alexis
07-20-2009, 01:17 PM
I had a great time in Chelan. I thought it was a very well run event and I got to see (and meet) more Vo2 people which is always a perk!
I drove over Friday in plenty of time to do a short swim & bike on the course. It was about 1pm & 100 degrees when I was attempting to put my wetsuit on...THAT was a fun warm up :p After my rehearsal I ran into Jeff so we got to rack next to each other in transition (Olympic & Half Iron shared the same transition area) which was really cool and then I headed out to pick up my parents & JP from their golf outing and head to dinner.
Saturday morning I woke up around 5 & ate half a bagel with peanut butter and a cliff bar a little bit later + some gatorade & water. Had a great time chatting with the other Vo2 racers once I got to the course and felt nervously excited to get started.
Swim 33:08/18th AG
Started a couple rows back in the middle - water was very clear and the visible buoy line was awesome, however it was a mass start for the women and definitely the most physical start I've experienced - I don't understand why people think it's a good idea to start way off to the side and then all of a sudden panic and think they need to cut hard across to the middle... anyway, I just shrugged it off and felt really strong otherwise. Found a nice gap for the 2nd half and almost ran into some ducks though on my way out lol.
T1 1:22/3rd AG
Bike 1:14:34/2nd AG
Definitely my strongest leg and just had a really good time. There were a few hills near the turn around that required some extra effort but I thought the course was gorgeous & it was really fun running into some of the Vo2 Half Iron guys around their 25th mile marker when I was on my way back in - they cruised right by me like there was nothin to it - go team! I took down a bottle of gatorade and a bottle of water + 2 gu packets with caffeine. It was definitely getting hotter and I didn't want to bonk on the run.
T2 0:50/2nd AG
Run 58:24/12th AG
Felt very strong heading out but was definitely feeling the heat by about mile 2. I was happy that I was wearing my garmin though because every time I would start to get frustrated that I wasn't moving fast enough I'd look down and realize I was still holding around a 9 min/mile pace which was pleasantly surprising. I definitely slowed on the hills and was struggling mentally on the back half to stay motivated. The support was great however and I took advantage of every kid with a water gun to drench myself and keep going. My stomach was a little unhappy with me so I just drank little bits of water at each aid station. There was one last steep hill at the end that took everything I had & then I was ecstatic to see the finish line along with my parents & JP (yeah cheer team!) Immediately jumped in the lake and was able to cheer some of the Vo2 Half Iron guys out onto their run i.e. scorching-hot-desert-march ;)
Total 2:48:20
It was definitely the hardest course I've done (in my limited experience) but was great preparation for Lake Stevens which will be my first half. Planning to focus a lot on my run until then as I feel that's my weakest leg. Overall had a great time & plan to be back!! :D
I drove over Friday in plenty of time to do a short swim & bike on the course. It was about 1pm & 100 degrees when I was attempting to put my wetsuit on...THAT was a fun warm up :p After my rehearsal I ran into Jeff so we got to rack next to each other in transition (Olympic & Half Iron shared the same transition area) which was really cool and then I headed out to pick up my parents & JP from their golf outing and head to dinner.
Saturday morning I woke up around 5 & ate half a bagel with peanut butter and a cliff bar a little bit later + some gatorade & water. Had a great time chatting with the other Vo2 racers once I got to the course and felt nervously excited to get started.
Swim 33:08/18th AG
Started a couple rows back in the middle - water was very clear and the visible buoy line was awesome, however it was a mass start for the women and definitely the most physical start I've experienced - I don't understand why people think it's a good idea to start way off to the side and then all of a sudden panic and think they need to cut hard across to the middle... anyway, I just shrugged it off and felt really strong otherwise. Found a nice gap for the 2nd half and almost ran into some ducks though on my way out lol.
T1 1:22/3rd AG
Bike 1:14:34/2nd AG
Definitely my strongest leg and just had a really good time. There were a few hills near the turn around that required some extra effort but I thought the course was gorgeous & it was really fun running into some of the Vo2 Half Iron guys around their 25th mile marker when I was on my way back in - they cruised right by me like there was nothin to it - go team! I took down a bottle of gatorade and a bottle of water + 2 gu packets with caffeine. It was definitely getting hotter and I didn't want to bonk on the run.
T2 0:50/2nd AG
Run 58:24/12th AG
Felt very strong heading out but was definitely feeling the heat by about mile 2. I was happy that I was wearing my garmin though because every time I would start to get frustrated that I wasn't moving fast enough I'd look down and realize I was still holding around a 9 min/mile pace which was pleasantly surprising. I definitely slowed on the hills and was struggling mentally on the back half to stay motivated. The support was great however and I took advantage of every kid with a water gun to drench myself and keep going. My stomach was a little unhappy with me so I just drank little bits of water at each aid station. There was one last steep hill at the end that took everything I had & then I was ecstatic to see the finish line along with my parents & JP (yeah cheer team!) Immediately jumped in the lake and was able to cheer some of the Vo2 Half Iron guys out onto their run i.e. scorching-hot-desert-march ;)
Total 2:48:20
It was definitely the hardest course I've done (in my limited experience) but was great preparation for Lake Stevens which will be my first half. Planning to focus a lot on my run until then as I feel that's my weakest leg. Overall had a great time & plan to be back!! :D