Lake Stevens 70.3 Race Report

To say I am back means that I went somewhere. The truth is that I never left but may have been a little lost. Injury does that to you. It brings in doubt, frustration and can be down right depressing. It is a battle of the mind where the devil tells you that you have done all you can but the angel says, pass through this, keep believing, the best is yet to come. If it were not for a series of events that got me to Boulder I would have made it to the start line but not with the energy and full-spirit I have now. Racing at Lake Stevens 70.3 I knew that no matter what happened in terms of placing I would have a smile on my face while crossing the finish line.

The Race:

The swim has never been easier for me. There is a rope that you follow from buoy to buoy. There was a strong swimmer Teresa Nelson whom I drafted. For the first time ever I decided to just chill out and hold back. I kept thinking to myself – patience, your older, be smarter, it's a long race and no need to burn matches too early. As we were nearing the beach I decided to pick up the pace a little and get out of the water first. Why not? I made it in easily and was out of the water with time to spare.

The bike was challenging, cold, wet and very slick. The terrain is rolling, through lush green forest, along small lakes and a few towns. It is stunning. I had a close call on one descent/turn and from there on I was super cautious. I did not need to take the road home with me. Mirinda rode awesome and caught me at mile 15. I kept her within sight for the next 38 miles. In the last few miles she pushed again pulling a little away from me, then I had to slow down so I didn't eat a horse trailer and from there she put on another solid minute or so. For nutrition I ate 5 GU gels and decided to hydrate like never before. I drank so much that half way through the bike I had to pee. Unfortunately I am not one that can pee under pressure so knew that it was going to be a long 2 hours of holding it. I swear if I was drinking my Kangen micro-clustured 9.5 this would not have happened!

Coming into transition I had a smile on my face. My feet were completely numb which made it hard to run but my energy was still great. My sister and mom were out there cheering me on with everything they had. Before the race they asked me what their role should be. I told them that I wanted to know how far was the person ahead/behind me was. As I rounded one corner my sister yelled – you are 3 minutes ahead of third, then a minute later I saw my mom who yelled – you are 7 minutes ahead of third. I figured that I was in a good position with more than 3 minutes and less than 7. Excellent. It did not really matter of course. I was just doing my thing. When I ran past the mile 8 marker and still felt strong I realized it was the longest run I had in 6 weeks. I pushed a little harder at that point. For the first time ever I did a negative run split. No speed work, no long runs just a whole lot of hiking in the Boulder mountains with runs thrown in there. To me it does not get much better than that.
I still have lots of work to do. There always is. But I am on the right track.
Special thanks to my amazing home-stay hosts Sarah and Gary who not only welcomed me but my mom and sister too. We all had an incredible stay, ate amazing food and had great conversation and laughs.
The Details: