St.George 70.3: Smacking the Beehive

There was a lot of anticipation in the build up to the inaugural St. George 70.3 race, which also served as the US Pro Championship, seeing as how the full distance was so terrifying that no one was willing to do it.  We all knew it would be challenging, and honestly isn't that why we were all out there?  Without being pessimistic but rather realistic, April was a tough month for me so I felt insecure at best about what kind of shape I was in.  One of my goals this season was to have a solid season, which means that even your bad races have to be pretty good.

The logistics of St. George are a bit pesky with multiple transitions, shuttles, etc, etc.  We were insanely lucky to approach a near perfect race day in terms of conditions.  There was little if any wind and temperatures I think reached about 85 by late afternoon, which meant that it was under 80 by noon.  The lake was gorgeous and calm...but cold.  It was a brisk 60 which is manageable but does take a toll on you.  Thankfully, the air was warm so we were able to warm up some on the bike.  For me the swim was uneventful.  I saw one girl get away from the gun, then I pretty much spent the rest of the time weaving through the masses ahead of me.  I spotted a couple green caps here and there around me and exited in 4th place in 29:57.  I was really cold and struggling in transition to get my socks and shoes on.  Usually I have the fastest transition, but not this time...I lost almost 30 seconds to a couple other girls. 

I got on my bike calm and ready to go.  My legs didn't feel bad and I was putting out good power.  The roads of the bike course in St. George are AMAZING!  Yes the surface is a bit rough in terms of material in some places...but there are virtually no potholes and there are almost no tight spots so there is plenty of room to pass and be passed.  Everyone has their space!  Also I might mention that although the bike has almost 3400ft of climbing, there is 3600 ft of descending.  So while the climbing might be compared to that of a Wildflower type course, really the times are almost identical to those at Oceanside 70.3 (especially under good conditions).  Back to the race, I started to reel in girls.  I caught up to a couple girls and passed them a couple times only to have them hammer by me again.  I kind of rolled my eyes and shook my head thinking they were expending an awful lot of energy proving to me how strong they were.  On top of that, I had no idea who they even were.  I have never prescribed to getting caught up in those kind of games because they usually don't pan out well.  St. George is a long tough race from what I could see and knew there was a tough run to come as well as some 3,400 ft of climbing mostly late in the race.  What did alarm me was when I saw Sonja Wieck blow by us like a freight train around mile 20.  I had just passed the two girls for the third time into a headwind and then it happened.  Sonja passed us so fast I knew she felt good and meant it.  We had ridden together just 4 weeks ago at Oceanside and I knew she didn't want me tagging along this time.  Then, I saw one of the other girls come around and go with her.  And that was that...I didn't have a response.  The gap widened and I continued to ride steady knowing that I was still riding pretty well and there was still a lot of racing to come. 

top of Snow Canyon climb, 10 to go!

Around mile 35 instead of starting to move up or increase my pace on the hills, I started to feel pretty bad, it was becoming laborous to hold my watts, AND I was getting passed by MORE girls.  This was a blow to my ego as I rarely get  passed on the bike.  Despite this, I still felt optimistic that I was riding MY race and MY pace and it would pay off on the run.  I hammered the last 10 miles after the climb through Snow Canyon thinking I could make up some time there coming into transition in 7th with a 2:42 (ouch)!

In T2 overnight I guess one of the volunteers decided to tie my bag so again not the speediest transition I have ever had with my stuff all jumbled up.  Out of transition I know I needed a good run and patience to catch anyone.  Unfortunately I was having the same problems I usually have with my left leg.  I reminded myself to just keep going and my leg would come around.  The first 4 miles are basically all uphill and so its best to not have any pacing expectations. 

gaining momentum

Around mile 5 my leg and body started to come around and I was moving well especially on the downhills.  I could see at the turn around that some of the girls were struggling and I was just feeling better and better.  With the time gaps it was unlikely that I was going to catch anyone but why not use that as motivation to bring the best possible negative split out of me?  I ran the last 4 miles (3 of which are downhill) at well under sub 7 pace and caught one girl and closed down the gap to about a minute to the next girl who managed to hold me off.  I ran a 1:43 high which doesn't sound impressive, but there was almost 1200 ft of climbing.  I finished 6th in the 30-34 AG, and 7th amateur.  I have to give big props to the girls that finished in front of me for putting together a great race and hanging it out there. 

