An EPIC FINALE...... YES It was....
If you know me, you know that I am a freak swimming in lakes, especially when I am in the alligators’ habitat. Oh well! My coach and my husband said that this was the perfect race to qualify for New Zealand and so I did it, but my 5th place in AG was not good enough!
I am usually a very healthy individual. I cook all organic, non-processed food from scratch on most days. I am a social drinker, and drink a couple of beers or a couple of wine glasses when in company. However, leading to this race I cut all alcohol and sugars. Yes! It was hard especially when in company or when I needed my dessert. I lost a couple of pounds, but I made sure to keep my lean mass, targeting a high protein diet as always.
I never really peaked for this race like I used to do for other 70.3 races. The hip, hamstring, and SI joint issues were never completely solved and so I could not really run long distances nor complete hard long speed-works like I used to in the past. However, at least I managed to build to a decent fitness level.
If you have never raced in Haines City, it is not the flat and fast course you might think of when thinking of Florida “Flatland”. The “M” shaped swim is in a tiny lake which requires many turns, the bike has some rolling hills (for me there was no need to ever get out of my big chain ring - so nothing terrible), and the run is a two loop relatively hilly course.
Oh and the weather - it turned out to be 81 degrees and full blown Florida humidity! And I guess I should also mention it was very windy - I think winds were steady with gusts a little higher.
Pre-race
On Friday afternoon April and I drove from Tampa to Haines City. Althea came a bit later with her sister and son. Mike, Alessia, Asia and Althea’s husband came on Saturday afternoon. Patrick and Dara also came on Friday.
I stuck to my usual routine. Saturday, we did an easy shakeout swim and bike at Lake Eva. We continued to rest our legs. We had an early dinner and tried to sleep very early.
Race Morning
Well rested, as much as anyone is before race day, I ate peanut butter and honey on a bagel for breakfast. Transition opened at 5 am, so I arrived at 5:30 am.
After setting up bike nutrition and gears, we walked to the swim start. I lined up with the 35 minute swimmers. As the sun began to rise, the race started. While lined up in the swim chutes, the swimmers were sent out very quickly! We jogged from the chute to the swim start at the beach edge. Swimmers started 3 at a time in 5 second intervals. There was no waiting. Just jog up, and GO!!
Swim
(Time 44:11)
The lake swim leg was self seated so I place myself very upfront. This is a notoriously slow swim, and it proved to be so as I had to make my way through the previous waves and navigate the many turns on the course. Thankfully, I studied the course beforehand, as several swimmers missed a turn and were redirected.
Here’s a strategy that I use and most of our athletes do as well - I count. It starts during the swim - before I get in the water I count the buoys - my swim is simply about getting from one buoy to the next and working to the best of my ability as I navigate from one to the next. My strategy was to swim one section at a time. I used the “M” shaped course to divide the course in 4 straight lines (even though the total lines are actually 7 if you count the turning lines).
The course was very congested, and there was plenty of contact. My goal was to stay calm, focused, swim with good form, and not finish under 50% of my super competitive age group. I had occasional contact, but everyone was courteous. When I made the first turn, the second turn buoy was hard to spot, so I just followed the swimmers. After I made the second turn, the swim logistics changed. I started on the outside to avoid the chaos, but then I was on the inside. Inside means lots of contact. After I made the left turn, all I saw was a bunch of buoys, and other stuff. It wasn't clear which direction to swim.
I stopped, treaded water, and identified the mid-point swim marker that I had to swim beneath, then it was another left turn buoy. All these buoys near each other with all the swimmers splashing made it confusing.
On the third part of the "M", the water started getting turbulent. Lots of waves. That's unexpected in a small lake. After the final 3rd turn, the waves picked up even more! I noticed the lake also got very shallow. When I finally could see the swim exit arch, I swam until I hit the ground - walking through water is way slower than swimming, so I always try to swim as far as I possibly can. Which when you are 5’ 3” is pretty close to shore. When I exited the water I felt like the swim had been slow.
The swim felt slow
technically for me it was slow. The truth is that I love salty water and not much lake swims.
Overall I was feeling pleased with my performance because I did not panic. My time was not super slow in my age group, but it needs some improvements.
I exited the water 20th out of 37.
T1 (Time 4:00)
Nothing eventful on T1 other than the fact that my rack was super far and I had a very long run with my bike. It was a super long transition! And it was on rough asphalt. Why was there no rug? I took off my wetsuit, grabbed my bike gear and bike, and continued hustling out onto the course. As soon as I got on my bike, I was so excited to ride.
Bike
(2:29:25)
It was a very good thing that I checked out the bike course beforehand and that I practiced the course on FulGaz! The start of the course is on a very steep uphill right out of transition.
Lots of cyclists were struggling after getting stuck in the wrong gear trying to climb out. I always leave my bike in a very easy gear, and so I began the bike course with no problem.
This is my strongest leg, and I was looking forward to enjoying it. I felt strong and fast, I loved the bike course and I rode most of the course by myself. I stayed on top of my nutrition. I consumed almost 3 x 24 ounce bottles of my Infinit sport drink. The goal was to stay at 80-85% FTP.
