Training block leading into this race was littered with stumbling blocks including, but not limited too; beach cruiser bike accident, sprained ankle and to top nasty little virus that left me keeled over a toilet violently throwing up the night before a long brick workout.
This race has always been on the bucket list; years ago I participated in a rain drenching Napa Valley Marathon; Brian (The Other Cullen) and I knew we would be back for another race one day as nothing beats this endless beauty rain or shine. The race is extremely well run, the expo had good vendors and the efficiency of picking up your packet was easy. One disappointment was the swag was lacking, the shirt is good and finishing medal is cute, but could use a little more.
I used Race Day Transport to ship my bike out to CA. The guys could not be nicer and more accommodating. When I arrived, my back Zipp wheel was completely flat and in "non Maureen fashion" I just asked if they could fix it and calmly watched them futz with my bike to try and get to the bottom of the problem. All fixed after a little bit a time and I was off.
Pre Race: The day before the race one cannot help to get excited about the course and the spectacular views. Brian and I had a relaxing afternoon sitting out on a terrace tasting different wines looking out over the vineyards (in the shade of course). We also did some re-con work; and I swam in the Russian river, plus an easy morning run through a vineyard and a quick bike check. Early dinner and off to bed which is easy when you are still on East Coast time.
Race Morning: From past experience and speaking with nutrition expert Brian Shea we decided to try an all liquid approach to my pre race fueling:
Awoke 1 cup coffee
Few gluten free pretzels to snack on.
2 hours prior to the race I had my Mudd/Carbo Pro and a few generous squirts of EFS Gel Flask Mocha.
Sip GU Brew and Carbo Pro mix up to Race start and snack on some gluten free pretzels.
My swim wave was late, so I did not go off until 7:54. The race started at 6:30am for the pros, each of the waves were 6 minutes apart but since the Russian River is so narrow they are not able to send out huge numbers at anyone time. FYI it is very chilly in the Russian River Valley in the early morning hours temperature at race start 48 degrees.
Swim:
Once the swim started I went out hard but not blasting it, I felt much better then what I had felt at Eagleman 70.3, 5 weeks earlier. I did not have the stomach distress as in the previous race, only a little bit of burping. The Russian River is very shallow and if swimming is not your thing this is the race for you as I swam buy I noticed some people standing along the banks of the river. The turn around was crazy shallow and I had caught up with the people from the previous wave that were taking advantage of the shallow water and standing up and walking, this was frustrating as I was trying to swim and kept running into people standing. It was so shallow at one point I myself stood up and tried to find some deeper water, I preceded with a few dolphin kicks to move through. I was able to get past the shallow area and start swimming again. When I came out of the swim I took a quick peak at my watch and I saw 31 minutes and change which I was thankful for, still not the swim I wanted (about a minute and half off) but knew that I should be in a decent position. I used a few fast transition tricks that fellow NJ Tri Devil Caitlin Dorgan shared (securing my goggles and cap in the arm of my wetsuit) and was off getting on my bike.
Bike: At the pre race meeting they mention a new WTC rule and that you are not allowed to start your bike with shoes clip in (not that clumsy me was planning on this).
As you exit transition you immediately go up a little hill. I always start out a race in my little chain ring to spin my legs out a little, I was about 2 miles into the bike and figured there might be a few girls in my age group ahead so I decided to start and turn it on, immediately my chain drops, thank goodness this is something I have gotten used to with this bike and I was able to get it on within about 30 seconds or so. The course is very technical with a bunch of sharp turns (one that if you are not careful will land you in a pile of black berry bushes). Not only was the course technically challenging but there was many small climbs and rolling hills. Which kept things interesting and exciting. But unfortunately after I had to switch to my small chain ring for a little climb when I tried to go back into my big and hit the down hill hard once again chain drop #2. At this point I figured who ever might be in front of me I was not going to be able to catch. I tried to just focus on my race and get my fuel/nutrition in. I switched to GU Roctane Grape Flavor and 1 scoop of Carbo Pro as my fluids and used a EFS Flask of Berry Flavor. The Russian River valley is cold in the morning, there is a thick fog that stays over the area with temperatures in the 40s during the morning. But I wanted to make sure I did not fall behind on my fluids as it can get very hot on the run.
