July 8, 2017
I headed up to Ft Desoto early. Left my house at 4:15! Missed having my tri girls with me, but most of them were doing the Englewood Tri. For me, a sprint wasn't worth the missed training day. I feel like this international distance, was a good race to do. I didn't take it easy this week. I had a brick on Wednesday and a long run of 9.3 miles (with 8 bridge repeats!) on Thursday morning, then an 1800 yard swim that evening. So, I didn't bother checking my times from last year. I was just going to go out and do my best. When I got to the venue, there was a large line to get race packets. I had never seen the line so long. I finally got my stuff, then headed into transition. There were already 5 bikes on the 2 racks in our row, but no one had taken the awesome end spot. Well, it was mine now! I got everything set up, then realized I had left my sunglasses in the car, so back to the car I went. Got my glasses and the bike pump and headed back to transition. Realized once I was back that I had forgotten something else. It's a good thing I had plenty of time! Finally, I was able to head over to the KLR tent, to check in with the group there. I then headed out to the beach. The water was perfect! Calm and flat. I ran into Nina (Storm member) and we chatted a bit before her wave took off. I then lined up with my group, which was the 40 and over women, Athena Women and clydesdale men. With a blast of the horn, we were off!
Swim (half a mile): I was right in the thick of the group this morning. I managed to not get hit or pulled on. After making the right hand turn at the first buoy, I did get off course a couple of times, swimming to the left so much that I was far from the other swimmers. But, I finally got myself corrected and back in with the group. I felt great out there. No issues with my back or being nervous. After we made the right turn around the last buoy, we had a brief spot were we could stand up. I did a few dolphin dives to push myself ahead of the other two swimmers near me. I like how I can get ahead this way, but it always gets me out of breath. Finally, I was in the shallow area near the beach. I stood up, took off my goggles, swim cap and ear plugs, then ran it up the beach and into transition. I took the time to sit on the ground to dry my feet and put on my compression socks. Since this is what I want to do in Augusta, I want to work on getting them on fast. It's not easy putting them on damp legs and feet! I had worm them to work the day before, so they were stretched out a little. Time - 15:12 T1 - 4:22
Bike (20 miles): Heading out on the bike, I felt good. My speed was in the 19mph range! I pulled back a little. I still had a lot of miles to cover. This distance is hard for me to pace. In a sprint, I'll just go all out. But with 2 loops, 20 miles, I wanted to conserve a little bit of energy. The wind wasn't very strong today, which was nice. It can get pretty windy on this island. I was good with my hydration, getting down most of my one bottle of Tailwind. Not my fastest bike here, but I'm happy with it. Once in transition, I racked my bike, took off my helmet and shoes, then quickly put on my running shoes, visor and bib number, before running out. Time - 1:04:42. T2 - 1:54
Run (6.2 miles): It was hot. So very hot. The first mile or so is on a sandy trail. There must not have been much rain out here recently, as the sand was very loose. I took it easy through here, then picked up the pace a bit, once I got onto the paved trail. I grabbed a water at the first aid station. Warm, yuck! I caught up to Nina, just before mile 2. We said hi, then I continued on. I was doing pretty good, considering the heat. I was passing a lot of people. As I came into the end of the first loop, I could hear the finish line announcer say the name of the first female finisher! Geesh, I still had 3.1 miles to run! Took a walk break on the sandy section, had a gel at mile 4, then grabbed some water at that first aid station again. Thankfully, someone had dropped off ice! I poured water on my hand, grabbed a handful of ice, and shoved it down my front. Nice. I continued to pour a cup of water over my head at the water stations. The last mile seemed so long. So happy to finally finish! Time - 1:00:14
Finish - 2:26:24
Finish - 2:26:24
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