After the first climb, it's flat and fast until mile 23. I was averaging 23 mph through that section. The next section was a series of steep hills. Strong fearless descendants would pass me, but I regained my position on the hills and flats. I saw many cyclists (mostly men) that passed me later on the course as they worked themselves too hard and couldn't maintain it. The course got congested and it was hard to pass a group of athletes that were drafting. I even saw the referee give many penalty tickets.
The third segment was flat again after mile 41. I used this segment to take advantage of my speed and aerodynamics. Wind was a big factor for many, as it really picked up. I was able to slice through it. About mile 52 the course was open and exposed to more wind, and it was pretty desolate. I knew I was close to the finish, so I just tucked in and stayed strong until I was back to town. The course finished with a steep climb.
I was excited to see my bike computer when I switched over my interval screen to show total time, average pace, total distance, etc. I ended up with 2:29.25 with 83% FTP. Needless to say, I got off the bike feeling confident!
After having a relatively slow swim leg, I had the fastest bike split in my AG.
T2 (Time 3:23)
Another long transition, it was a challenge running in bike cleats while controlling the bike. Most of the bikes were still on the course, so I was pleased to see that I made up a lot of time. Racked my bike, grabbed my run gear and shoes, and off I went. I put on my run gear while I was running to save time.
Run
(Time 1:56:17)
My legs warmed up after the bike, so they felt well! For the next 13.1 miles, I would run 100% by feel. I planned to walk on the hills and 15 sec every water station for the entire run, making sure I would sip my Infinit Hydrate drink, get some ice and pour water on my head.
This worked well because I always looked forward to the aid station and I felt like I had good energy between the aid stations. This was a 2 loop course that intertwined in the neighborhoods and a U-turn. Near the beginning, there was a steep climb. I was slow in this section as I walked up the hills to put less strain on my back and hip. For the rest of the course I had a nice pace. It got as fast as a 7:00 pace on the downhills. It slowed on every uphill though. There was run carnage everywhere. It was clear many went too hard on the bike, and couldn't run afterwards. I was disappointed, because I was passing them even if I wasn't in my best running shape. Just imagine what I could do if I was able to RUN like before?!?! Even if I was racing, I had some conversations with other athletes and volunteers.
Everyone was friendly. There was plenty of music, and the best part was to see my 2 daughters, my husband and my coach 2 times during the run. My favorite
section was a flat part on the far end of each loop before an aid station. This was before entering the crowds by the lake. I would say this was around 3 miles into the loop. It was a long flat stretch and there was shade, so I loved it. Although I slowed down on the hills and I had to stop 2 times to use the bathroom, I was happy to see that my run fitness is coming back. I felt strong for most of the run except when I had to use the bathrooms or on the hills when I walked. I certainly had some low moments, but I kept on focusing on good form running. And anytime that I felt really uncomfortable, I just started to count my steps as this helps me shut off my brain so I don't think about the pounding of my legs to the ground.
On the last loop, I was excited to be almost at the finish and completely surprised by how fast this race went by! And as always, just like that I hit the final stretch of the run and hit the turn into the chute.
Finish
(5:17:14)
As I crossed the finish line, it was finally time to rest and start the recovery phase. I kept telling myself : "you can rest when you are done, you can rest when you are done." Finally - done.
I waited for April, Patrick and Althea with Mike, Asia, and Alessia who were waiting for me at the finish line. They told me I was 5th in my AG.
I was really hoping to get my slot for IRONMAN 70.3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, 2024 in New Zealand, but I did not. Sometimes the roll down goes as down as 14-20, but this time everyone took their slots.
So here I lay out the times By IRONMAN tracker vs Garmin
Swim: 44:11 - Pace 2:17. Garmin pace 2:01 for 2196 yd
Bike: 2:29:25 - Speed 22.52 M/Hr. Garmin Same
Run: 1:56:17 - Pace 8:51. Garmin Same
Total time: 5:25:47
But if I look at my placing then it wasn’t awful. Swim: 20rd AG, Bike: 1st AG, Run: 10th AG
Final Placing: 5th AG
Post race
After we cleaned up with a shower and ate some food back at the house, we all exchanged our stories before heading back to the award ceremony. I was disappointed for not getting the roll down slot for World. I will have to race another 70.3 soon and TRI again.
While we were all exhausted after the race, we didn't feel too beat up. Certainly, the 48 hours after the race are the worst when the inflammation starts to subside and you feel niggles in different places as some body’s parts take longer to heal than others.
My wish for myself and for my athletes this season and beyond is to train and race smartly. After many years of endurance triathlon racing, I feel I am fitter than ever before but I am racing smarter than ever before. Thanks to my sherpas Alessia, Asia and Mike who always support my crazy schedule. Thanks to my coach Tim Cowley who helped me build my fitness back after a major injury that is still not completely healed. He is keeping me healthy and strong.
Thanks to all of my athletes and colleagues who inspire me to be a better version of myself each day - you are constantly on my mind when I race and for that I am beyond grateful.
