I got in the water, pulled myself along the dock and when I was told to go, I went. As I first got into the water, I swore I could already feel some current in the river and was hoping the swim would be more like the swim I had at the race two years ago when the current was very strong and swift. As I started swimming I was really surprised how quickly I was bumping into other swimmers. I figured a lot of people must have seated themselves improperly for the swim because the two other times I swam that race, there was just a steady line of swimmers and this year there was much more bunching up of swimmers – it was definitely less crowded than a wave swim start but took me a bit by surprise. I decided to try and draft off some swimmers but those around me got very aggressive when I tried to draft. I got side kicked in the thigh once, got clocked in the forearms several times, and then started feeling like those I was drafting off of weren’t swimming a good line so I decided to just break off on my own . The first year I swam in the river, I had a swimmer tell me to hug the buoy line because the current is swiftest in the middle of the river, so I was still trying to swim towards the middle, but quickly realized the buoys were much closer to the “shoreline” this year, and they were really trying to corral the swimmers into a less swift waters. I was eager to see the finish of the swim and definitely felt a lot of fatigue on the swim. I was sure I was going to have a slow swim, but when I finally did get up the stairs and started running for transition I was happy to see my watch reading 26 minutes. It was still not as fast a swim time as I had the first year at Chattanooga, but I know the fatigue was from putting in a solid effort on the swim. Overall, I think it was a pretty good swim for me. I tend to be a little cautious on the swim and don’t push hard, but I definitely felt the fatigue and think I pushed myself as much as I could. It was also the first triathlon where I beat Ron’s swim time so I was really excited about that. The past two years in Chattanooga our times were close but he had the edge, but I turned that around this year!

Swim more so I can gain strength
Swim hard in a race from start to finish

I had one of the better spots in transition and thought I would have a stellar t time, but my time turned out to be pretty mediocre. The run from the swim to the t zone was pretty long (and included a flight of stairs) and I definitely didn’t run that as hard as I could. There was definitely an element of being cautious on the stairs and through the grass because it had started raining sometime during the swim and the stairs and grass were pretty slick. When I got into the t zone I lost a few seconds because the girl right next to me came in right behind me and for some reason it hung me up for a second, and then I saw Elena running around and got a wee distracted seeing her looking for Bill’s t spit. I got my stuff on and then headed for the corner of the t area, but d’oh that wasn’t where the bike exit was. Oops! So it made my stellar t spot location a bit of a waste.

Pay attention to bike out
Ignore what's going on around me

The bike began in the rain so I had some slight anxiety about the wet road conditions. I did tell myself a couple of times that I was either going to be crossing the finish line or they would be taking my off the course in an ambulance. This is something Ron started telling me recently, more related to my upcoming Ironman, but it definitely helped keep me from really slacking on my bike effort due to the rain. I have been feeling a lot of leg fatigue and tightness in my hamstrings (started following my kidney surgery and return to training a few weeks ago and I just can’t seem to shake it) and just wasn’t sure what the bike course was going to do. I figured the hills of the course should really be burning up my quads and the hamstrings were going to be more an issue on the run, but as soon as I hit the first hill, I know my legs were fatigued all over. I never had the screaming quads but I could feel lots of pulling and stress on the muscles in my butt and upper hamstrings. The rain was keeping the sun away and keeping the temperatures a bit cooler than is typical for Chattanooga in July which was wonderful, but the rain made it difficult to see and at times made my skin sting. I lost a water bottle after hitting a bump early on in the race and I remember being thankful that I always overstock my bike. I know a rider can be penalized for leaving equipment on the course but I decided to take my chances and never even slowed to contemplate stopping for the bottle. I was surprised how quickly it felt like I reached the turn around point on the course. For some reason, I had it in my head that the first half of the course was more difficult than the second half so I was surprised when I saw the turn around approaching and realized my legs were feeling relatively good. I also was able to get a glimpse of how far ahead of my Courtney was and I was thinking I might have a chance to catch her if I rode the second half hard. I had been keeping an eye on my average speed as I was riding and I knew I was behind last year’s time, but I thought if I rode hard on the second half I could make up the time. Even with my surgery and forced down time, I thought I would be able to ride the course harder and faster than last year, but it never really materialized. After I made the turn around I decided to try and tackle the uphills more aggressively. I stayed in my big girl ring, even on the hills and was really trying to use my gears on the downhills. I was forced to coast twice on the return leg because I was out of gears. I tried to keep pedaling but it wasn’t making me go any faster. I didn’t panic anywhere on the course, even on the two final downhills that have curves at the bottom of them, but I was still never able to get my bike speed past about 36 mph (darn 650s and 12-25). Even without my conscious effort to ride the second half harder than the first, I think the second half of the bike leg is more difficult than the first. After we left the highway and hit the surface streets I started really thinking how I need to start riding my training rides harder and attack my races from start to finish. I know you can overdue the bike and it can spell disaster from the run, but I also know I am capable of riding the bikes harder and still managing a decent run. As we were coming down the hill towards the final turn, I started getting my feet out of my bike shoes, forgetting you still had a bit of time on the course before dismount. I don’t think it really slowed me much on that section not having my feet in my shoes, but it would have made more sense to keep the shoes on a bit longer. As I approached the dismount area, I couldn’t quite discern exactly where the dismount line was so I erred on the side of caution and began my flying dismount a tad too early but I was able to take off running once I got off the bike and quickly got into the t area.

