This was my first 70.3! I chose this race because it
was in my hometown and my family/friends would be able to watch and cheer me on
at different parts of the course. The bike course was practically in my
backyard!
Of course I was extremely nervous leading up to this
race. I guess it was the fear of the unknown. This is a big distance to
accomplish. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. I wasn’t so worried
about the swim/bike portion, but I dreaded having to run a half marathon
afterwards. Heck, a half marathon is difficult to run by itself, not to mention
following a 56 mile bike ride!
Saturday morning I went to packet pickup and then
ventured to T1 to drop of my bike and set up that transition. I took some time
to walk through transition to familiarize myself with the swim exit, and bike
out. I took a stroll down to the water’s edge and checked out the buoys, went
over the swim course a few times and then walked from the swim exit into
transition and to where my bike was. I wanted to make sure I was very aware of
where everything was located and what path I needed to take. Once I felt okay
with T1 and it’s set up, I jumped back in my car and made my way to T2.
T2 was located at my alma mater, Stroudsburg High
School! I set up my bike-run transition, took note of the bike in and run out
sections and drove home for a pasta dinner!
4:30am
wake up. I gathered my last minute items, which wasn’t much
because everything was already in transition. I went to the shuttle pick up and
rode the shuttle to the start. The ride seemed like forever! It must have been
my nerves. I got to the swim start and went immediately into transition to
check out my bike and other belongings. I had a hard time trusting that
everything would be exactly the way I left it the day before. I checked my bike
computer, my brakes, my tires, etc. etc. I probably even double checked
everything. It was a very cold morning and I knew it was going to be a cold
race. I put on my calf sleeves (hot pink of course!) and a pair of arm warmers
for the bike. I put my wetsuit on halfway, took my transition bag to the bus
and ventured to the swim start.
The
swim: You did one clockwise loop around the lap. The
buoys were kept to your right. This was not my best swim. My goggles kept
fogging, I had to stop and clear them out. I could barely see in front of me
and it just seemed like forever. But, then again, it was a 1.2 mile swim! I had
a goal time in mind, but that time was based on all of my eggs falling right
into the basket. Not on this swim. Swim time: 31:10, 1:36/100 yards.
The
bike: I was fairly confident about this bike course. I
trained on this course numerous times leading up to race day. I knew every turn
and every hill. What I wasn’t prepared for was the weather. I normally do very
well in cooler temps therefore I refuse to wear added layers. I had on my tri
suit, calf sleeves and arm warmers. I was sure I would be fine. Well, the bike
course starts out with a 4 mile decline where I rocked over 30 mph. By the time
I got to the bottom, I was an ice cube. My hair may have actually been slightly
frozen. The next good chunk of mileage was all flat. I found myself trying to
bike harder to get my blood flowing and to hopefully warm up. Wrong again. I
don’t remember exactly at what point I started to feel my fingers again, but I
remember it was a good chunk into the ride. This course had probably two decent
sized hills, but it was mostly a bunch of rollers. About ten miles from T2 at
the top of a decent roller, stood my assistant swim coach from college. Now,
he’s not just any assistant swim coach. He was probably the toughest swim coach
I have ever had. He is both mentally and physically tough. He always knew how
to keep me going. He always used to tell me, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going. So… what are YOU going
to do??” And then, shortly after
seeing him, I was able to see my parents and sister on the course! It brought
such a smile to my face. That long of a race it’s nice to see
familiar/supportive faces. Coming into T2 the crowd support was amazing. The
course crosses over Main street in Stroudsburg, and let’s just say it was
packed! Spectators everywhere. Yet another smile on my face. But that smile
quickly faded, after all, it was time to run! Bike time: 3:05:56, 18.07 mph.
The
run: I took my hand held fuel bottle with a small bag
filled with cliff shot vanilla gels. I exited T2 and set forth on a 13.1 mile
run. I knew the run course but can’t say I was as familiar with it as I was the
bike course. Around mile 2 I saw my parents on the course. I felt terrible. I
thought to myself, “How am I going to get through this?” But I refused to walk.
I didn’t care how slow I went, but I wouldn’t walk. “One foot in front of the
other, keep moving forward. One step forward is one step closer to the finish.”
I can’t tell you how many times I repeated that. Around mile 6 was a doozy of a
hill. I felt like I was CRAWLING. But I knew that what goes up must come down.
I looked forward to that downhill on the way back, it was an out and back
course after all! I took water from every aid station and either drank it or
dumped it on me. Yes at this point of the race I was hot. I don’t do well in
heat either. Volunteers were also giving out coca cola, but to my luck when I
asked for it they ran out. Go figure! I really don’t have much to say about the
run other than it was the hardest part of my day. But I was able to suffer
through it. Athletes made a left hand turn onto Main Street and looked the
finish line dead on. At this point I was too exhausted to bring a smile to my
face, but believe me when I say, inside I was smiling. This was such an
accomplishment. I failed to mention that before the race I had a goal time in
mind for the run. I wanted to run a 2:30 half marathon. I figured with all
things considered, I would be happy with 2:30. Well to my surprise… Run
time: 2:26:30.
