Eating my ZipVit gel before jumping into the swim.
The swim is a single loop and I figured it would be fairly uneventful. The first five plus minutes felt like full contact football (not that I would know what this feels like, but I'm guessing). I felt strong out to the turn around. And then I fell apart.
I somehow swam zig-zags, was with a pack without drafting, and came out of the water in 32 minutes in 5th place - not where I had planned to come out of the water.
Onto the QR to try to make up time I lost in the swim.
I was Chasing Amy for about 30ish miles. And then she dropped me.
I didn't feel great on the bike, but I didn't feel completely terrible. I came off the bike still in 5th, riding a 2:28. I figured with the many U-turns on the course that probably was a decent bike split.
It was hot. I made full use of the aid-station hydration buffets.
I didn't show up at SOMA to finish 5th and seeing that there was only a run left, I figured this was not the time to give up. Somehow the two loop run course went by quickly. I passed a few girls and found myself in second trying to win.
My 1:25 run left me 38 seconds shy of the win. A great day of racing.
I really love racing. There is nothing better than fighting it out, chasing, giving it your all for over four hours. It's even better when you are racing your friends. I think I laughed more this weekend pre and post-race than I have in a while thanks to Amy.
My homestay Karleen and her husband Rich were amazing hosts.
Big thanks to my sponsors for helping me race (lots) and thanks to SOMA for hosting a great race. And finally my awesome husband - there were several times yesterday when it would have been super easy to back down and be happy with finishing further back. Thank you for not just telling me I was closing gaps, but knowing better than anyone that I could. Four weeks left til Ironman Arizona.
