Ahhh, the annual Spudman! Not being on crutches the 2 days before gave me some hope I could do well this year. Headed up Friday with Steph, got a sweet transition spot in the bike area and the run area then had dinner at Cafe Rio in Twin Falls and did our annual Wal-Mart trip which got me a Captain America Pez which I was challenged to use on the course and offer to others :) always a good time at Wal-Mart. Got to bed around 11:00 after technology tried to kill us getting to Steph's aunt's home along the Gravity Canal Road...which, if you know ID there are 500 canals and we even saw a skank...or a skunk...however you wish to say it. Early morning wake up call and we were off to the races with a quick pick-up of Heather. We had enough time to ready bikes and transition areas and still get a good parking spot near the start of the race, and most importantly enough time to squeeze into that stinkin' wet suit! Swim (21:18 -1.5K): a total of 3 all out panic attacks left me wondering if I even remembered how to swim. Even floating on my back the clouds above me were swirling and I could barely breathe. I don't know what happened. It has never happened before! I hope it never happens again. The last 1/3 of the swim went well, after I finally got myself under control and realized that I didn't need to call the rescue over and be done before I died. I hate Snakes! That includes the rivers :) In retrospect I think not being in my wet suit at all is what did it. The suit is more constricting and makes it harder to breathe. Add to that race day start adrenaline and I just couldn't get the breathing under control. Maybe next year I should take the swim more seriously and practice open water more...ya think? T1 (2:17): I was happy to be done with the swim and aside from my drop bag blowing off my bike and having to chase it down, I had a seamless transition! It was actually the 3rd fastest transition time in my AG! Nice. Bike (1:13:22 - 40K/ 20.7MPH): I have a new bike! I was stoked. Looking at my last years times I knew I could kill the bike with my new ride. Push the bike and hang on for the run. I could easily take 3 min off my time from last year...nope. Not even close. 20 seconds. That is all I took off. I was VERY disappointed in this!! The ride went smoothly and I felt like I had a good push and stayed in aero, but my lack of training in aero and on the bike in general showed through like crazy. My butt/hams have never been so sore AFTER a race. I needed more bike practice time and I overestimated my bike. I figured who needs to train if I've got a killer bike and legs to ride it? Well, me. Only 3 women passed me the whole bike and I was 11th place in my AG on bike time, but I know that I've got more in me than that. Next year...I'll prove it. Fueling went well too. 1 gu, pez, stinger and too much water. Should've left one bottle off. I only needed one and the extra 2 pounds from the other was dead weight.
T2 (1:43): a little slower than I would've liked, but it is a BIG area to get through no matter where you drop your bike. It was 13th fastest in my AG, so not slow, but I think I could improve this a bit too. At least a few seconds. I was just happy to finally be hitting the run and ready to take it on!!! Run (48:43 - 10K): Ahh, the run. Finally. The part of tri's I long for from the beginning. This one starts on the grass and UP a big hill from the river bottom. Kind of sucks the life out of your legs. Luckily, the fueling on the bike had gone well enough that I was ready to run and could make it...slowly, but I did it and then up and over the RR tracks and onto the pavement. I just wanted the total time under 50:00. I knew I could accomplish that. Just keep moving forward. I had a Gu at mile 3 aid station (3+) and I told myself that mile 4 was where it was time to start hammering it out. I pushed myself and thankfully, the mostly progressive run through the splits shows. I'd like to be able to recover my legs faster and pull the overall time down to 45ish, but again..next year :) At mile 5 I passed a couple and they said "wow! nice work." and I said "last mile! Balls to the wall or nothing." I think they liked it as I heard a couple chuckles as I left them in my dust :) BTTW was Steph's motivating phrase and it felt good to channel her on the run to push to the next level. The finish is a nice downhill trail (through someone's backyard practically) onto the golf course grass for a chute finish surrounded by crowds. Felt good and push strong to the finish. I was happy to see a sub 2:30 despite my bad bike time. (splits: 8:29, 8:03, 8:01, 7:40, 7:54, 7:36, 6:24 - last .16)
Placed 6th in my AG/107 and 41/507 Females. Not too shabby, but I'm still on my quest for my Spudman trophy. If I would've knocked just that 3 min off my bike time I would've placed in my AG and gotten the spudman. I guess this gives me a good benchmark for training next year though. Despite the swim and bike I placed well and am now confident I can come back next year and take one of those little men home with me! Steph did a great job, despite missing HER time goal and Heather finished her first tri under 3:00. It was a fabulous weekend with good friends and a good race. I like the new challenges tris present to me. Gives a little more variety than running, but I still like running the most. I don't know if that will ever change.
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