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| Oh, the pain at mile 5. |
The last two weeks have been kind of crazy with three races in 12 days, but it was fun nonetheless. Lets start with Memorial Day and the annual Bolder Boulder 10k here in town. This was the 4th or 5th time for me running the race, and although the course slightly changed this year, I knew the race would hurt. Alot. Only like a 10k at altitude can :) This race never gets any easier and sure enough, the ol' legs turned to cement, then pudding, and back to cement throughout my speed session through Boulder. I looked at it as a good workout to work on my running speed, which seems to have suffered just a tad from all the long training and racing done this year. I came away with a new personal best time (for this race) and as the 15th female runner overall, out of a race that nearly 53,000 people participated in this year. It's definitely a fun event and a tradition in Boulder!
Later that week I traveled to Middlebury, CT with good friends Brooke and Nicolai as I had talked them into doing REV3 Quassy (1/2 ironman) with me. Being the good friends they are, they gladly obliged and kept me company for the weekend, which is really nice when traveling to a place you don't know :) We had an amazing homestay with the cutest and most well- behaved 4- year- old twin girls who stole our hearts, and a plethora of hilly terrain that greeted us, along with the beautiful landscape of Middlebury.
I had heard that the course was pretty hard, and once we drove the bike and run courses, I was pretty certain that the race would not be a walk in the park. Add to that a stacked field that included multiple world champions (past and present), as well as some of the biggest players in the sport, and you had yourself a mini world champs race, which made for a pretty nervous and sleepless pre-race night. Before I get into the details of the race itself, I must give a shout out to the race organizers and volunteers at REV3. This was my first event and just like I heard people say, REV3 really gets it right! All pros had their own little transition spot marked with their own (nearly life sized) banner featuring their photo and name and race number. How cool is that?! When calling out names, the announcer made sure to say a little something about each racer and the awards were pretty cool too.
Back to the race. I noticed the day before the race when building my Blue Triad, that my rear brake was a little close to the rim. Not having my personal mechanic with me, I brought my bike in to the race site mechanics to take a look, as I did not have the tools needed to adjust the brake (it's a special "hidden" brake) and when I took my bike on a test spin after, things seemed to work OK. Still, the rear brake pads were very close to the rim. I figured I'd be alright for the race and wouldn't have any issues.
Race morning had perfect weather conditions, a bit overcast, 50s with the water temps being warmer than the air at 69.5deg, which also meant no wetsuits for pros. While I love my
TYR Hurricane wetsuit, I also liked the fact that I would have less struggles in T1 with peeling it off since I'd be using my
Torque Swim skin instead. It worked really well for me, no chaffing and it fit like a glove. I came out of the water near the back of the women's pro field, as I am by no means a fish (just yet) and knew I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to be one of the top 10 girls in the money. If there is one thing I need to learn to do better, it's to find a good pair of feet to draft, I seem to always swim alone, no matter how big the field. How does this happen?!
Onto the bike the hills started right away and they were relentless. I picked up a few girls who had beaten me out of the water, and then went back and forth with a few for the remainder of the bike leg. Right away, my bike felt off. Something seemed like it was pulling me back. On every downhill, I felt like I had some extra resistance even though I was pedaling hard to pick up speed. The uphills worked OK ( I do love some good climbs) but I just couldn't seem to pick up much speed on the downhills or the few false flats. I knew then that my brake was not working properly and tried to make the best of the race leg, focusing on getting enough fuel and making it back to transition in a somewhat respectable time. The bike course was beautiful through windy and green country roads, and I was able to see my competition at the few out and backs on the course.
The first bit of the run course and the last bit of the bike course share the same road so as I finally made it back to T2, I could see the girls who were ahead of me, some by 2 miles or more, and I was very much out of the top 10 at this point. As I slipped on my super comfortable, light- as -a -feather
Saucony Kinvaras I told myself that I was a runner, and that my strength was in the run. I also knew this run course wasn't any harder than the one at St. George a month earlier, plus it had plenty of shade. I made my way out on the run course and enjoyed a nice long downhill for the first mile or so before hitting up the never ending dirt trail uphill. From there the run course got pretty rolling, but manageable and I really enjoyed the momentum I got from the downhills. I picked up a few girls and before I knew it I was nearing the last miles of the race.
