I know, the post-race blogs are always the fun ones – so let
me get the more trivial stuff out of the way, shall we!
Monday was a holiday – when my alarm went off at 4:30am, I
turned it off and went back to sleep. I
got myself out of bed by 5am and decided I could do an easy ride out Pecos
Rd. Matt was in the mountains with his
family, so I knew I just needed to get about 15 miles on my legs at a
relatively easy pace.
However, as I pulled my bike out of my car at the Park ‘n Ride, I noticed a lot of cyclists heading out for their morning rides, as well. I hopped on my bike and started out Pecos. Within a few short minutes I passed a group of 4 cyclists going fairly slow. Admittedly, we weren’t far from our starting points, so it was likely they were warming up – but I guess I had a little something to prove, so I moved around them swiftly.
Then, as luck would have it, another group of 3 guys were ahead of me another mile down Pecos, so I took what I had and announced I was on their left as I maneuvered around them, as well. It was light enough to see my bike clock, so I knew I was traveling around 20 mph – not so much an easy pace, but I was having fun. Knowing those 3 guys would not be pleased that they were passed by a woman, I kept 20-22 mph’s the entire way out Pecos to the end. And, then I saw them – as I did my turn around. They were working hard, collectively, to show me up.
Of course, I didn’t let off and I crushed the rest of Pecos Rd – crushing my previous times on the course. About ½ way back to the Park ‘n Ride, I passed another rider shortly after the hill at Desert Foothills. He seemed to have been moving pretty slowly, after the hill, so I took advantage of another cyclist and carried on down Pecos. As I approached the Park ‘n Ride, I glanced over my left shoulder to see if I could cross the lanes of traffic only to see the guy I’d passed hugging my wheel. That jerk had the nerve to latch onto my wheel with nary a peep about it. He could have killed me or vise versa. As I signaled and crossed the 4 lanes of traffic – entering the park ‘n ride - I looked at him and snapped, letting him know what a DUMB move that was and how critical it is that one announces that they’re going to draft off of you before actually doing it. I lost it. The guy didn’t even apologize – he just made his way to his car with his tail tucked between his legs.
Tuesday, I got up and ran 4.5 miles.
Wednesday, Matt and I enjoyed an easy ride out part of Pecos and the Reservation.
Thursday, I swam a little.
And, Friday – before leaving for San Diego – I did an easy 3 mile run around the ‘hood.
So, where to begin. My friend, Kris, nicely offered to keep me company on the trip. I prefer to travel with someone and Kris admitted she was more than happy to be my Sherpa for the day – not to mention she was happy to enjoy her long run in San Diego – so I picked her up around 8:30am on Friday and we headed to San Diego.
As soon as we arrived, we met up with my good friends, Erin and Justin, and Erin’s dad. We went straight to the expo and packet-pickup. Erin and Justin had a bunch of friends joining them for the race, as well, so about 12-13 of us descended on the expo and then later went out for a fantastic meal in Little Italy. Their friends were a blast. I spent the evening wedged between two hysterical guys – Mark and Dan. We chatted music, endurance sports and craft beer – you can imagine my delight.
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| Erin playing in the kids area of the park near transition. |
I hit the sack early and met up with all of them at Transition at 4:30am Saturday morning. I was stoked. It was good to be back and I was especially excited to have Erin and Justin racing with me.
I am pretty silent prior to a race – pensive and deliberate – thinking about the course and my plan for the day. Last year I bested 3:05 on the course and was really thrilled with my time. It seemed my most perfect race.
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| Erin, Me and Justin |
As I put my wetsuit on, I could see Kris in the background watching all of the athletes prepare. Mr. Ali was there, too – as it turned out I was in Wave 5, Mark and Dan in 6, Justin in 7 and Erin in 8. Three more of their friends (Ramon, Jesse and Rick) were doing the relay – so I have no idea where they were in the mix.
I could barely breathe from excitement. As soon as the elites got into the water, I made my way to the beach to put my feet in and feel the water temp. It was cold, for sure, but not terrible. I think the announcer said “high 60’s”. My best friend, Anne, sent me pics of her kids holding encouraging signs before the race – and I was on cloud 9. I had trained for this and felt ready.
As the Waves were sent out, it was finally time for mine. Kris caught some video of my Wave heading out. (We were Green – the ones before purple.)
