Its only been 2 weeks since I raced in Florida but it feels a lot longer then that. Its probably because instead of mulling on what went wrong I moved forward and entered another race. I am racing a Liberty Half IM next weekend.
The race in Florida ended up being a total bust. Here is my recap.
Despite being more prepared then ever for this race I still managed to not get that perfect race. It is becoming evident that I am at the point where every little miniscule piece of my race day nutritional puzzle is crutial to a complete race. Not just a swim just a bike or just a run. I have proven to myself time and time again I can do any of these three individually very well. I can even bike run very well. But it seems when I put all the training together on race day it all comes unwound.
Swim:
For this race there were no nerves. I was at the start line ready to race all of the 70.3 miles ahead of me. I know from the past you need to respect the distance but I have never been more focused, and more planned. The gun went off and I started wide of the swim pack. Found my pace and slid in. It was a crowded swim and I remember thinking that I was getting slowed up by just how crowded it was. This was confirmed when I came out of the water and Kelcie told me I was 2 minutes off pace. No sweat I felt in the water it is a lesson learned. Crowded swim stay outside, the "draft" isn't worth it.
Swim: 32:31
Bike:
The Florida 70.3 bike course was peach and cake. I really dont think you could have gone slower then 40k/hr in the first 25 miles if you tried. But with a plan burned into my head I held back and was saving all the power to go hunting on the run. I made it through with no penalties despite the very flat course and a few obvious packs.
Bike:2:27:45
Run:
Racing in Florida I knew heat was going to be a big factor I took in more sodium then I normally do including an electrolyte beverage in the morning and salt tabs on the bike. But I learned this was not enough. I have never had a sodium issue before. For me it has always been sugar, which is easily solved by some good old coca cola. I had that. but sodium is a whole new monster. I started out running great adrenaline pumping I was running sub 6. I knew I needed to back off and settle into my pace. Early into the run I was slammed with 2 hills I powered up the first one and then slowed up to let my HR come back down. This is when it happened my quads locked up. This was not a mental game this was my body rejecting. My day was over. I can not explain the feeling of disappointment. But there is no rear view mirror here. I could have walked off the course right there. But I wanted to go and hurt. The goal now was go sub 5. So I went I suffered and I finished sub 5.
Run: 1:49:00
Total: 4:53:54
I finished and was immediately thinking about another race because this race did not reflect my ability. So next week I race Liberty HIM. My mental state is what I am most proud of with this race. I didn't let the downward spiral ensue I kept my head up and moved forward with a positive attitude. Feels better that way I have to say. Next week we will see what I can do. Until then keep doing work!!
