Clearwater 2010- 11th Place

Day two post- race recovery has started and I am not going to lie- I am extremely sore, as I expected, from pounding the concrete for 13.1mi Saturday after getting tossed around in the ocean and riding my bike TT style for 56mi :). Since I am keeping activities light and short this week, I am hoping that my legs will come around and work with me one last time this season on Sunday for the last showdown of the year. But first, here is my Clearwater Race Report.

Sunset at Pier 60 the night before the race

 I was as ready as I could be for the World Champs. I had some realistic and some more "if the stars align and I get lucky" type goals. I had some great last workouts leading into the race and knew that I was the fittest I had been all season. I tried not to think about all the superstars I'd be facing on race day and just go out and do my race and have an honest race! In addition, my mom would be racing as well, and I just knew she would have the best race she's had so far. Of course she didn't believe me when I told her the time she was capable of doing...

Clearwater Beach in November

 I did a few practice swims at Pier 60 where the swim would take place, and the water was never pleasantly flat or conducive to fast swim times. At one point I wasn't sure they'd have the swim on the ocean side at all, because waves were huge! However, race morning came and the buoys were placed out and the water looked relatively calm. I had my usual pre- race routine of almost no sleep (really need to work on that, racing on one hour of sleep is only possible with huge amounts of adrenaline running through your system) a light breakfast of toast and coffee and a small pep talk with myself. Then it was off to the race site where cameras were everywhere, filming the top pros every move. I am not sure how awake I looked but I am glad I was not going to be on film ;)

After checking on my bike a half dozen times and checking on my mom an equal amount of time, it was time to put on the wetsuit and hit the water. My tinted goggles made it near impossible to see as it was still dark out when I entered the ocean at 6:20 for a warm-up. Thankfully the sun came up and provided a beautiful sunrise right before the cannon went off. The men were first, 3 minutes later the women followed. I wasn't really at all nervous at this point (other than for the run in start into the crashing waves...) and it all seemed a bit surreal to me. I was going to be racing with some of the world's best 70.3 athletes and this was the world championship!

Boom, the cannon went off and we sprinted off into the ocean. On the way in I tried to gingerly run on my toes but came down somewhat hard on my heel, which ended up feeling bruised the rest of the day (despite the super fine sand, it is really hard when it's wet!) Immediately I could tell that this would be my most challenging swim yet. I focused on even strokes and staying with people and not swallowing too much water, as it seemed that every time I went to take a breath, a wave came crashing sideways. For the first time all season I actually was part of a little pack, which consisted of Angela N. and Amanda L. I am so glad I had some people to work with as I had a hard time sighting the buoys, especially on the return trip to shore. The waves never let up and I felt like I was bobbing up and down more than swimming forward. When I finally reached shore, I heard the announcer say something about how my mom was racing as well  but it's all a blur since I was focused on getting to the changing tent in the quickest way possible.

After some trouble getting my wetsuit off, I had lost a few seconds on Amanda and Angela and they were out of sight in no time. I was glad to be on my bike though and was looking forward to that super fast ride everyone always talks about at Clearwater. The first few miles meander through neighborhoods and in my opinion aren't super fast, but once hitting the highway, there's a long stretch that just goes straight and you can really hammer it there and get your average speed up! My plan for the bike was to play catch up from the swim, as I knew I was one of the slower swimmers in this race. It took awhile until I passed another girl and I mostly rode in no man's land for the majority of the race, making it a true time trial for me. I kept telling myself not to let up because no one else was, and that if I wanted any chance at a real race, I had to close the gaps to other girls so that I had a chance to be in their zip code for the run.

To be honest, I got a little demoralized when I was riding so hard, all on a lone effort, and look across the highway to the other other side to see packs of AG'ers 3 wide and 50 deep, riding along, with no ref in sight. It's Clearwater though, and it's no surprise that this would happen, but when you're working so hard racing a clean race and see that the AG'ers are so blatantly cheating, it does make it tough. (just look at the overall women's results- tons of AG W20-29 who out rode the fastest pros. Really??) I let it go and focused on my own race and my goals. The ride seemed slow (I was 1 min slower than at Boulder 70.3 and had estimated to be at least 5min faster), I wasn't sure if I was having a bad day or if the winds just weren't right for a fast day on the bike. We did have a steady headwind for 95% of it I'd say. Finally, I came back to T2, a little on the depleted side and feeling a bit lightheaded (temps were rising at this point) but glad to be off the bike and onto my favorite part- the run. I wasn't sure how I'd handle the heat since Boulder has become increasingly cold over the last few weeks, with snow before I left...

