Race Report Hawaii 70.3 2013
I think I have written this race report 20 times already in my head since the race……now to write it down on paper.
First off, I have to say thank you. Thank you to my friends and family for all of your continued support. A special thank you to my husband who not only supports me but also encourages me to keep going and believes in me more than I believe in myself. And to Rena, for pumping me up when I need it most and joining me for 6 am Saturday morning bike rides.
I had some BIG goals going into this race, and they seemed to get bigger as I progressed through the days of training and the race got closer. My confidence was growing, as I felt stronger and stronger in my training. I was starting to wonder if I was getting too confident or too much of an ego……My main goal was to qualify for Kona, not just for myself, but for my parents too as I knew they were holding out on going to Hawaii until they knew if I qualified or not. Then came my next goal……I wanted to be in the top 10 women overall! Including pros!! Not sure where I even thought I had the balls to say this out loud. I shared my goals with a couple of people, but for the most part kept it quiet.
I chatted with Matt, my coach, before we left for Hawaii and we went over a plan for workouts in the week leading up to the race and briefly discussed race day. We never talked about goals and just touched on pacing/ power for the bike, but the main thought was to stay focused on the process of the day.
We arrived in Kona a week before the race. I was able to get in some good rides and final training in the days leading up to the race. I followed the plan. It can be hard to stay on a plan when nerves kick in and you see other athletes doing more, or less, or harder or staying more relaxed. I trusted the plan though and stuck to it.
The night before the race I ended up reading an article that Matt had written titled “Race Day Habits” which discusses the things that one can do wrong and one can do right in a race to make or break your day. It was as if the article was written for me. There were so many points in it that really hit home and helped me focus on the task at hand. One line in particular was:
“Race day should be the time to forget your
goals for much of the day. Your goals were there
to help you get out of bed for those early morning
swim sessions or get you on your bike in the rain,
but race day is about execution.”
I also had read a post that Danelle Kabush had written in her blog where she said that her parents told her to “float through the miles”. This would come in handy in the run.
Race morning started early as always, but Kelvin helped me get ready and walked me over to catch the shuttle. I headed down to the race start with the rest of the athletes on the bus and once at the race site it was time to get ready. My nerves were kicking in, but I focused on the task at hand and went through my normal routine of getting my bike ready, transition set up, my self prepped, porta pottie stops……plenty of those, and headed down to the water. It was a windy morning and I could hear the many athletes talking about how hard the bike would be. I let it all go and just thought we are all riding in the same conditions.
I was trying to keep an eye out for Kelvin and my father in law but did not see them so I hopped in the water for a warm up. I tried out the funky chicken (?) move to warm up, looking a little crazy but made myself giggle. As I came out of the water from my warm up I saw Kelvin. He gave me a good hug and words of encouragement as we watched the pro start and then the men start. Next up was all the women. I got in the water and lined myself up furthest to the left in the deepest part of the water. As I sat there treading water waiting for the cannon to go off I looked around me at ALL the other girls that were racing. I thought to my self, how on earth did I ever let myself think that I could come top 10 in this race……then I made myself think positively and let all goals go. I was now ready to be in the moment and to be ready to race process driven, not goal driven.
When the cannon went off I went out at a good pace. I ended up finding some fast feet and trusted that she was heading in the right direction. Sighting was tough so I chose to trust that she had a good path and did my best to check at times. The swim was tough, a strong current, ran into the male swimmers, and some pretty bad choppy waters on the last leg of the swim home. I was glad to done when it was over. I didn’t know what I had swam until I heard a couple men say they had done 40 min, which would have put me about 33 min (in the end it was 34, a slower day for sure). I didn’t let the time bother me though as I knew it was tough conditions and everyone was in the same boat.
Once out on the bike I took the first 20 min or so to let my legs come to me before I started to ride a little harder. I started to feel quite strong and got into a good pace. I made sure to hydrate from the start and to start fueling soon too. The one advantage to the men starting ahead of the women was there were plenty of men to pass! This was quite fun and empowering. The bike was windy, unrelenting wind from all directions. I stayed positive and focused though and reminded myself over and over that we were all riding in it together. I was hoping that I wouldn’t get passed by any girls, but there were some strong bikers. I think in the end I was passed by 3 or 4 girls but managed to pass a fair few myself. I rode strong and consistent throughout the course and made sure to hydrate well and drip feed fuel. (Not all of which wanted to stay down….I lost track of how many times I tossed my cookies on the course, but figured my body would keep what it needed and was getting out what it didn’t like). The last 20km was a tough head wind home and took a lot to stay focused. I never looked at my watch once for time, so I didn’t know just how slow the course was. I think this was smart though as it would have been a huge negative to see a slow time. Coming in on the home stretch there is a no pass zone where a fellow in front of me decided it was time to sit back and relax! Bugger!! I had to remind him that this was still part of the race.
I was thrilled to be off my bike and to be getting my run gear on. On with my shoes, my hat, grabbed my nutrition and SI joint belt and off I went. I settled into a good pace right away but reminded myself not to go too hard in the first 4 miles. Again, I never looked at my watch or my pace. I felt I was running strong, but had no idea of my pace and just started to count down the miles. Around mile 8 I started to make up rhymes to get the time to go by. “I can do 8, I feel great”, “I can do 7 feels like I’m floating on heaven”, “I can do six, let the pace stick” (this one needs some work…), “I can do 5, I will survive, on this course I thrive”, “I can do 4, knocking down other girls doors”, “I can do 3, I will be free”, “I can do 2, and will see my Emmy boo”, “I can do 1, let’s get er done”…I think that was the final mile…I remember thinking about chocolate donkey balls in the final mile too. I was craving some treats!
As I was running and catching some other gals I told myself not to chase them but to let them come to me. To “float through the miles”. This really helped me stay consistent, not run too hard or allow any negativity in. The run course has a few out and backs and I started to realize that I was doing pretty good overall. It wasn’t until mile 10 where I saw Kelvin and he let me know that I was 3rd in my AG and 10th overall. I was PUMPED! I knew I had another girl right in front of me and let her come to me too. There was one gal behind me that looked like she was running strong so I knew I had to stay focused in order to stay ahead. There was no time to rest.
I stayed strong right to the end. Once across the finish line I was done and done. I was surprised by my overall finish time, thinking I had gone faster but still knew it was a good day. I knew I had put it all on the line and was so proud of myself. Nell, the 3rd place AG gal came up to me and asked me if I was “taking my spots”, like it was a sure thing! I have never felt I was in the position to have qualifying spots be called mine!
In the end I had a solid race. There is nothing I would have done different and felt like I nailed the day. I am one happy Kona bound mamma!!
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