Augusta puts on a great race. In fact, I did not realize until I arrived that Augusta 70.3 is the largest Ironman branded event in the world - as 3,400 people compete in this race! Having raced Ironman Wisconsin three weeks prior, the weeks between were filled with some volume training, but Augusta was my first hard effort post-Ironman.
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| Dock we jumped off to begin our down-river swim. |
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| Augusta is a great swim / run spectator race. |
The water was 76 degrees and deemed "wetsuit legal" (76.1 is the cutoff). UGH. Much. Too. HOT. Nobody forces us to wear wetsuits and I should have brought my sleeveless wetsuit, so it is somewhat my own fault. But going sans-wetsuit isn't an option for me when it is wetsuit legal since swimming tends to be my weakness when stacked up against the other girls.
I spent 1.2 miles feeling like I was going to burst into flames right there in the river, and trying not to become sluggish the more over-heated I became. I finally exited the water after 22:48.
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| This image was not captured in 1976 - it just looks old and faded... |
It took me about 15 miles on the bike before I felt normal (ie not over-heated) again and was able to really start pushing. From miles 15-45 I rode hard, felt solid, and felt like in general, I was doing good work. The course was great - a single loop winding and rolling through some scenic areas of South Carolina. I loved it. Challenging, but not overly taxing. Around mile 45 I fell apart. I could probably come up with a million reasons why, but it doesn't matter - basically I spent miles 45-56 feeling slow and blah and trying to will my legs to push the pedals and get me back to T2 faster. I spent 2:30 on my Slice.
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| I rode my Altair 80 in the front and Profile Disc. Wheels were perfect. |
The run winds through town multiple times and is perfect for spectators. I had the best homestay - they brought their kids and Peggy was on every corner cheering and jumping up and down trying to get me back into the money, giving me splits, etc. It really is awesome to go to a town where you know NOBODY and get to race with the support of a local who cheers as loud as my mother would.
I was chasing 4th place all day, but the gap seemed to be holding right around one minute. In the end that is where it stayed. I ran 1:27 to finish with a total time of 4:23, in 5th place.
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| Yay I am done! |
THANK YOU to these people who keep me going:
- The crew at Zoot for designing awesome shoes, gear, etc.
- Karen at Profile Design who has sent me a minimum of 2 stems a week for the past two months as we continually dial in my bike fit.
- Mandy at Cannondale - especially for promoting women in sport.
- Glenn and the crew at Tribe in Scottsdale - best shop in Arizona, hands down.
- Chris at Rudy Project for keeping my head and eyes safe and being just as excited as my parents when my hard work pays off at a race.
- Extreme Endurance for helping me race, recover, repeat many times during the year.
- Powerbar for keeping me from bonking!
- Microscope World for a great "other job" that I love.
- Peggy & Jason for putting me up in your home and cheering me on race day!
Next up is Austin 70.3 and then I will finish out the season at Ironman Arizona where I get to race with my Dad. Thanks for following along - it's been a fun season so far and we aren't quite done yet!
