2008 Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3 RACE REPORT

Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3

July 7^th, 2008

1.2mi swim, 56mi bike, 13.1mi run

 

PHOTOS:   http://picasaweb.google.com/livestronger14 

(click on LAKE STEVENS 70.3)

 

After the last race (Gulf Coast), I decided I would just take the leap and get my pro triathlon license. The funny thing is that if you had asked me three months ago if I was interested, I would’ve been like, “WHY?! Hell no!” But after some thought and discussion with my coach, I figured that it wasn’t a big deal, that I would still be doing the same things I do now, but the level of competition would just be a LOT better . . . and hopefully this would pull a little bit more out of me as well. 

 

Going into this race I was a little apprehensive. Nervous excitement. It is certainly kinda cool to be the freshman, because nobody has any expectations of you. 

 

Nobody but yourself, that is. 

 

We can be our biggest cheerleaders or demons, I’m starting to realize.  Rationally speaking, I knew that I was starting a new chapter and that I just needed to get this new experience behind me and do my best.  Irrationally speaking, I wanted to have a good showing. I wanted to do my very best and finish well.  And that’s the thing. I’ve had a pretty cool streak in the past year and a half where I’ve come out on top in almost all my races.  Did I want to stay the big fish in a small pond, or challenge myself to a new level and race against the best, try to pull everything out of me, and see where the chips fall?  This isn’t my career – it’s just for fun—so I figured I have nothing to lose.

 

Needless to say, it was scary.  Ain’t gonna lie.

 

5pm on Saturday:  Pro meeting.  I walked into the pro meeting and felt like the new kid at school; not sure where to sit, not sure if I looked cool enough, and not raising my hand to participate.  They were going through the drill, which was all normal, when the dude said those three little words which sent my head spinning, my gut tied in a knot, and I suddenly had to pee with manic urgency:  SEVENTY-TWO DEGREES.  Which, in pro-speak, means this race will not be wetsuit-legal.  That’s right, there’s a stricter water temp for pros to wear wetsuits.  I was the only one without a speed-suit to wear, and given my already deficient swim, I was convinced that I would be dead in the water before we even started (pun intended).   I have no idea what was said in the meeting after that. I heard nothing else. 

 

Afterwards, my “new-kid-at-school-shyness” gave way to manic urgency to find a speed suit.  Fast. I asked everyone.  One of the funniest part of the weekend was when one of the women asked me (in her sweet accent), “Who are you with?” referring to which wetsuit company sponsors me, to avoid borrowing a conflicting brand suit.  I couldn’t keep a straight face.  Now I really felt like I was in kindergarten. Um, yeah, no, I don’t have a sponsoring wetsuit company. In fact, some of the wetsuit brands will only sell me a damn suit if I promise to cut out their logo!!  (Joking!)  Anyway, Linsey Corbin said that her friend may have one. We exchanged numbers and later that evening she called me with the good news:  the friend (blessed angel from heaven above) had one. The bad news:  it’s a small.  Last time I checked, I’m not a small.   And the night before a half ironman isn’t the ideal time to start a diet.  Oh well, gonna make it work!

 

The race

The small suit was fine.  It was chilly in Lake Stevens on race morning; even more so after I did a short swim warm up and had to get back on the dock to await our start.  I was shaking and my teeth were chattering. I am just going to say it was because I was cold. NOT because I was nervous or anything . . .    Anyway I looked back at the pack of age-groupers awaiting their waves, all decked out in their beautifully-bouyant wetsuits, and I missed my “old school” and wanted to be back with my “old friends.”  I knew I was about to get my ass handed to me in the swim, but was desperate to try to hang for as long as possible to draft off their feet.  Gun goes off, and my big plan lasted no more than 30 seconds. I’m not kidding. 30 seconds and they were GONE. I saw them pulling away steadily.  Despite my long and lonely swim, I have to say it was the best open water set-up I’ve ever experienced. They had an underwater “sight line” just below the line that attached the buoys, so you couldn’t get off course. It was brilliant. I wish every race did that. Obviously my swim needs some intervention. Gonna get there.  It’s frustrating to me how there’s such a disconnect with my swimming in practice and then on race day, but again, I’m working on it. 

 

I got out of the water in 35minutes and some change, and ran to see my beautiful bike all by itself on the pro rack. Not surprising but it sorta made me laugh. She looked so lonely! I’m coming, Princess! I jumped on and began the very challenging, hilly ride around the gorgeous community of Lake Stevens, WA.  

