Growing up I had always heard about this race because it's so close to my house. Being only about 20 minutes away from my house I always wanted to do it. Throughout the summer I had done some pretty good training and was feeling really excited about this race. It was my first 70.3 so I had no idea what would happen. The morning of the race I felt really well rested and was ready for the challenge ahead.
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| Nervous as hell with Kennon before the race...don't let the smile fool you |
Race Day:
I got to the race site before transition opened so I was able to get a really good spot. After I set everything up I was able to take some time to get my head in the right spot for the long day ahead. I spent a few minutes doing some stretches and warmed up in the water. Just before my race wave I gave a fist bump to each one of my family members and I really had no idea how long it would be before I saw them again. I was going into this race totally blind. I had said my goodbyes and was ready to be crucified by this race.
The swim was in a time trial format, a person leaving every 3 seconds, so I was able to get away nicely and find some open water. I had never swam this far before so I was happy with just making the distance. I not only made the distance but I had the 17th fastest swim with a time of 31 minutes (1:30/100). Although there is only about a 500 meter different between an Olympic distance swim and a 70.3 swim, it felt like I was in the water for at least twice as long. However, exiting the water I felt pretty fresh still so I was hoping that this trend would continue.
This "fresh" feeling did in fact continue during the majority of the bike. I had never road this distance without stopping so I had no idea what I was in store for. Much like the swim I felt really good the whole time. I had some goals set out before the race and was way ahead of all of them so I was really excited going into the run. By this point in the race it was starting to get really hot out and I was doing all I do to try and lower my core temp. by taking on ice and water.
At the beginning of the run I started out great but than began to fade towards the end. My legs felt great after getting off the bike and I started out running about a 6:30/mile. I knew that I couldn't hold up this pace throughout the distance so I knew that I had to slow it down. I slowed the pace a little but still kept it consistent over the 13.1 miles. One of the pre-race goals was to finish under 5 hours and I did just that. I crossed the finish line in a time of 4:58 and I have never been so glad that a race was over. My body was beginning to shut down on itself and every step was extremely painful. When I crossed the finish line I didn't want to take another step! My whole body was absolutely killing me but it was all worth it...in a weird kind of way. I was dizzy, sore, tired, sunburnt, dehydrated, hungary, and excited to give this race another try next year. It only took a few minutes after crossing the finish line for me to begin thinking about next year and what I could improve on.
I had never been to "that" place physically or mentally so I was very proud of myself that I got through it without giving up. Even though this distance race was more painful than an Olympic I actually really enjoyed myself the whole time and I am excited to do another one (or a few) in the upcoming season.
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| 100 meters from the finish. Note that all my bottles are empty after the long day. |
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