Oliver Half race week and race report

Race
6th overall, 3rd AG. Half iron PR 5:14:53. Also, would have gotten an IM Canada spot. Crazy. Not as fast as I wanted, but last year I was an AG 5 and 13th overall, suggesting to me the conditions were different this year. Also, coach Elliot, somewhere in the last year you taught me to run!!! In races it still is flooring me that running is going so well. I used to bike good and die on the run. I took off 5 minutes from last years run time and moved up in the field from 10 to 6. It felt so amazing. Well maybe not amazing, it hurt really bad, but it was hurt I could handle.

Swim- started over on the edge where there were only girls two deep. I am so fearful of getting run over and drowning in the swim. Didn't have a problem. I even thought. I love Canadians. They are so nice they won't even run me over. Started out swimming hard, drafted a bit if faster girls would pass me. Felt focused and like I was working hard the whole swim. I was super bummed when my time was 3 minutes slower getting out. Kind of made me crabby for a lot of the bike. Later I found out that they were announcing the swim times being slower. There was a current in the lake or something. It was also kind of windy so the water was pretty choppy.

Bike- Held back for the first lap or so. Wasn't feeling super hot. Felt like my legs were a little crampy and my stomach wasn't super happy. Kept eating though and even tried a few things. Solid food, accelerade, gel. Water and electrolytes. It wasn't super hot out and my feet were even cold for a while. Didn't need to drink much water. On lap two I finally just gave in and went for it. Actually felt better doing this. I stopped paying attention to my stomach and maybe it had settled down a bit. There was a wind going up and down the valley with a headwind going north. I tried to put in a bigger effort with a tail wind and tried to stay down in the aerobars even going up hills into the headwind. Got in and my bike split was slower than last year. I was thinking it was by more but looking at the results it was only a minute or so. Dangit though. Still feeling a little demoralized.

Run- Stomach still not super happy. Started the run and had to use the outhouse right away. Kept it pretty mellow, let my breathing settle down and my legs forget that they had been pedaling for 56 miles. After a few miles I picked it up, and then at the turnaround Erik who had been keeping track of my place told me I was in 7th. I think he said 10th, but the 7th really motivated me. I really scooted around that last lap. Passed 3-4 girls that I was sure were ahead of me and left them in the dust.

Definitely felt like I left it on out there. Had post race gut for a while and was having a hard time moving. Laid down in the grass after the race and felt really happy there. Had a hard time eating or drinking for a few hours.

All in all. Disappointed that my time was not faster, but considering my place think I was relatively faster than last year. Felt really strong on the run.

I wish this blog could be better but work is really distracting right now. Talk to you soon.