This is an adaptation to what I sent to my ELF (coach)
I woke up with the alarm clock and realized I was not nervous. Maybe because I was by myself and needed to make sure I did not forget anything; I was pretty much get down to business and get ready. I ate breakfast, filled all my bottles, got my nutrition ready and headed out the door.I arrived at the race site with enough time to get all my stuff done. Body marked, weighed in, used port-a-potties, applied sunscreen. All check. As I was getting ready to go for my warmup I ran into Kellye. I recognized her from her blog pics.. I am such a stalker! She is a very nice girl, not to mention super speedy! After introductions and a few minutes of chit chatting I headed to the start line to warm up. I put my wetsuit on and got in the water. It felt good, to finally be there and realized that it was actually going to happen. I warmed up and got out of the water as they were calling people to get out so the race could start.
Swim
When my wave was called I finally felt the butterflies. I was able to quiet them down by repeating my pre-race words in my head. We got in the water and treaded it for about 3 minutes. The gun went off and I started swimming. I went a long way without feeling out of breath or anything. I found open water and just swam, as best as I could. I did not panic, but the swim did seem long. I am not used to swim long with just breathing to one side, so my shoulder/neck started to get tight. I also had the feeling I was going nowhere if I breathed every other stroke, so I decided to switch to breathing every 3 strokes. My goal was to not side stroke, and I failed miserably. I got punched on the face by a guy on the wave after mine. It almost took my goggles off. I did not panic about it but it took me a split second to snap out of it. People swam on top of me and into me, and for some reason that just breaks my focus. The swim seemed LOOOONG.This is definitely an area that I would LOVE to improve upon this off season since I know that it will help my times so much if I am able to conquer whatever irrational fears I have with the water. I know I can swim… I have proved it many times… I just think I am not efficient and that if I swim too hard then I will have nothing left for the rest of the race. I came out of the water and was pleased with my time but knew I could have done better.
T1.
I was on the second to last rack out of transition which made my run to the bike quite long. I think I managed to get out of T1 pretty fast, considering I took my wetsuit off, and took the time to dry my feet off.
Bike
As usual, I had a hard time clipping in. I think you could say I am afraid of falling as I try to get on the bike… I lost some seconds here, but in the big picture I don't think it matters that much. We were also at an incline (going up) and I made sure I had enough momentum before clipping in my second shoe. After I did it I was off. The first mile I was quite cautious as people were yelling different things and I got a bit of sensory overload. Once I was on the open road I started to pedal with a purpose. I realized my HR monitor did not work and I thought for a brief moment I was doomed. Then I figured I'd just have to be more careful since I'd have to go by feel. The first few miles seemed really daunting when I drove the course the day before, but to my surprise I was able to climb all the hills with little to no effort. I guess looks can be deceiving. I started my nutrition at 5 minutes in and took a sip of my sports drink every 5 minutes. I stuck to my nutrition plan and got everything in. My legs felt really good most of the way, except when I hit portions of the course where the pavement was super rough. I think that more than anything else took a toll on my legs. The time on the bike FLEW by, and by the time I realized it T2 was around the corner.
T2
After I dismounted, my run to the rack was long and it felt slow. I racked my bike, took my shoes off; put my shoes on. I did pause for 5 seconds to "regroup" and put my running skirt on. I was out of there faster than I thought I was.
Run
I got out of t2 and immediately realized I needed to use the bathroom. I decided to trudge along and hold it. But then I saw a port-a-potty with a guy that had just gone in and I thought he would not take very long and I could go in and out in a jiffy. I was wrong! The guy took longer than I anticipated. After I took care of things I was back on my way. I ran for the first 3 miles pretty well. I was keeping it a constant effort but I did not feel I was getting out of breath or going so hard I could not keep it up for the whole 2 loops. I took water at the first couple of water stops and then a gel. After that my stomach got unsettled. I started having reflux and that was no fun. My legs were sore but they could keep going. It was my head and the knowledge of potential stomach issues that got to me. It was hot and I started to fall apart. I did let my fear of throwing up get the best of me. And I HATE that. The hills were not as taxing to my legs as they were to my stomach. Legs could have kept pushing, maybe even kicking harder. They did hurt, and so did the stomach. I could handle the legs hurting; I gave in to the stomach. I focused on moving forward. My goal was to not walk, and I failed here as well. I cut myself too much slack when I knew that I would definitely come under 6:30; and I did not push as hard as I should. I kept moving forward and the first loop went by pretty fast. I started the second loop feeling rejuvenated. I knew that was the home stretch so I wanted to have a better loop than the first one. Did not happen. By now it was really hot on this particular stretch of the highway where there was no shade. My shoes were sticking to the pavement… I walked/run as best/fast as I could. I took another gel at mile 9. I think that calmed my stomach down a bit, but don't quite remember. When I hit mile marker number 12, my legs and spirit got a second wind. I was running fast now. I passed people. I was dumbfounded but not complaining. I think the last mile was my fastest mile. When I saw the finish line I knew I had made it. And I smiled. I climbed that last hill pumping my arms high.. I wanted a good running picture for once.. I think I even smiled a bit . I crossed the finish line and was done.
After finishing I let the volunteers take my chip off, weighed in and headed over to the misting station. I got in a nice cool soak and then met up with Wes and DeeDee. I had seen Wes along the run course a couple of times and we even high fived when he was on his second loop. He said to me "Dig Deep Danni" and that helped me quite a bit. We went for some food and I was surprised that I was actually hungry... I ate a chicken burger, a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie.. along with a couple of cans of soda... I guess the splurging on junk food started before coach gave me the green light to do so. Ha!
After resting for a couple of minutes we saw Kevin cross the finish line, he had a really rough run and we were all expectantly waiting for him. He finished strong and then joined us for some R & R. I chatted with Wes &DeeDee for a bit longer and then decided it was time to pick my stuff up and head home. When I got back into the transition area I called Todd and told him the news. He was super excited for me. Then, I called coach, and after giving her the cliff notes version I said something that will stick with me for a long time; and I quote: The good thing is that I didn't lose any weight; so I guess the hydration worked just fine. Now THAT is what I call geeky.
Overall:
I loved the race. I was out there 6:20:05, but I am still having a hard time believing that it was indeed so long. It did not seem long at all. Even the run went by fast. I proved myself that the body can do it. I now have to work on keeping the mind quiet and focusing on something other than the pain and discomfort. I am happy with my results. Could I have done better? Absolutely. Am I upset because of it? Nope. I gave it what my body and head were able to give at the time. The good thing is (besides not losing weight) that there is a lot of room for improvement here. And I am ready.