I still love this bike course. I could do without the rough parts of road at the beginning and end of the ride, but I love being able to ride on the highway. The scenery is pretty spectacular as you had up the highway. The rain had brought in some low cloud cover that made the surrounding hills look veiled. It was really a pretty sight and such a unique bike course for a race. The hills the course provides definitely keeps you playing with your gears and requires a bit of leg stamina but it is such a great course. The lack of turns makes the course a great one for me as I tend to get cautious on more technical courses.


Train and race harder

I really can’t complain about this t – after all I tied for the fastest transition among all the women racing including the pros! Go me! I ran in, approached my rack, turned my bike around and racked it, got my shoes on, grabbed my GU and race belt and took off. I did have a stellar rack location, but I usually manage to keep my t times fast anyway and this one was no different.

Nada

I usually love the run in races, but I came into this race fearing the run. Since my surgery, I haven’t been able to get my running legs back and I have been having some pretty unsettling intestinal issues on any run where I try to push my pace. My plan was to try and run for as long as possible and when the GI issues arose, I’d walk. I came off the bike feeling bloated and was worried the GI issues would crop up early. I was definitely tired even at the start of the run and the fatigue in my legs never eased. The rain returned in earnest on the run and I was so thankful for it. I know when the sun is shining and the temperatures are high, that run course can be brutal. I never managed to pass Courtney on the bike, but I did pass her on the first hill on the run. I knew I wasn’t going to have a stellar run and I was worried about when the GI issues might force a walk so I was hoping to put as much of the run course under me as I could as fast as I could so I merely shouted something about “déjà vu” and kept going. I also know I never saw Ron on the bike course so I figured he was doing everything in his power to catch me so I wanted to try and keep him behind me as long as possible. I never really got into a groove on the course but I kept plugging along. The start order of the race was different this year, so there were a lot less runners coming towards me as I was running out to the turn around point. In the past, I was able to shout at the runners coming towards me for a bit of a distraction but I didn’t see the first runner coming in until I was somewhere around the one mile marker, and then the runners coming in were limited until I was closer to the turn around point. It was probably a good thing there weren’t too many runners because it was really taking me a lot of effort to run the pace I was and stay focused on the race. The run was a struggle for me. The GI issues never came full force until after I had crossed the finish line, but just about everything hurt on that run. I had to put a lot of concentration and effort into this run, and usually running is so natural, easy and fast for me. I finally saw Ron on the run somewhere around mile 5 and was relieved he was still moving, and moving quickly. I was climbing a hill when he saw me so the most I could muster was a shrug of my shoulders to mean - "What happened?" After I passed him, I knew I was almost home, but I also knew my pace was no where near my target and the pace I was managing was taking a huge toll on me. I had to start pumping my arms pretty hard just to keep my feet moving. It was a painful final mile. I was truly relieved I never experienced any GI issues and I was extremely happy I gave the race what I did, but I was bummed that it took that much effort to get the race done. Both my bike and run splits were slower than last year, and it wasn't from the rain. I am convinced if the rain hadn't kept me cool on the run, I would have had an even tougher day on the course than I did.

I gave the run what I could, but I know it is nowhere near what I have been running over the last year so it was disppointing.

Walked through the finish chute and went and found my little one, and then chatted with some of the NAMC spectators. They were really ringing the cowbells and cheering people to the finish line. I had to hit the port-a-potty; and then entertaining the little one kept me busy until it was time to pack up transition and head for home.


The stop in training and racing that resulted from my kidney stones and surgery really took a huge toll on my fitness and strength, especially on my run. I had to jump right back into training as soon as I was given the ok so I can get the mileage in needed for IM Louisville but it's left my body extremely fatigued and tight.


Team Magic does a great job with this race. Usually it's the heat and humidity that make this race very challenging but this year, it was the rain. I absolutely love the bike course. Next year I hope to be able to come back and attack the bike course from start to finish and prove I can hang with some of the age group leaders.