FL 70.3 Race Report

Swim
Pre-swim I caught up with Lisa Smelser and her husband Luke. I also was fortunate enough to catch up with my good friend Jocelyn Cornman. After that, Flex and Scott were there to see me off :)  Although relatively calm wind/waters the heat on top of heat created a cluster out there for sure. I knew I was close to the front of my pack but not too specific. As a exited the water in the longest transition ever, Scott informed me I was just over 30 minutes. (Later to find out he really had no idea but didn't want to mess with my psyche) I was excited to see none of the bikes from my AG rack had yet been touched.

Bike
I  hit the bike super positive thinking I just swam in 30 minutes and knowing I had to be in top few in my AG. The bike was rolling and a bit windy in spots. I went out hard and kept my HR in the low 160s. I definitely went over at times with some of the tougher climbs. I saw a few girls here in there but really no one in my AG that passed me. (Except for one girl who was right on the A$$ of some dude...who later I found out won our AG. Huh.) Nutrition on the bike was 3 PB gels, a 5hr energy, and 3 bottles of Ironman Perform. As I finished the bike in the 2:30s I knew it was going to be a good day. Hello 8 minute bike PR!

Run
Despite a solid start to the day, things never really clicked for me on the run. After fumbling with my Garmin to switch from bike to run mode-- I ended up just doing the math in my head. The 3 loop course was hot, hilly, and overall a cluster--F as far as congestion. The first mile of the loop included a few tough rollers with a narrow side walk in loose grave sand that is barely big enough for one person let alone a race of this size to pass through. Despite a slower start to the run, I was super stoked to find out in the first lap that I was 4th in my AG! I was able to hold my position for the first 2 laps. After that, things went south as I was passed by two AG girls. In the end, I finished with a 5:09 and placed 6th in my AG. Unfortunately, in the last lap I not only gave away a podium spot but also a WC slot.

Tough day out there but I gave it my all, got a huge pike PR, and a 2 min 70.3 PR. You can't complain too much when you perform the best you ever have :) Thank you Coach Chad and to my super supportive husband for putting up with me!

And as for the World Championships, I will get there someday!

Nola Half Marathon RnR RR

Last Sunday was officially the first race of my race season: the New Orleans Rock n Roll Half Marathon. With no taper and being in over my head with IM training, I had minimal expectations. But at the same time, I had hopes of dropping my some time off my PR. Despite going out way too hard and suffering through the last 3 miles, I was pleasantly surprised as I crossed the finish line over a minute faster than my PR. Official time 1:33:31. 

Without going too much into a long over detailed race report, I will share a few of my random favorite things from the weekend:

1. Ladies these are the coolest headbands ever! They make any bad hair day go away instantly and also make a quick transition post workout to work etc.... I can't tell you how many compliments I've received after just wearing them for the past week. 

 2. This is officially the best race sign ever! Although it wasn't until last week that I saw the you tube video on this one, this sign made me laugh out loud. Check out the video if you haven't yet already.

 3. I know people like to dress up for marathons but this is officially the most coordinated race costume crowd I've ever seen:

4. And well..... this picture.... I'm simply at a loss of words. While watching the half marathoners finish, I NEVER in my life have seen so many people texting, talking, and taking photos while running! Don't get me wrong, I'm all about enjoying the experience. In fact, isn't that why we are all out there? But if you have time to TEXT, CHAT, UPDATE FACEBOOK, while you are running a race you ARE NOT GOING hard enough :) Nuff said!