Augusta 70.3 - Triathlon

This was the first year for self-seeding rolling start. I seeded myself in the 33-37 minute group which was the 3rd group to start. The line did not move once for 45 minutes, and I did not enter the water until almost 8:50 a.m.

As soon as I hit the water, I started to run into people who had seeded themselves in the earlier groups who were already backstroking, treading water, or breast stroking. It was a bit aggravating. I know sometimes things happen and people panic, but in this situation, I think a lot of people seeded themselves in earlier groups (knowing they'd never swim that pace) just to start earlier to beat the heat later in the day on the run.

I had a great swim. I wasn't necessarily much faster than previous years, but this is the strongest I've felt from beginning to end of the swim.

The run to transition was blocked by a larger number of people walking side by side. Move right if you're walking, please.

This is the first year for the 'new' course. I had ridden in previously in July and felt it rode harder than the old course even though there is 400 less feet of elevation. Most of the climbing occurs between miles 10-35.

I had strict instructions to ride to a specific power, and I followed my instructions dutifully. I felt quite strong in the out and back section (about 10 miles from home), and saw a lot of people who looked as though they were really struggling. Maybe there's something to this power thing after all. :)

I wanted to grab water at all 3 aid stations, and I did so at stations 1 & 3, but as I was coming up to aid station #2, it was a hot mess. The 'lead' volunteer was doing everything he could to get people what they needed, but he was way understaffed for the volume of people coming in. People had to physically stop their bikes and crowd around a table to grab water or Gatorade. I assessed that I had one full bottle of water in my rear hydration (I always try to keep a full bottle on my bike at all times), but that meant I had to ration it for 15 miles in climbing temperatures. In hindsight, I needed more fluids to better battle the heat later in the day.

I took in my fuel (Infinit and PB pretzels) like clockwork, and finished my fuel 15 minutes from the bike finish.

Grab H2O at the 2nd stop even though it would have meant stopping.

Man, on man, did it get hot in a hurry!! I left transition feeling pretty good, grabbed ice as soon as I could and stuffed it everywhere I could. I ran a decent pace until about mile 5 and that's when it just got unbearably hot. I grabbed ice and water at every aid station. I stuffed ice down my shorts by my femoral arteries, stuffed it down the front and back of my tri top, and held it in my hands. I would perk up for about 4 minutes until the ice melted and then it just got super hot again.

I wasn't able to take in as many Clif Bloks as I generally do in training as it just wasn't sitting well. By mile 11, I was just done. After I crossed the finish line, I became pretty nauseous and had to sit down for about 20 minutes or I would've thrown up.

I'm not sure that at age 47 and being peri-menopausal, there's a solution to running in the heat.

This is my 4th year completing this race. It's my 2nd best finish after being coached for 9 months. I had my best swim and smartest bike, but the heat of Augusta is no joke. 3 or 4 races it's been in the 90s for the run.