What a weekend! Mark and I arrived on Friday to warm temperatures and
a fantastic guest host who would also race on Sunday.
Saturday was bike drop off day and my head just didn't seem to have
the focus I knew I was going to need! I had my traditional pre-race
meal of a giant burrito and was ready for bed.
Wake up Sunday morning and are headed to transition, and as any good
California girl, had on my jacket before headed out the door. Big
mistake...at 5AM it was already 72 degrees and 90% humidity. I've
been in SF too long and don't remember my mid western roots. At least
there was cloud cover, maybe it would stay? More on that later :)
The swim was a point to point and apparently when measured with a GPS
was actually 1.4 miles...no wonder it felt a little long and all the
times were off. Needless to say I was already behind my target time.
No worries- onto the bike and out onto the course that took us through
the swamp lands of Louisiana, it really is pretty. I was thinking
how I was gonna crush the bike course, it's super flat- I should be
able to hammer right? WRONG, the wind took hold and the last 10 miles
seemed like an eternity. (note to self...positive self talk will get
you through, too bad that talk came a day later!) And during these ten
miles, I started re-writing my training plan wondering where I went
wrong.
I get off of the bike and have a tough time starting the run. Due to
the heat around mile 30 on the bike all I could handle was water and
getting down a gel was torture! I've never had this problem before so
it was causing some distress. After a few miles on the run I run into
Mark who tells me not to worry about it just keep pushing. I ask how
am I doing? He tells me just to keep running which to me means
"bad"...but I later find out he just didn't know cause at that time
there was only one girl ahead of me! Who knew :) So I became the
best customer the aid stations have ever seen, screaming out my order
for water 15 yds from the aid station and dousing myself and drinking
all I could.
Mark kept getting stopped on the run course by the police, as it was a
closed course. A cop asked Mark if he was an official part of the
race and he said "of course i am the team photographer!) He is all
access all the time! Super supported with great pics of ladies in Pink!
A gal passes me and takes over 2nd place around mile 7. Mark tells me
to continue to push and I told him to "be nice to me!". It pays off
though, as I ran better in those last few miles and she slowed down.
I could see her up ahead, but just didn't get the gap closed. Don't
worry I will smoosh her at World's! I crossed the finish line in
5:06, not exactly my goal time but I'll take a podium spot and a slot
to Clearwater thank you very much :)
Louisiana was great, the attitude of the people down there was
fantastic, everyone was incredibly helpful!
Next up: wildflower and some speed specific training in the heat!
Hailey
