Swim 1.2 miles-35:23
The swim took place in the harbor of Utah Lake State Park. They set us off in waves, which made for a nice swim. The females were in the last wave. Saw my friend Leslie in the water, right before starting. It is always nice when you are racing with friends. We entered the water from the eastern boat ramp and swam through two buoys, then we made two clockwise loops. The swim went well, besides heating up a little in the wetsuit. The water was murky, but it was not black like Jordanelle last week. I was a little confused where to head on the second loop, to exit for the bikes. I lost some time meandering, with the sun in my eyes, during that last section..The lake was shallow, my hand hit some rocks a few times. When I finally got to the exit I struggled stripping off my wetsuit...My friend Michelle is an awesome cheerleader, which helped me forget about my stupid wetsuit. My swim was slower than usual, I think either the course was long or I meandered a lot from the last buouy to the bikes...
Bike 56miles (2:29:51)
The bike course is a flat 56-mile out-and-back that headed out to West Mountain. The weather was perfect, with some cloud cover. In Provo there seemed to be a lot of turns that were a little confusing. Soon I realized the turns had big signs, not just a painting on the road. In Provo, because of construction, we went off this one dip, that I thought for sure I was going to flat on. However thankfully I didn't flat the whole race! Yay!
My friends were not so lucky. Leslie and Chris both had flat tires. Unfortunately Brandon was hit by another cyclist...Once we got out to the country roads, it was much less chaotic, however they didn't have the big signs where to turn. At the first aid station at Mile 15, I grabbed some water. My quads started loosening up and I was just starting to feel the rhythm, when I made a wrong turn...I didn't go far, before I realized my mistake, and so I had the chance to repass some guys. The second aide station was at the turn around had no fluids. So I should have put some gatorade or water in my special needs bag. I struggled turning around on the narrow road and actually clipped out, you think I would be more coordinated on my bike by now, thankfully I didn't fall. I ran out of fluids returning back to the first aide station....I saw Leslie which always helps with motivation to keep pushing hard. So grateful for the gatorade and water when I arrived at the aide station, I gulped down a ton of fluid, trying to rehydrate..I passed a ton of guys on the bike-one positive of starting in one of the last swim wasves. Once back to Provo, I slowed down with the turns and gravel. Finaly made it back to transition. I was excited about my PR bike! Nutrition wise, I had 5 gus and one honey stinger waffle on the bike.
Run 13.1miles (1:40:58)
The Utah Half run course was a flat 2 loop course along the asphault trail along the Provo River. There was an aid station every mile. Along the trail, there were shady sections which were nice! I was excited to finally catch Chris on the run and chat for a little while. There was a female in front of me cheering who was really kind, and I wasn't sure if she was in a relay or not, I never ended up catching up with her, but turns out she was in a relay. Loved seeing my happy friend Ashley out on the run, she actually ended up running 20 miles for the day. Saw Tracy smiling out on the run course too. One day I will learn to look happy when I am running..I caught up with Brandon's frined Tony around mile 10, and ended up running a half mile together, which was pleasant. Mile 12, I was starting to struggle, but tried to focus on my form and positive affirmations. I hit mile 13 and knew, I still had a ways to go which was a little discouraging. By the end of the race my garmin read 13.6 miles, so my run time was a little slow. I think it would have been a 1:37 instead of a 1:40. My PR run was at Boise half ironman last year 1:35. So I was a little discouraged about this, but am happy with an overall PR 4:49 and a bike PR, and no bowel problems on the run! I was very excited to have a much better race than I had in Texas. First female, and 10th overall. Thanks to my coach and friends who helped me to improve over the year.
Sleep Deprivation finally caught up to me...
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