I was focused and felt strong. Within a couple of minutes, I was passing
swimmers and it felt nice. I got a
little off track and headed out to the outside a bit more than I intended, but
when I got myself back on track, I could see caps of different Waves (blue –
Wave 4; Brown – Wave 3; Pink – Wave 2) – and I was passing many of them. That felt great. Then, as we were about 600 meters from the
end of the swim, a guy in a bright yellow cap came swimming perpendicular to us
and hit at least 4 of us in the head with his hand, elbow or foot. He righted himself, but did so right near
me. It made me miserable, as he bobbed and
weaved and made a mess of an excellent swim line. (I later found out the yellow caps were the
Sprinters who were joining us mid-swim.)
As he continued to hit me with his hands, elbows and head, I finally
slowed down, grabbed the asshole’s foot until he stopped swimming. I snapped, “Give us a fucking break and learn
how to swim!” Another guy audibly
appreciated my scolding and we all went back to swimming. I think Mr-Yellow-Cap hung behind me for the
rest of the swim. Once it was over, I
was out and running to transition.
The distance between the swim and my bike seemed inordinately long. But, I threw my helmet and cleats on and headed out of transition, as I sucked down a Gel. The temps were rising and the humidity seemed out of control, but the breeze on the bike with my wet clothing felt nice at first. I had failed to position my ponytail correctly, so my helmet was a bit less comfortable than it should have been, but I said “screw it” and rode on.
This year we were all made to slow down, substantially, as we entered the Naval Base due to the speed bumps (x4). Last year there were many downed cyclist who weren’t paying attention, so they were uber cautious this year.
At mile 4, we hit “the climb” – its really no joke. More than a 7% grade for nearly a mile. By the time you reach the top, you are wasted – and I’ll admit, it felt worse this year than last. Maybe I didn’t train as well on the hills as last year, maybe it was warm, maybe my hands were simply too slick from sweat to enjoy it – I don’t know. At least I didn’t clip out as many cyclists did. I hit the top like a champ and enjoyed the long set of rolling hills around the top of the mountain, gazing out over all of the bay and ocean. There is NOTHING in the world like miles 7-9 of this course. NOTHING. I wanted a helmet cam!
On my 2nd trip up the monsterous hill, a bunch of stronger riders and I made the most of it by cracking jokes and giving each other grief about whining – as hard as that hill was the second time, I certainly enjoyed it a lot more. I was passing cyclist after cyclist, watching many clip out and almost fall over. All I could think was, “it’s a LONG friggin’ walk to the top!”
As I came into transition with my bike, again it seemed like a HUGE distance to my spot. Once I got there, I slammed on my shoes, downed another gel and gulped a huge amount of water. I had consumed a ton of water and electrolyte on the bike, as well. It was so hot and I was losing a lot of sweat. I knew I needed to stay hydrated.
I felt fine on the run until turning around and heading straight into the sun. The sweat was pouring off me and I was incredibly thirsty. I got to the first water stop and grabbed two cups – one I poured on my head and the other I drank. Never have I needed water so soon into the run – but I needed it and it looked like everyone else did too.
As I headed out of the sun, again, I felt fine – pushing well into mile 3 or 4 with strength. I saw Kris at mile 3 and yelled, “hey Kris, guess what? There’s beer in 3 miles.” I could hear everyone around her laughing – and it really upped my spirits for a bit! But then I turned into the sun again and my discomfort level soared. I walked and ran for the next 1.5 miles, through the water stops and around the bend until I was out of the direct sun again – and then I crossed the finish line hearing my name over the loud speaker.
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| About to Cross the Finish Line |
My time – 3:12. Slower than last year by 7 minutes. That’s huge in race times. I really lost it on the run, but honestly, for the first time I didn’t mind. I had such a good time on the course, I didn’t think about the fact that my times would be less than great. I just resolved to continue to enjoy the course – and I did. It was hotter than last year and more humid, but really, I had a good time. I’ll work on a few things, but I am not going to beat myself up this time. I loved every minute of it – even the hot sun portions.
I saw Justin and Dan at the finish line. Dan passed me at mile 4 of the run – so we were not very far apart. Justin did really well 2:32! Amazing. Erin crossed the finish line 14 minutes faster than her time 2 years ago, 3:27. It was a good day for all. Turns out their friends who did the relay took first place with 2:42. Amazing!
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| Mer, Justin and Jesse (runner in the relay) |
Then we all went for lunch and drinks at Stone Brewery. It was really a wonderful race and with an amazing group of people. I loved it and hope we all do it again, next year!
Oh...and the beach after, of course!
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