 

Coming in strong & loving my B&L custom Betty Designs kit!

 

Whoever set these up is a god!

I would also like to mention how totally awesome the volunteers and entire community was in St. George.  The finish line in St. George was almost as electric as Kona....NO JOKE! 

 

Home Sweet Home????



1 hour after the race, Ben and I were back in the car and blazing back to Palm Springs for Ben's big race Sunday at the Dana Point Grand Prix (perhaps the biggest race in So Cal of the year). 

Superfan/Team Mascot!

It was a true David versus Goliath tale on this Cinco de Mayo.  Ben's team possess one of the best (if not the best) sprinter in Master's racing in the country.  However, getting him to the final corner has become impossible in the past few months.  Ben's team Surf City Cyclery was not suppose to have a chance at this race against the very dominant MRI team.  MRI fields 20-25 guys in any given race against the other teams who at best have 7-8.  On top of that, MRI brought on a well known former top pro field sprinter specifically for this race.  Dana Point Grand Prix is one of the most dangerous crits in So Cal.  I stood in the VIP tent downing glasses of red wine peeking out from behind my hands every lap to make sure Ben was still in there.  There were multiple crashes.  With 2 laps to go, one of MRIs guys miscalculated and came across the line in celebration.  We were all confused...but he was wrong and there was still 1 lap left!  On the final stretch I saw multiple green guys (MRI) coming and I thought it was over until I saw Charon Smith of Surf City come blazing by the well respected Ivan Dominguez of MRI!  They had done the impossible.  You can't even imagine the celebration that ensued!  What a wonderful and powerful day in sport it was.

Congrats SCC!!!



Cinco de Mayo course crasher in the pro field!

Afterthoughts:This race for me was a "smacking the beehive" one as my husband would say.  In other words, it lit a fire under my ass.  What I learned from this race is I have to start racing as an elite amateur the way I believe the pros race.  What I mean is applying tactics.  I have always just focused on my race and my numbers, but that is a very safe way to play.  You can't win races playing it safe, you have to swing for the fence sometimes.  I truly believe it was a mistake not to go with the other girls when they surged  early in the race.  Hindsight is 20/20, but I know I have the fitness to go with a move like that until it settles.  The same thing happened to me at Vineman 70.3 last year when I said to myself "those girls are riding too fast, there is no way they can sustain that", and they did.  Those are the competitors who deserve the accolades of being on the podium because they race with heart and force everyone else to bring their A game too! Now don't get me wrong I absolutely went as hard as I believe I could to put a complete race together with my fitness.  For any combination of a dozen reasons, it just wasn't there.

I learned a lot from the past couple races about racing other people.  In triathlon we often think it's just us versus the clock, and in many ways it is.  However, I truly believe we have so much more in us than we think!  I am making some mid-season adjustments so that my training will better prepare me for fierce competition.  I am swimming master's with our new program here in Palm Springs as part of the Piranha Swim Team under Jeff Conwell.  Jeff is an amazing coach and has already helped me exponentially in the past 2 months to become more efficient with better technique (FREE SPEED)!  Now the goal is quality swimming with good technique to bring me to a new level.  I have also recruited cycling guidance from a top secret (for now) coach who has a plan to help me get from point A to point B!  I predict a lot of suffering in the next few months paired with more recovery as my work schedule will lessen to 2 days a week over the summer.  I am also getting some much needed deep tissue work from Steph Shafer who works on the Who's Who of elite cyclists in Orange County. 

She brings the pain and the relief!

The beauty of sport is the highs and lows, the victory and the defeat, the getting up after you fall down.  Never hold on to either of them too tight, being able to live in the now and move forward is critical to improve.  Congrats to all those that survived St. George.  Next up for me, the B&L Encinitas Sprint Triathlon with the team!