General Notes:
-Environmental Conditions: Early overcast low 70s. Sun and warm on bike, low 80s with HUGE humidity by run time
-Plan executed near flawlessly – both pacing and fueling (2 key components to successful race day)
-Stayed aerobic early on – sacrificed some speed on both swim and bike to hammer the run this is how you want to strategize your race – now, build aerobic capacity to stay aerobic at a faster pace!!!!! There is no reason to go anaerobic, it’s too far and won’t help you in the long run.
-Swim for comfort – find a relaxed place in your mind and then where to start in the pack keep the stress as low as possible. Stress here won’t help you on a distance this far. Focus on warming up.
-Having riden/ran the course twice prior to race day proved to be an invaluable asset to my confidence and ability to manage pacing effectively
-Felt mostly comfortable throughout – some foot pain on the ride?? and tugging on right IT band. Other than that, body operated optimally for this day.
-Stay within yourself when the hammerheads are pounding by you and you know you can go much harder – you’ll see them again on the run :-0 when they’re hobbling and you’re still strong
-Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate – drink at every aide station and heavily on the bike. You’re only going to be able to sip on the run, but make sure you do this….critical for strength in the end, especially on a hot day
-When hurting – just remember the training and the dedication that both you and your supporters made to make this happen remember how strong you’ve become and dig deep inside yourself to push through it. It will only last a few minutes, so just hang on and overcome yourself. Mental toughness training plays a huge part here – only me and what is inside of me can motivate me.
-The Run is HARD! No getting around this one. Stay cool, hydrated and stick to nutrition/pacing plan let the beast out of the cage when it’s time and when everyone else is walking!!! Stay within yourself, relaxed and smooth.
-Injury report – immediately after- some rt ankle pain, a bit in calves and weird groin pull feeling; quads sore for 3 days, but that’s it. I was extremely prepared for this race! CONSISTENCY and discipline in Training and entire plan – trusting the process!
-2 Major places I had to dig deep – ½ way through bike feet hurt and I was uncomfortable – dig deep to keep going; at the turn (mile 6.5) on the run – hot and wanted to stop, but muscled up and attacked instead!
-Was not passed much on bike – just the hammer heads. Stuck with a small crew a lot of the way. Passed several competitors on the run – very few passed me at this point.
-Spend lots of time in aero bars – as much as possible!
