Pumpkinman 10/20/2012

Last race of the season!  I left Salt Lake Friday afternoon, with my packed car, excited to race a hilly course in Vegas!  Well actually I was excited for the bike ride anyway, I still struggle on hilly runs.  But I was hoping to have a good run with all the track work I put in this year.  I wanted to participate in this race to help me for the Saint George Half Ironman and IM CDA next year, both of which are hilly courses.  I stayed the night in Saint George with my GT mom, who always makes me feel special.

The next day before the race drove to Lake Mead for a swim, bike and run.  The water was warm, which for some reason I really hadn't planned for.  Somebody told me the water temp was in the 80's, so I was a little worried, about the swim.  My tri shorts are loose, and the bottom of my tri kit is loose too, which would cause a lot of drag.  So I was thinking of wearing my swimsuit over my tri kit. 

Picked up my race packet, which included a water bottle!  I love when longer races give you a water bottle, I wish they would do this for Ironman races!   Then I can abandon an old, mildew stained water bottle at the first aide station :)   I ate a delicious salmon dinner at the Cheese Cake Factory in Henderson. I found a great place to camp in Boot Leg Canyon, not really sure if it was legal. Watched the stars, and listened to some coyotes before falling asleep. I slept great except having to urinate in the middle of the night. The unpleasant fortune of being hydrated for a race. Woke up at 5 to eat a banana a bar and an ensure.  Then preparation for the race...I think I will do another post about this later.  Before the race started I met Dan from St George which was fun.  We always seem to run into eachother at events in Vegas and St George.  I was excited to know somebody who was racing!

SWIM

We swam in Lake Mead, starting and finishing at the Boulder Beach south access ramp. Turned out the race was wetsuit legal. Yay! Actually I like not swimming with a wetsuit, if I would have bought a speed suit.  The swim was a little hot in a wetsuit, but not too bad.  The female wave was small, so felt lonely on the swim, which is kind of unusual.   My hips really bothered me on the swim for some reason, I think it might be related to my tight hips.  This happens all the time to me in open water though.  I felt like I stayed on course for the most part.  Althought with the lack of swimmers, I felt I had to sight more frequently.  The swim was uneventful except for a foot cramp near the end of the swim...Which is kind of random, because I hydrated well for the race with gatorade.  My swim time was 33:40. 

T1
Struggled with my wetsuit like usual.  So thankful for flip flops, to run on the chip seal road, we probably ran a quarter mile uphill to the bikes. My feet are very sensitive so sometimes I even bring socks to the beginning of races so I don't have to walk to the water bare foot.

BIKE

The Bike course was definitely not the easiest, but I actually loved the hills.!  There was a little wind too, but I think we kind of lucked out.  When I did silverman, once I was blown off the road.  I have been working on hills a lot this summer. After exiting transition we turned right onto  the chip sealed Lakeshore Drive, making the course even more challenging.  Not sure when, but caught up with Amy, the first place woman.  We kept playing leap frog for a while.  We finally turned off the chip sealed road around mile 10.  The rest of the ride had smooth roads!  What a great place to bike!   We biked 14 miles out along the Northshore road and then turned back, so we could see our competition.  It seemed like I had gained some ground on Amy, but she was not too far behind.  No males passed me during the bike :) 

The racers were spread out.  I picked a guy in the distance and tried to catch him, which eventually seemed to happen.  The bike ride was a little lonely.  However, I actually saw this awesome spider in the road, I think it was a tarantula.  We finally rode by Boulder Beach, and turned onto the River Mountain Loop Trail.  For about 5.5 miles we biked up a 4.3% grade, then a 6% climb for about a mile.  I felt strong and pushed hard.  The three aid station were perfect for me to stay hydrated.   My stomach felt good on my bike, so I was hopeful that on the run the same would happen.  Bike time was 3:00:39 (I was psyched last year I did almost the same course at Showdown at Sunset where the swim was cancelled and my bike time was 30 minutes slower)

Here is the elevation map of the bike course...












T2-When I was almost ready to leave transition I noticed, Amy had just biked into transition...She must have been right behind me the whole bike ride.  Great, bring on the run.  Grabbed a small container of pepto chewable tablets just in case...

RUN

 

 

So the run course was a out and back loop twice.  So basically we ran down for three miles, up three miles, down three miles and ended up with about a three mile climb.. 

 

 

The first few miles I felt solid.  But now looking at the paces, looks like maybe I went out too fast.  First mile was a 7:22. I carried some peptobismo tablets, which I took at mile one, because my stomach started gurgling. I ended up taking a few at mile 2 and prayed I wouldn't have a problem.  I knew if I used the restroom Amy (runner on the right) would catch me. 

A little after mile 3 I saw Amy was not far behind me, and keeping up with me.   At all the aide stations, I could her asking for nutrition. When I turned around to go uphill I gave her a thumbs up.  Oh boy now for the uphill.  If I push hard uphill I might be able to gain some ground I told myself.  My friend Jen's saying, "you rock at hills" I kept repeating in my head.  My miles were around 8 minute miles uphill, so not too bad for me.  However,  I could tell Amy, on the right was gaining on me when I turned around, the aide stations were great!   I only wish they had everything ready to hand to me.  I think I am spoiled :)  Most of the volunteers were teenagers.  So thankful for the volunteers who make these events possible!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I was still leading and told myself to just keep up the good work, but it was tiring even on the downhill.  I struggled knowing there was an athlete right behind me hunting me down.  I saw Dan who I cheered on and he told me I looked strong, which made my day, because I wasn't feeling strong.   I kept hoping I was gaining ground, but to no avail.  Amy passed me around mile 10, which was a little rough mentally, especially because it was right before the uphill, I tried focusing on my form, making quick strides, swinging my arms.  However, my body just didn't want to go..  My slowest mile was 8:55.  Near the end of the race I could still see Amy in the distance.  I thought maybe the last mile I could push myself hard, where the course flattens. Gained a little momentum when the course flattened out, near the end of the race, but to no avail.  Great job Amy!  She was so kind to me after the race.  I love when that happens!  I am happy with my run even though it wasn't spectacular.  I felt I pushed myself hard on all three events.  My Run time was 1:45:14.   

 

 

 

Only 7 males beat me ended up with an overall time of 5:24.  I ended up not having to use the restroom during the race!  But had to immediately afterwards. I don't understand why race directors don't put the portapotties, closer to the finish line!  Probably for the spectators :) 

 

After the race took the shuttle back to Lake Mead, and picked up my belongings and drove to GT mom's house in Saint George.   In Saint George I was getting ready to shower, and realised my jersey was on backwards all day!  How funny, nobody said anything to me all day...I guess that is one con to camping out before a race, you might put your jersey on backwards in the dark...

 

Thanks to all my friends who wished me luck before my race, and trained with me!!!!!  Thanks to Mill Creek Cyclery for tuning up my bike, and thanks to my coach for helping me improve throughout the year!