swim. Squeezed out a pee before exiting the water. Took my arms out of the sleeves first, then worked on getting my swim cap and goggles off. I noticed the wet suit strippers, and ran to one of them. Layed on the ground and they zipped my suit off so quickly.

Nothing.

The run from the lake to transition was long but at least it was through the grass so easy on the feet. Got into transition and went through my ritual of getting things ready, grabbed my bike and was off. Unfortunately I forgot to put my race number on, so dropped my bike about 1/4 of the way up the isle, ran back for the race belt, and then bolted. Probably cost me 25-30 seconds total. Got to the mount line, took a breath and was off.

Remember the race belt!

Started on the bike with a nice stretch of downhill to get myself situated. First hill came early, around mile 2, and I was astonished to see TWO people already walking their bike. One man had on an aero helmet and a disc wheel. I really could not believe it.....were they expecting a flat course and not prepared for the hills? I even said out loud to another guy riding near me, "Wow, all that race gear and he's walking." Got out of the saddle on the first hill to get the legs warmed up and passed a ton of people. I was a little concerned that perhaps they were smarter than I by playing it safe early on, but I know myself and I am usually good to push. The first 11 miles were rough; lots of climbing and the average speed was only around 18 mph once I was out of that section. But then the flat and downhill sections came, and I felt money.

Nate had commented that he wanted to get to mile 10 before I passed him, so I made a conscious effort to be on the lookout for him. In the meantime, I started counting the number of girls in my AG that I passed. Saw Kristin around mile 6.5, and she was looking good. By mile 10 i had passed 7 girls in my AG. I then was passed by one in my AG, whom I passed back later. By the end of the bike, by my count, I passed 12 girls in my AG, was passed by 2 in my AG (and I was able to overtake them again), and was passed by one other female from another AG.

I think one of the neatest things about this course was the fog. It was very cool to have low visibility. That really helped me to focus on what I was riding at that moment. I wasn't looking ahead to what hill was coming up next; it was just ride here and now. The rain wasn't bad, either. It was mostly spritzing and because the temps were in the 60s, it wasn't that chilly. I had contemplated putting on arm warmers (ie, tube socks) in T1, but I decided not to. I was perhaps a little chilly starting around mile 20, when a lot of the climbing was out of the way, but it wasn't bad at all.

I saw Craig up ahead of me around mile 30. I recognized his riding style right away, and i was anxious to catch up to him. He looked great, and we exchanged a word or two before I was off. I love seeing everyone out there. The miles just flew by. I passed Ally around mile 48ish. Then at the last turn onto Apulia, I saw Heidi and Amy, with Sloan and Bennett. Gave me that final burst of energy to bring it home to T2.

I felt really good the entire ride, and i did a mix of staying in aero and getting out of the saddle on the hills, just to mix things up and stretch out the legs.

Pee'd on the bike twice. First time on a downhill section, around mile 25ish, but couldn't eek out everything in my bladder so went a second time about 40 miles in. Had ~250 cals of Heed and 3 gels, one every 50 minutes.

Nothing.

T2, unlike T1, went flawless. Had my feet out of the bike shoes by the dismount line and just took off running. Unclipped my helmet, and had it off and in my hand while running. Got to my rack and immediately a big grin came across my face, as there weren't that many bikes back. Saw someone in my AG taking off out of T2; she had her name written across her butt (which K and I had just commented the day before that anyone with their name across their butt is scary intimidating), so I tried to be as quick as possible. Put my socks on (I had coated the insides with Vasoline, which is so heavenly for the toes), made sure the backs of the socks were high enough, put on my sneakers, and grabbed the rest of my gear. Put my hat on while running out, and the race belt shifted to have the number in the front.

Only problem I really had was switching my Garmin from showing speed to lap pace. But I did that while running, so it didn't cost me any time. Just aggrevating.

The first portion of the course is a tiny out and back, which was good because I got to see the girl in my AG and how she looked running. She looked strong, which didn't surprise me, and I didn't give it another thought after that (until I caught sight of her around mile 8). I just wanted to concentrate on making sure I didn't let another person in my AG pass me. I went aggressive from the start, as I knew the first 3 miles were net downhill. The day before the race, Tim had told me to not get too bent out of shape/worried if my early miles were faster than my goal pace. So I decided to just take the speed while I had it the first few miles and then back off. But after I got through 3 miles @ tempo pace, I was still feeling EXCELLENT and I didn't want to slow down. I started crunching the numbers at what time I would finish in if I could just hold that pace a little longer. Before I knew it, I was at mile 6 and I was almost halfway through. I just kept with the pace as long as I could, which turned out to be all but miles 11 and 12 (which were slightly uphill anyway).

I felt fantastic, and because i felt so good I was saying "thank you for volunteering" through every aid station. I ran with a smile on my face the entire time, and I was just very happy. It also helped that fans and volunteers kept telling me that I looked great, strong, that my pace was really good, etc. Those comments go a long way!!!

So at mile 8, I see the girl with the name on her butt out in front of me. I knew I had to stay strong. She stopped to walk through the aid station, so I thought, "I can catch her." Kept my pace and barreled on. I am within 100 yard of her and I start to wonder, do I just stay behind her so that I catch her by surprise toward the end of the run? Or do I just run my pace? I couldn't stomach the idea of slowing down to run behind her, so I decided to go for it and pass her. I also told myself that if I was going to pass her, I had to pick up the pace and look STRONG, so that she didn't try to pick up the pace and stay with me. So I picked it up and made the pass. I immediately her her say "fuck" so I knew she recognized that I was in her AG. I tried to keep cool and just motor at that pace. I was too afraid to turn around and see if she was responding to my pass. Plus, I figured if I didn't know, I would continue to push.

Around mile 9 my hips started to fatigue. But with only 4 miles left and someone in my AG right behind me, I didn't want to slow down. I dug deep and tried to keep running tempo pace. Miles 10 through 12 were rough, but I hung on tight and just kept running. That downhill after mile 12 clicked came at just the right time. It was a pick-me-up and I managed to get back on to tempo pace. Saw the mile 13 sign and knew I was home! Approaching the finish line, I see Brad in the crowd to my right, and he's cheering for me so loud, with a big smile on his face. It was a nice surprise to see him there, as he and Tim were expecting me 15 minutes later because of the wave times (they didn't realize that my wave ended up going off on time).

I took two gels, one at mile 5 and one at mile 9.

NOTHING!!!!!

Crossed the line and met up with Brad, who was such a champ for escorting me to the massage tent and making sure I had what I needed. Then we walked over to get my dry bag and saw Tim. I went back to the massage tent and waited entirely too long for the massage. Should have went to get a plate of food or to the finish line to watch K come in. I wish I could have watched everyone else cross the finish line. I was bummed I didn't. By the time my massage was over, the food line was extremely long, but I was getting fuzzy in the head and I needed to eat. Got a plate and Tim and I walked over to the results to find out that I had placed 3rd in my AG. I was elated; I couldn't ask for anything better. Had hoped to do 5:12-5:13, so 5:05 was beyond what I thought I could do.


Nothing


Any time I can race with our gang, I am up for it. Even though this course wasn't designed in a way that allowed us to see each other more than a glimpse once, it is still amazing to know that they are out there with you.

I am extremely happy with my result and proud of myself for taking that leap of faith on my running improvements to stay running tempo for duration. I didn't know if I would eventually blow up, but I knew I had to try. I am so glad I did. I really think that part of these things is just believing in yourself. If you think you can, you will.