It rained for about 20 days leading up to the race, and thunderstorms were in the forecast for race day. I tried to hold out hope that the swim wouldn't be canceled, keeping a positive attitude, even though the beaches had been closed during the week due to runoff, etc. But with a constant drizzle on race morning, walking from the parking lot to transition it was confirmed: swim canceled, and it would be a run/bike/run. We returned out wetsuits to the car (my wetsuit has now not be used since this race last year), and headed to a soggy transition area.
With the swim canceled, my confidence took a blow. I hoped to improve my overall time and move up in the overall standings this year. My primary focus the first half of the year has been my run fitness and speed, and I have also spent much more time in the saddle, including hours on the trainer over the winter- a first for me. However, even with this work, with no swim to 'rely' on, I wasn't sure if I needed to readjust my goals.
The announced the new waves, and I would be going off in the first wave. I decided to be confident, lined up close to the front, and make it hurt. My coach advised to be a little conservative in the first run, hammer the bike, and see what was left on the last run.
Run 1 (1.9 miles, 12:57 (6:49/mile))
I lined up front and center, not knowing how long the run was, and felt great from the start. I settled in with two other women, staying around 4th woman. I felt great, but tried to keep my breathing under control and steady. I didn't start my watch, sort of by accident, but also wanted to race by feel and effort. At the end of the first run, I thought I entered transition around 3rd in my age group.
I am basing the distance of the first run on the pace posted in the results. Who knows if it's accurate.
T1 (1:01)
I had trouble getting my bike shoes on, stepped in a huge puddle, and ran awkwardly with my bike to the bike out. I thought I had an awful transition, but realized I was the first woman out of transition (I think).
Bike (12 miles, 35:51 (20.1mph))
Being in the first wave we were lucky to have a wide open bike course for the 1st of a 2 loop course. I was passed almost right away by one of the two women who would pass me during the bike. I felt comfortable, stayed in my drops, and tried to keep her in sight. I was passed by another about halfway through the bike, made a brief attempt to hang with her, but realized it wasn't happening and continued to ride my own race, keeping my cadence up. My spirits were high, and the second loop all I thought about was avoiding a crash, as the course was wet, with puddles, and had masses of people all over the road. I witnessed one guy go down hard, and after that, took the corners conservatively and just wanted to be done. Overall, the bike felt good- I was able to make it hurt the entire time, keep my heart rate high, as well as my spirit. I think this is sort of a breakthrough for me, as I usually get bored/lose focus during the bike, no matter how short.
T2 (:46)
Ran awkwardly with my bike, stepped in more puddles, shoes on, visor in hand, run out. This felt good. I knew that only two women were in front of me, both in my age group, and wanted to see how far ahead they were ASAP.
Run2 (2.99, 20:06 (6:44/mile))
As much as I thought about doing a brick prior to this race, this was the first brick of the season for me. And I felt it. The first part of the run is a little out and back, and I was able to see how far in front the women were. I tried not to think about hammering and trying to catch them right away, just getting my legs under me and finding a comfortable stride. It took about a mile to find my legs, and I could tell I was gaining ground on the female running in front of me. I tried to keep my cool, latched on to a guy's shoulder and dig deep. My stride felt great and I was able to pick up my turn over. I passed her about ~2ish miles into the run. I could tell I wasn't gaining ground on the female in first- in fact, I couldn't even see her at that point. I tried to keep in mind there were waves behind me and I needed to keep digging deep, not just be happy with 2/AG. I finished strong, with no one out-kicking me in the finish chute, seeing my time around 1:10.
I knew this was about 4 minutes faster than last year, although the swim had been replaced (but go figure my run1 time was very close to my swim time from last year). After only a minutes or so, I saw a woman from the next wave finish, so I knew she had gone way faster than me. At that point I decided to enjoy how great I felt, cheer for others on my team, and not worry about the results.
Looking back, I wish I had run the first run a bit harder, but there is nothing else I would have changed. I can't think of any other race I have done where I have been able to push the run and set my sights on passing someone and actually get it done. AWESOME feeling.
Although of course I would have liked a swim (and I am pretty sure it could have helped me place a bit higher), I think in a weird way I am happy the swim was canceled. I am realizing up to this point I have thought of myself as "a good swimmer who does triathlons." I think I need to start thinking of myself as a "triathlete." This is the exactly the confidence I was looking for going into Philly this weekend.
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