Approximately at mile 40 into the race I took a GU Roctane with Caffeine knowing the hardest climb was ahead of me up Chalk Hill (The Alexander Valley Region for my wine people). I had at this point put two and two together with the chain dropping from my small to the big (I later found out it was a de-railer problem hence why the chain kept dropping off the outside) but was faced with do I try and climb in my big and take the chance of blowing my legs out or hope that the chain would not drop for a third time. I made up the hill and on the decent I was cruising back down and ever so gently I tried to make the switch to the big and then bam #3 chain drop. But at this point I am cruising down a hill at a good clip so I had to tuck down and try to keep my legs as steady as possible so that the chain did not get tangled or stuck causing me to have more problems trying to get it back on. I was beyond frustrated when I had to pull over in an area I should of been accelerating, down a hill and watch the people I had passed going up the hill passing me. I got the chain on and once again tried to get my head back into the race and this point figured that there was no way I was close to the top few people. At mile 50 or so I saw Brian and the first thing I yelled to him was about the chain, in my head I wanted him to know I was not dogging the bike but having some challenges. But a VERY hard lesson was learned here as I did not hear him say I was actually in first place (since I was too busy talking). As I came into transition I notice that there were really not many bikes rack so I figured I might be able to make top 5.
Run: Goal here was to go under 1:40 for the half marathon, my legs felt great as I started the run I can only contribute this to the rolling terrain on the bike. My nutrition was good I got in a lot of fluids on the bike and calories. Through the first few aide stations I took some gatorade. My pace was quick the first few miles and I was well under a 7 min mile pace, I was concerned I would not be able to hold it, so I try to settle into a pace around 7 mins/mile. The race directors were not done with the hills and the run course had those rolling hills thrown at us once again. The sun had burned off all the clouds and there was no shade on the run course, just rolling hills and miles of vineyards. At about mile 6 I was passed buy another girl in my age group, who was cruising I had slowed to about a 7:15 mile pace at this point and she passed me at a good clip. I just stayed focus on trying to break the 1:40 half marathon having no clue that I had just loss the race. Before the race my awesome husband said to me just win me a bottle of wine, so I had hoped I was still in the running for a bottle and they would go 5 deep. Nutrition on the run after mile 4 I went to water and then coke, there was no ice on course so I just dump the water over my head to cool down and drank a few ounces of coke at each aide station. At about mile 10 the girl who had passed me was close and at the aide station she heard me call out for coke, turned around saw me and to her credit took off. This imagine will play in my mind over and over, as I could of had it. I should not of taken the coke and tried to do a sneak attack from the outside and passed with dominance. Brian walked up to mile 12 and once again I did not hear him. He said she was 15 seconds in front of me, but I did not hear the part that said 1st place was 15 seconds ahead I knew she was ahead I thought he was just telling me someone in my age group was 15 seconds ahead.
Summary:
Lesson Learned: Shut up Maureen and listen. You can tell Brian everything at the end of the race. I ended up with 2nd place with a time of 4:50:40
Swim: 31:51
T1: 2:34
Bike: 2:40:54 (3 Chain drops, I am not bitter about this!)
T2: 2:16
Run: 1:33:05
The beauty surrounding me through out the 70.3 miles was amazing.
Everyone should have this race on their bucket list, by far the best venue (Outside of KONA of course I have ever raced at).
After years of racing hard and chasing down my dreams it was good to let the 70.3 champion slot go and reflect on why we do this.
Here's to racing hard, smiling often, experiencing new adventures and having new motivation; 17 SECONDS!
Great recap Maureen!
ReplyDelete