 

It was a 2-loop bike course, and it was hard as hell. I worked my tail off to stay consistent with my wattage and heart rate. I was nailing it. I felt in control and on the hunt for anyone with a letter “P” on their leg.  I passed the penalty tent on a long climb and jokingly asked the “warden” if he’d had any female visitors lately. I wasn’t sure how far back I was, but with a 35min swim, I knew it was going to be tough.  At this level, everyone is solid at each leg of the race.  I passed Fiona Docherty around mile 30 and just put my head down and tried to hammer the rest of the course, knowing full well that she would easily have the fastest run split of the day, so my time was limited.  (I was right. She dropped a 1:20 half marathon and ran her way from 7^th to 3^rd overall.)  I got real brave on some of the screaming descents, and that was actually a ton of fun!!  My bike split was a 2:39 (21.1mph).  My garmin showed 5000+ ft of climbing!  Very pleased…

 

Time to run! As I suspected, Fiona got me at Mile 4.  She was running 6min miles… I just stayed steady at 7.  This course was very hilly. Not a stretch of flat for more than a few minutes at a time. I wasn’t anticipating this and it was extremely challenging. I biked with everything I had, and my legs were doing the quivering thing.  I was determined to run as close to 1:30 as I could. My half marathon PR in a triathlon was a 1:30 (Clearwater last year) and I was ready to hit that again. The hills on this course weren’t part of the plan, though!  I did my VERY best, stayed consistent with pacing and was smiling when I crossed the line with a 1:32 half marathon (7:04 avg pace/mile).  Garmin showed 2600 ft of elevation gain on the run…   Total time was 4:50 and I finished as the 7^th overall female of the day. 

 

One of the big differences with racing pro (for me) was that I knew where I was, I knew that I wasn’t going to catch them, but I was still trying to work my ass off. I haven’t been in that position in a long time—behind, not a chance in hell in catching them, and yet still staying motivated to push on and push hard.  Looking back, that’s what I’m most proud of—sticking it out. I knew I was in the money, but I still wanted to do the best I could.

 

My homestay family was there to cheer me on the whole way, and I was thrilled to high-five the girls as I ran by them. My good friend from Arizona State, Nic, lives in Seattle and had the pleasure of dealing with all my race demands straight as I got off the plane!  J He was all over that course, yelling, screaming, taking pictures, cracking me up . . . and chumming it up with the race announcer.  He is a hoot.  I was so grateful for their support. Thank you. 

 

After the race I had a great conversation with my coach, Matt Russ.  He told me how proud he was of me, and that meant the world to me.   After reviewing my data, he also told me that I hit new CP (critical power) levels on the bike, and executed both bike and run just as planned. I did what I came out to do.  As an amateur, I would’ve finished as the overall female winner.  The fact that I was 7^th as a pro does not take away any of my pride and sense of satisfaction for having stepped up to a new challenge and asked myself to perform.  I did!   We can never control how well others will do.  It is an honor to be able to compete with women at this level (many of whom are triathletes full-time), and I know that I’m going to get even better.   When I think of where I started, what this journey has looked like getting to this point, and where I am now, I am filled with gratitude and pride.  It’s just so cool.  I have said before that winning is a bonus, and I was sincere about it.  It’s always been about pushing myself and seeing what I can do. Yes, it’s a race. That’s why we do it—to race against others and see how we fare.  And yes, I love to win. Who the hell doesn’t?  The thoughts of WINNING and making my own personal progress are what drive me in training.   But I did what I asked of myself (and sometimes that’s ALL we can ask of ourselves) and there were more experienced and flat out faster racers yesterday.  The best part is that they made ME a little better, too.  

 

Plus, what can I say. . .  being the practical girl that I am, I’ll take 7^th and a paycheck over 1^st amateur and a plaque any day. . .  especially now that Delta charges $230 one way to fly your damn bike!!! Caveat, my friends . . .   Fly Airtran!

 

Huge congrats to my wildly talented and incredibly sweet teammate and good friend, Michelle Shoup, for finishing 1^st in her age group and 4^th overall amateur.  She is one to watch!  She put together a very solid race, and it was just awesome to share the experience with her. (I’m not sure if she feels the same way. She got to deal with my pre-race tears at 5am!)   My training partner and friend, Dylan Rist, came in 4^th in his age group, and they both snagged slots for Clearwater. Way to go you two!

 

The awards ceremony was outdoors, cool, and low-key, with a gorgeous backdrop of the lake.   The best part was the hot Aussie that gave me a kiss on the cheek when I went to shake his hand as we were called up for our finishing placements.   I would have swam, biked, ran, or crawled through another 70.3 miles just to repeat that one. 

 

It was so cool to have so many friends send me motivational messages, emails, texts, etc. before the race. I knew some of you were tracking me online and I pushed as hard as I could so as not to disappoint! J  It was exciting, exhilarating, and challenging to race at this new level.  And I’m blessed to be here.  Thanks for all your love, support, and encouragement.  In addition, a huge thank you to Matt Russ of The Sport Factory, Roswell Bicycles, Powerbar, Nuun, Yankz!, Tifosi Optics, New Balance, and Zipp . . . and of course all of my kick-ass teammates who keep me honest and motivate me to work hard.  I appreciate you guys so much. 

 

Next up: Traveling to Belgium for Long Course Duathlon World Championships as part of the US pro team on August 10^th.  Who wants CHOCOLATE?!!  After that race, I give myself permission to indulge:  it’s gonna be a 20k run, 80k bike, 10k run . . . Ouch!  

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Love,

Amy