My bright self decided around 10pm last Friday evening that I would make the final decision to race the Sunfish triathlon. I have lots of good friends in Meridian, and one of them is the race director for the Sunfish. I called him that afternoon and told him I still hadn't committed, but I reallllyyyy wanted to make the drive that morning. It was a sprint triathlon vs. a 100 mile bike ride. I can't turn down a race.........I know, I have a problem. At least I admit it ;) I'm the kind of person that needs races to stay motivated. I knew my body was exhausted from my first peak week--but I figured I would be doing a 100 miler and be exhausted anyway, so why not race and have a little bit of fun? :)
Matt had no option---he had to get in a ride last weekend, because he wouldn't be able to train long next weekend due to being on-call at the hospital. So we decided to swap around weekends----he would bike 100miles while I raced, and then I would bike 100 miles next weekend with some friends while he rode the trainer and went in to work after. He told me Friday evening that if I raced, he would ride long with me again Sunday, and we could move our long run to Tuesday so we wouldn't miss any long training, which is very important right now, being only 7 weeks out from Ironman Canada.
So, I packed up my things and hit the bed Friday evening. I had no idea what to expect at the race------my body was tired, I wasn't doing well on my sleep the past few nights, and I hadn't tapered in the SLIGHTEST bit----------Thursday morning I did a 9 mile run and that evening a recovery bike, and then Friday morning I swam 3,000 yards...........so I knew I couldn't beat myself up too much if I bombed this race.
Alarm goes off at 4am----I'm out the door by 4:30 am headed to Meridian. I got to the race with about 45 minutes to spare, so I got transition ready, went for a quick run to loosen up the legs, and a quick swim. Maybe I should have listened to pre-race instructions a little more clearly ;)
As for the swim, the course seemed a little longer than last year. I was about 1 minute off last year's swim time, but I know I have gotten stronger in the water.
1/3 mile swim------- 10:05
On to the bike------This is a TOUGH bike course. Very hilly sections w/ a few fast spots. Last year, I biked 21.0 mph. I was very excited to see that my odometer showed a 21.4 mph average this year. With the fatigue I felt that week of training and with no race taper,I was VERY excited about this!!!!! I didn't know what my competition was for certain, so I knew I had to bust it on the bike and pray for strong legs on the run. In my opinion, with a short run of 3 miles on a triathlon, it's all about the bike. You can force a fast 3 miles a lot better than force a fast 6 miles on a longer tri !!!! The volunteers were wonderful, as always!!! Meridian Athletic Association does an amazing job at this race!
Run----It was overcast, so that made for a pleasant (well, maybe pleasant isn't the correct word---let's try more tolerable)run. I took off as fast as I could---Matt told me to go out fast on the first mile and just hang on the best I could. My first mile split was 7:02. I was very happy with this, considering my fried legs from the week and the hilly bike :) This is when it all went downhill :( The volunteers directed us to a quick turn-around at the Bonita Lakes entrance (around a large rock). As I turned, I saw two young boy volunteers on my right. No one directed me to take a right turn onto the lower lake. I pointed that way, but the boy pointed for me to go straight ahead. I was confused for a moment, but saw other racers backs turned in front of me like they were headed back to the finish line. I decided to trust the volunteers and go the way they told me. I figured if I was supposed to turn, they would have yelled at me to come back or something of that sort. As I ran a little further, I looked to my right and saw a few people running across from me (there was a big gulley that prevented me from getting to the area where they were running). I paused for a second and knew something was seriously wrong. Obviously!!! The thing is, when I race, I am in such a zone that I just push forward and try not to think about things around me. I kept running forward and thought, "ok, maybe I am going to make a sharp turn to the right b/f that steep uphill across the dam. They are going to direct us right when I get there---that's why the people are on the lower lake." Nope. When I get to that spot, there was no where to turn. "I'm SO screwed,"I thought, as I started running across the dam. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I was not on course and my race was over. I ran to the finish line and crossed, while everyone was screaming "first female---she won!!!!" It was not fun, to say the least :(
Stacy and Lora, the two race directors and friends of mine, were standing at the finish line. Stacy knew something was wrong when he saw my face, he said. I walked over to them and explained that my run was cut little less than 1 mile short, according to my watch. Obviously, I did not run a 14 minute 5K ;) It was all I could do to hold back the tears. I had raced SO hard and was so worn out. I thought I had a chance of winning, but didn't see the winner results until later. They had to disqualify me completely from the race, so if you look at the results, I don't even exist :(
I went straight over to my mom, who came to watch me, along with my stepdad and niece. I'm not sure why, but it all fell apart when I saw her. The exhaustion from the training week and race morning, the disappoint of racing so hard and solid that morning but not being able to have anything to show for it. I just started crying:(
My mom always knows just what to say to me, and she didn't fail that day either. I'm so glad they were there to support me. I shouldn't take races so seriously, but there's not a great deal of races that I have the chance to possibly win overall female, and this was probably my last chance for the year, if not a whole lot longer (with plans of starting a family soon.) I sucked it up after my mom calmed me a little and went to talk to other Heat members and friends from Meridian that I haven't seen since last year. Everyone kept asking me how I did, and it was very hard------eventually I just started saying, "Great---How about you?"
I got home and looked up the race results. I was on track to win overall female for sure:( I only had one mile to run, so if I had pulled off another mile at the pace I was running, I would have won. I outswam and outbiked the female winner. She did outrun me, but I gained enough time on the swim/bike/transitions to have still won.
BUT, I am taking away the postives from that race day--------
* I got to visit family
* I had an incredible bike split with those hills and fatigue from IM training,
which says great things for Ironman Canada
* I got to visit old friends again
I was supposed to run 6 miles after the race, but just couldn't do it. I left with my family, and then headed straight back to Jackson to get a long shower and relax a little bit. Matt got his 100 miler and brick in and I did get that 6 miler in later. We did get to bike long Sunday, and I'm back on track.
I talked to Stacy and wanted to make sure he knew there were no hard feelings. Simple mistake------I should have listened more closely to the run route and the volunteer should have made certain to point me in the right direction.
Sunfish is getting better and better every year, and since next year is their 25th anniversary, expect GREAT things!!!!!!!
Photos for proof that I actually did the race (even though my name doesn't exist in the results ;)
Now,if the Lord will just keep us going for another 4 weeks of peak phase, I will enjoy taper phase to the FULLEST!!!!!!!!!
