Monday, October 24, 2011

SOMA Triathlon Race Report

This was my first time racing the SOMA 1/2 ironman. My last half was in Ireland, where the weather was about as polar opposite as you can get from the desert of Arizona.

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.