I was super excited to race this past weekend at Eagleman for several reasons. First, the venue is pretty close to our house so it made the trip really manageable. Second, we did not take the kids...it was too long a day for them and given the predicted temps and heat it would have been a disaster for Ryan.
We stayed at a cute bed and breakfast that was really close to the race site. We arrived Friday night and headed straight to bed. It was glorious to wake up at 8:30 am the next morning with no one to feed, change or entertain. We had breakfast at the inn and then we headed over to registration.
Saturday afternoon I met up with some friends who were also racing and we did a little ride of the run course and and short run. I did not get in the water because I am SCARED TO DEATH of nettles/jellyfish/anything that is going to sting me while I swim. I decided I would wait and fight that battle in the am.
Sun morning came too fast and I was up and out the door early. Logistically it was easy to set things up and then we just sat around and waited. I met up with Bethany and Kate, and we chatted to pass the time. Soon enough my wave was called and off we went.
The swim was great. I am pretty sure I swam so fast in fear of getting stung. I started in the front and to the left and decided that I would swim at a slight angle towards the first buoy to avoid some of the mayhem. It worked...I caught and hung with the lead caps in our AG and too soon the swim was over. My goal was to swim under 30 min and it ended up being 27:40.
The bike was flat and fast...and I went too hard early on. I think a combination of nerves, inexperience, and trying to figure out how to race in HOT HOT weather. I picked up a couple bottles of water but in hindsight I should have slowed down and gone a little easier...I would pay for this on the run for sure. The bike was 2:47.54 and I was hoping to go under 3 hours.
And then I got off the bike and felt like death, the heat was stifling and there is NO shade anywhere....I knew I was in trouble...I had horrible cramping and was not running. I saw Ryan during the first mile and said I was not feeling well. I hit the first aid station and got water and immediately got sick after drinking. So I walked, ran, and puked the first six miles. Finally, around mile 5 I had pepsi and that was a lifesaver...immediately I felt better. A different person.... as I hit the turn around....I started to run...I ran back. It was not the run that I hoped for by any means but I have never raced in the heat and there were a lot of things that I learned from this. I was hoping to run under 2 hours but came in at 2:20..
Overall, it was a PR by over 10 minutes so that was great!
2 comments:
I know that you were disappointed in your run, but we will get that fixed asap. The silver lining is what you had a massive bike and swim PR, so that is GREAT and an overall PR - :) WOO!
You were FLYING on that swim!!! Oh my goodness! And your bike time is absolutely fantastic. I have had my share of death marches on the run, they are not fun at all, but awesome job for turning things around and finishing the back half of the run strong. THAT is the true measure of an athlete - you didn't give up, you did damage control, and you persevered. Awesome, awesome job. I can't wait to see you in Lake Placid, you are so fantastic to be coming up and cheering!!
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