Upon leaving transition and having the crowds roaring cheers in my ears, I tried to bottle that all up and take the energy with me out on the run course. Immediately, I caught up to Heather L. and made a pass. I shopped like a champ at every aid station, getting sponges (I fully credit those with not letting me overheat out there) and water and coke. I also forced down a few gels as I knew I needed the calories ( The lightheadedness on the bike was preceeded by a slight feeling of hunger, not good!) but my body quickly said 'no' to gels as heat and gels and my taste buds don't mix well.

At around the halfway mark of the first run loop I could hear the helicopter above and the motorcycle brigade behind me and knew the leader of the race was near. At this point I could also see Amanda ahead and just in front of her, my team mate Jess. I caught up to Amanda and had cameras behind me for a good 5min while Michael Raelert made his winning move. ( wow, it was amazing to have him run by me, made me feel like I was standing still...) Once the craziness passed, I was back on the second climb up the bridge (we crossed it 4x up and down) with Amanda feet in front of me. Thinking back on all my hill runs I put my head down and shortened my stride and ran up to that bridge and told Amanda to go with me as I ran by her. I ate up the downhill coming back down the bridge like I was doing a 10k and could see Jess a few hundred meters up the path.

Still having no real idea what place I was in at this point, I picked up my pace just a bit, knowing the first lap was almost done, and that I would keep on pushing and make it count. So far my day had not played out the way I wanted it to, time-wise at least. At the run turn-around I soaked up the crowd's cheers once more and could hear the announcer cheer for the second place male coming in. One more lap to go, 6.5mi- I can do this. And so I booked it back up and over the bridge, passing Jess and telling her to go with me. She is a strong runner and I knew something was up when she dropped back. I don't run with a GPS watch or anything so I didn't know what my pace was, but I was still passing people so I just went with it. At around 9mi my energy was fading, I was starting to battle nausea. I was wondering how my mom was doing, hadn't seen her all day. I kept telling my legs to please stay with me, don't cramp up. I could definitely feel the damage of the day now and the concrete was hard under my K-Ruuz lightweight speedsters.

I came up on Melanie McQ. with about 2mi to go and I passed her on the last downhill. I have to say it felt awesome to make this many passes on the run and move up in the overall spots. I was told I was running in 10th before I passed her so I assumed I was now running in 9th- sweet! I started to tear up thinking about it and had to focus hard to keep my composure on that last mile to the finish. It got pretty crowded with AG'ers in the mix and narrow sidewalks but I managed my way around and finally reached the Ford sign, which signaled the finish up ahead. The clock read 4:23:xx, not the time I had hoped for, but knowing I gave it all I had on this day, I crossed the line utterly exhausted and with jello legs that wouldn't stand on their own. Luckily 2 volunteers plus one more caught me and helped me through.

I was overjoyed and super happy that despite racing solo on the bike I was able to fight my way back in the top 10, at the World Championship! However, this was short-lived as I checked to see the official results to make sure. I actually placed 11th, 2 places lower than I thought and 1 place out of the money. 11th place is so bittersweet because I was so close to making that top 10, 1 minute to be exact. But I never had a clue about my standings and I never saw 10th place. It is what it is, I am not going to dwell over it. each person out there had their own ups and downs I'm sure, and overall I did have a pretty darn good first WC showing! The most important thing is that it left me hungry for more, and excited for next year! It was an honor to be racing with these big names in the sport, as I still sometimes feel like I'm a newbie or a no-name out there :) Perhaps a few more people now recognize my name.

As for mom, she had the race of her life, pr'ing by 30 min and going sub 5:40. (aaaand breast stroking the swim, in a rather respectable time!) Yeah she's a happy camper!

I am about as sore as I expected to be after this race. I knew it was not going to be an easy task to get ready for 2 back to back races in this short amount of time. But I'm not the only crazy one doing it, so that's a bit comforting to know :) Clearwater is behind me and I am glad I had the opportunity to race there as this was the final year for the WC's to be hosted there. It is a beautiful venue, at least for the swim, as the concrete jungle on the bike and run leaves something to be desired, but you can't beat a FL sunrise and sunset, or those white sand beaches! Too bad I didn't get to stay long enough to enjoy a lazy day at the water.

A big thanks to everyone who showed their support for me at the race, your kind words mean so much and get me through the hard times out there! To my sponsors, thanks for providing me with the best equipment out there so that I am always ready for battle and looking good while doing so! Each passing season I learn a bit more about what it takes to be the best, and so far I am headed in the right direction!

Some more pics and video to follow later!

Stay tuned for Sunday and check ironmanlive.com for updates on the big show at IMAZ!