Last weekend Matt and I headed to New Orleans to compete in the 70.3 race. We arrived on Friday afternoon. Saturday we met some members of the Zoot team for lunch at Mothers Restaurant. The food was great and it was fun to hang out with some fellow teammates before the race.
Sunday morning we got up early. The weather was supposed to be great for racing--mid 50's at the start of the swim with temperatures rising up to about 75 degrees around 12-1pm. Unfortunately, the weather was not perfect. Shortly after arriving at the race venu and setting up in transition (around 5:15am), an announcement was made that conditions were too windy for the swim. Apparently the race director was told that the water personel were unable to set up the buoys because of the wind. Matt and I were less than thrilled, so we walked to the beach to get an idea of exactly how windy it really was. Conditions along the beach and a short distance into the water were fairly windy, but not terrible. Despite this, the decision had been made to cancel the swim.
I went back to my transition area and re-packed my swim gear. We learned that the race was now going to be a time-trial start with the pros going off 1 at a time 30-seconds apart and the age groupers going 2 at a time 2 seconds apart. I grabbed my bike and headed to the new starting line. It was unclear as to how exactly we were going to start the race, and I assumed that we would all start with 1 leg over the bike and clipped in. I moved up to the start line. The guy yelled go and I moved forward. A whole bunch of volunteers started yelling at me to get off my bike. I had to unclip and run the bike about 50 feet to an area where we could then mount the bike and ride off. It was very confusing and congested.
The bike course was nice. It was flat and fast with the only "hills" being the overpasses and bridges that we had to ride up and over. The road conditions were great (no freezer cracks!), and the bike course was closed to traffic. We biked on the highway, so there was quite a bit of room. Despite this, initially the ride was somewhat congested (although this was not a surprise considering how we were sent off 2 at a time with only 2 seconds between groups). I stayed to the left and passed people steadily. It was quite windy and I was unsure if I would be able to stay upright and under control if I rode in the aero position. Finally I decided to try it and was able to handle the bike well in the wind. I maintained my power goal easily over the 56 mile bike and was able to stay clear of the draft pretty well. I only had 1 mishap where I took a turn too narrowly and ended up on the inside of the rumble strips. I had to ride there for about 5-10 minutes before I was able to cut over. (The rumble strips had a short break in them to allow for a driveway.) Also, toward the end of the ride, I reached to grab my baggie full of salt tablets only to have it open and dump them all over the road. Therefore, I was only able to take 1 salt tablet on the bike.
I got into transition feeling strong, but ready to get off the bike and start running. The transition from the dismount area to my mat was fairly long. I ran on the grass with my bike shoes on. I thought about taking them off in order to run a little faster, but was nervous about how my toe would feel. (I managed to get a nice case of turf toe about 1-2 weeks before the race, and the stiffness of the bike shoe felt good.) I made it through T2 fairly efficiently (for me) and got out onto the run course.
I felt pretty good running and frequently had to remind myself to slow down the first few miles. My stomach sloshed a little bit the first 2 miles, but then settled down. Around mile 4, I started to get a slight side-stitch. I backed the pace off slightly and focused on my breathing. This seemed to help. The side stitch was still there, but tolerable. As usual, I utilized the aid stations well. I ran through each one, grabbing a coke and 2-3 cups of water which I dumped over my head. Occasionally I also grabbed some ice to carry in my shirt to help keep cool. Around mile 10-11, I started to feel pretty tired. The last 2 miles my legs ACHED. It felt as though I was running on wooden legs. It was all I could do to keep running. Finally, I rounded the last corner and was able to see the finish line. One tenth of a mile never felt so long! I crossed the finish line and my legs felt like lead, but I was DONE!
Overall, I was pleased with my race. I achieved my goals for pace on both the bike and the run. I would have liked to have swam, but was happy just to get a race under my belt and test out the new equipment. I was very pleased with how my new bike (Ridley Dean) handled. I felt much more stable than I ever have in the past riding aero, even with the wind. Additionally, I can honestly say that this is the first time I have ever gotten off my bike in a race and not had a stiff/painful lower back. My new running shoes (Zoot Ultra TT 4.0) also felt good. They were easy to get on in transition and were nice and light-weight for the run. I cannot say how nice it was to have my legs feel tired and be the limiting factor for once on the run--it was so nice to not have significant abdominal pain or digestive problems! I have made quite a few dietary modifications over the last year-gluten free, eating more organic, taking stool softener medications, etc.- in addition to working with a GI specialist and spending $$$ on tests to rule out various medical etiologies. Hopefully I am close to finding the "magic combination" of factors to help alleviate my nutritional/digestive problems.
Other things to remember....
Nutrition:
Breakfast 4+ hours before the race: 1 bar, 1 bar, 2/3 bottle of sports drink with 2 scoops of caffeine
2-3 hours before the race: 2 salt tablets, 2 Ibuprofen
On the bike: 4 GU gels (1 at 30, 60, 90, 120), 3/4 bottle of water, and 1 salt tablet
On the run: intermittent small sips of coke and water
**probably should have had more salt and water, which may have prevented the cramping in my legs the last part of the race as well as after finishing??**
My coach Mike Pierson also happened to be at the race. It was nice to see him.
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