BFAST #1 and #2 Combo RR

Yes...still slacking on the blog thing. Consequently, I have 2 race reports to write. On May 18th I did my first Tri of the year: the BFAST sprint in Mayport. Not being in the best of shape, expectations were set low. Either way I was happy to be out there at the beach AND racing. Who wouldn't be happy to race in this paradise?

 

Race #1: Minus a 30 minute late start, the race overall went pretty well. I went out hard knowing that red-lining would be key to being successful. The swim was uneventful and a little chilly. After exiting the water, I learned I was in 4th place OA. I picked off a girl and transition and was off on the bike. The bike was a 2 loop course around the Mayport Naval Base with lots of tight turns. I picked off another girl on the bike and quickly moved into 2nd. My heart rate was a little higher than I would have wanted but they call it a sprint for a reason! Towards the end of the bike another girl flew passed me. I wasn't about to even try to hang given my current state or lack of bike fitness.

 As I entered transition, I could see the 2 girls in front of me starting the run. I went out hard but not hard enough to catch them. I ended up 3rd overall which later turned into 2nd after some penalties were added. Still 3rd to me.... Despite my lack of confidence, I was happy with a 3rd OA finish to start 2013 tri racing:)

  

Race #2: (this past weekend) This race was the same exact course as race #1 and part dos of the series. 2nd Round I told myself I'm in much better shape than round 1! Although I'm usually super excited to race, I found myself in a huge mental funk the night before and just feeling very "over" doing this race.  Very strange for me.... To make matters worse, I was having technical difficulties fixing a rear flat tire. With a combination of starting-a-new job stress and inability to fix my tire, I started to convince myself that I wasn't going to go. I think part of it was not having my husband here to help me with my technical difficulties... Hello damsel in distress.

I woke up the next day, put my girl pants on, and showed up to race. Round 2 went very similar to round 1 with the same 2 other girls. This time we duked it out and all finished within a minute of each other. Minus the swim which was double the distance advertised, I dropped over 3 minutes from Round 1. Now if I could just drop my transition times, I might have a chance to make up that minute.... Either way it was fun hanging out with and meeting these fast ladies :)

And ultimately, I'm happy I snapped out of my mental funk. That was a first for me. Has this happened to you before? Did you still race?

Esperanza's First AG Win

Esperanza, my new QR recently earned me an AG win in Sandestin Fl. With absolutely no taper and training through this one, I had no idea what would happen. Either way it went something like this: (abbreviated version because I'm late)

Swim(1/2mile)-We were the first heat and my coach said go out HARD (like your hardest 100 interval hard). It felt weird but I said ok! And it SOOO worked as I was the 2nd lady out of the water and 3rd out of my heat of 30-34 somethins. Felt crazy beating all of the boys! Definitely -literally swimming in uncharted territory. Final time 14:44 (almost 2 min improvement from last year)

Bike (20 miles)-Minus some Garmin mount problems where I sacrificed time over losing my Garmin Edge 500, Esperanza's first ride was like a dream on the smooth Florida roads. Time 52:51 (20 sec faster than last year and 22.7 mph ave)

Run (4miles)-This was so-so. I averaged around 7s and thought I could have gone a little harder.  Training fatigue definitely set in. With my current training volume, it was over before I knew it.Time 28:15. (2 min faster than last year and 7:03 pace). 

Immediately post race, I changed my shorts and threw on some socks. My training day was not over! Post race I went out and did another 5 miles in the heat. First time I have ever had to do train literally straight through a race. Definitely not the most fun thing but you gotta do whatcha gotta do. And obviously my improvements from last year are already showing me that my hard work is paying off (and my coach rocks!)

After my sluggish 5 miler, I cleaned up and hit up the beach Rev3 shimmer style.  Chloe and I scored some well deserved frosty beverages. I was definitely done after one margarita.

The next day I was supposed to do another 4-5 hr ride. With a 140.6 on the horizon, I thought it would be smart to hit up the IMFL course with Chloe. Despite looming rain and t-storms we tried to make it happen. About 90 min in the ride with torrential downpours we called it. Way too dangerous to be riding during this stuff.... Sorry Coach.

Another fun weekend with one of my bestie triathletes and of course a great way to celebrate my 7th anniversary! (Thank you Scott for allowing me to celebrate my wedding anniversary triathlon style)!

Iron Girl New Orleans Race Report

Being a lover of all things super girly, I was stoked when I found out that the Iron Girl series was coming to New Orleans. Although it would mean racing back to back weekends with the 5150, I was so in!

After being a big spaz at the 70.3 and 5150, I wanted to approach this race with a chill and positive attitude. And THAT my friends is .....exactly what I did. It's been awhile since I raced something this short and I knew it would be "balls-to the wall" type racing for sure.

The setting for Sundays race was perfect: temperatures in the 80s, light winds, and glassy-calm water. FINALLY get to swim!

The race went off without a hitch and my age group was the 2nd wave. Although it was wet suit legal, I opted for no wetsuit knowing my clutzy-ness would cost me in T1. With a 400 m swim, I also knew I had to get out hard and fast. Regardless, I got out fast after a few dolphin dives and stayed with 2 other green caps from my AG. We ran up on the 1st heat half way in and I easily weaved past them to the finish.

My garmin that was fully charged the day before decided to die this morning so I had no idea what the time was... I just kept repeating my mantra "balls the wall Heidi-go-go-go". I knew T1/T2 had to be fast no exceptions. T1: 48 sec

Onto the pink hotness for 10 miles. Although my garmin was MIA, my bike computer was luckily working and gave me some sense of how I was doing. I took a few sips of Infinit along the way as this would be the only chance to take anything in. At the turn around there were still 3 women in front of me. I couldn't tell if they were in my age group or from the previous heat. I picked one off quickly thereafter and was gaining on another. After the 2nd turn around, I picked off another and saw that she was in my AG. Just in time! Final distance: 10.7 miles.

I hurled my bike onto the rack, yanked off my helmet, switched shoes quickly, and ran as I put on my race belt. T2: 43 seconds. Scott yelled to inform me that there was only one girl left to pick off and she was about 2 minutes ahead of me. Although I knew she was in the first heat, I still wanted to give her a run for her money.

I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried about not having my Garmin here. This is where it might hurt me. It's crazy how we become so dependent on these gadgets. Somehow I miraculously was able to run on feel and turnover alone.

At the1.5 mile turn around there were 2 girls probably within 15-30 seconds of me. I felt like I was being hunted down. I also noted that the lead girl's gap was closing. I just plugged away as there was no holding back now. With a half mile to go I passed the lead girl. This being my fellow teammate.... she gave me a nice slap on the a** and said you biatch.... It felt so strange being at the front and actually following the lead car/bicycle! As we headed through a grassy area and went up the final small hill, I turned it on.

Thinking back to my 400 m hurdle days in college, NOBODY and I mean NOBODY is going to take it from me in the last stretch.

I'm not going to lie it was close....(6 seconds) But I

did it!

Although this wasn't a huge race for me, this was my first ever kind of big win! Super stoked to be able to do it at such a fun race! Congrats to the survivors, first-timers, and everyone else who finished :) You are the true heroes and what makes this sport so inspiring. And a big thank you to my sexy team and my new coach!