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| Places 10,9,8 and 7. Thanks Brooke, for this pic! |
The very last mile includes an evil uphill turn that starts with a false flat uphill. I was in 10th place at mile 12 and could see 9th place right ahead. So I put my head down, tried to remember that St. George was 2x as tough a run, and made the pass on 9th right as the hill started. I wasn't sure how she was feeling and whether she'd come back to pass me at the top with less than a 1/4mi to go, so I tried my best to pick it up while going up this nasty grade and didn't let up until I reached the finish line in 9th, 15 sec or so ahead of 10th. Don't think I've ever worked so hard in the last 1/4 mi of a race, whew! I enjoyed sharing the podium with so many great athletes, and although I did not have a perfect race, I am proud of the fact that I didn't give up and was able to run my way back into the money. Definitely a REV3 fan and I plan on doing some more of their events in the near future :)
I flew back home for about 2 1/2 days before it was off to Boise for what has become a family tradition. Three years in a row now that my family and I have raced there. And as the saying goes, third time's a charm! Brandon and I had a great hotel set up, thanks to our friend Rob, and by the way, Boise is one of the easiest cities to navigate and get to, logistically speaking. I wasn't quite sure what to expect of my body just 6 days after racing the toughest half ironman I have done, but i made sure to get as much rest as I could, and felt pretty good on race day.
The swim in Lucky Peak reservoir is always a treat, as the scenery is just so pretty up there. However this year, the water temps were hovering the low 50s, which caused some anxiety. I am usually pretty good with colder conditions, but a cold swim is not something I enjoy. The reservoir wasn't open for a pre- race swim, so we all had to wait until race day to see just how cold the water was. I was very thankful that the pros were let in a little early and I used that time to try and get used the cold as much as I could, as I have had a bad experience in very cold water before. The key was to keep moving because as soon as you stopped, your exposed extremities and face would just freeze, literally.
When the gun went off for the women's pro wave, everyone shot out like a rocket it seemed. I knew I couldn't go fast right from the gun as that would for sure cause some breathing issues in this frigid water. I found a pair of feet which I ended up swimming behind for about 3/4 of the swim and I was leading another few pairs of feet behind me. The swim felt long and slow for me, and I exited the water in my slowest time ever at this race, but I'll blame the cold temps.
Off on the bike, trying to put last week's worries behind me and having gotten the brakes adjusted since, I just wanted to put in a good ride. I came out of the water with 3 other women but lost them all in T1, as I could not manage to get the feeling back in my feet. Luckily, my arms and hands were pretty warm and I opted to leave the arm warmers in transition. I reeled 3 women back in in the first few miles and then played cat and mouse with a couple for the majority of the bike leg, before pulling away on one of the long straights back towards Boise. I really enjoyed this ride, and although I couldn't really get any nutrition in, I made sure to stay on top of hydration, as things were heating up outside my aero helmet. Despite having absolutely no urge to eat, I forced down 2 gels on the bike and suffered through a good amount of burping and the like. Never really have issues with that but thought for sure I'd throw up in some spots on the bike.
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| For some reason, this pose reminds me of a flamingo. |
Nonetheless, I came into T2 feeling pretty good and having just ridden 14min faster than last year on the same course. (granted, the Kona-esque winds were missing this year, but still :)) I lost another few seconds in T2, putting my socks on (the local paper got a great shot of that..) but was off and ready to run in my sweet Saucony race kit. Within the first mile I made a pass and was now in 7th place. I had not seen any of the other girls in front of me all day, so it took until the mile 5 turnaround to see where I was in relation to them. It seemed like there was a pretty good distance between me and the next girl and it would take a very fast run to catch the next place. On lap 2 I managed to move up one more spot, but it wasn't enough to catch 5th, the final money paying spot. My stomach was definitely off, as I could not take on any nutrition at all during the run, surviving on sips of water and coke. Still, I didn't fade and I thank my pre race dinner of super salty pasta/ ravioli for that :)
I crossed the line, knowing I gave it my all, having gone 10min faster than 2 years ago and over 20min faster than last year and in 6th place, my best finish yet in Boise. For 2 halves 6 days apart, I'll take it. Another move in the right direction and I can't wait to lay it all on the line again! It was great having my family and Brandon there, racing the same race, all of them achieving new personal bests and even placing on the podium in their AG (ahem Brandon!). Now it's back to a few weeks of uninterrupted training until my next race.
Thank you
Saucony for being so on top of getting the gear out to me for my races,
Powerbar for keeping me fueled while training and racing,
TYR wetsuits for a chafe free and comfortable swim,
The Right Stuff for optimal hydration and no cramping,
Rudy Project and
Blue, as well as all the support from family and friends! Thanks for reading and see you at the races!
Despite the run at Boulder Peak being 3 out and back loops on pavement and gravel dirt, usually in very hot temps, I was looking forward to this part. It was going to be the most 'fun' out of the three legs for me. Spectators lined the course at the turnaround by the finish, giving each of us racers an extra push each time we passed. I steadily worked my way up through the pack of women still ahead of me and I felt good. My legs were moving and although it hurt for sure, I was able to keep pushing a hard pace throughout. My Saucony Kinvaras felt like I wasn't even wearing any shoes at all, helping me keep a fast turnover. When all was said and done I had moved into 6th place, less than 30 seconds behind Pip who was 5th and had the fastest run split for the second year in a row.
