Pre race-
Alarm went off @4:45. Didn't sleep well so I was feeling pretty tired. Hit the snooze and rolled out bed @ 5am. Quick got dress and headed down stairs for some breakfast which was 2 pop tarts, a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats and a glass of water. I had packed everything the night before so I jump into my sports car (mini van) and headed to Starbucks for a double tall mocha and a donut. Off to the race.
Arrived at Lake Sammamish about 6am. Unloaded everything and headed for transition. Talked with a few teammates who were already setting up. Quick set my area up and went out for a quick 20min run. Got back threw on my wetsuit and headed for the water. Ran into Jill and went for a quick swim. Half way through my warm up swim I started to feel hungry again so I thought I would grab a quick Gu before the start. Unfortunately everyone was heading towards the start. No time for Gu.
Swim- 7:01
Lined up with the elite group towards the front and off we went. I got banged around pretty good going out and around the first buoy so I had to back off a bit before I went completely to that bad place in my head. Settled down and swam pretty steady the rest of the way. Felt good running out of the water which was a huge improvement from last year.
T1 1:16
Pretty uneventful. Had some trouble getting my wet suit off which slowed me down a bit but this will improve with the season.
Bike 40:18
Settled into the bike pretty quick. Passed a couple of girls on the main road. The most difficult thing about the bike was staying out of the drafting zone. I had to hold back a couple of times to keep the distance until I could pass. I was basically in a race with three other girls. We were back and forth throughout the bike. I stuck with my plan on how to attack this course. In hindsight I could have pushed harder but I still feel pretty good about my time. Coming into the park was when I realized my feet and fingers were frozen. I had such a death grip on my aero bars I could hardly let go. Dismounted like a drunk and headed for T2
T2 1:18
This was slow. Racked my bike, dropped my helmet and struggled with my shoes. Got my biking shoes off but struggled with my running shoes. My fingers were so frozen that I couldn't get them tight. Tried a couple of times then just gave up. I was going to run in loose shoes.
Run 20:35
Headed out with frozen feet in loose shoes. I knew I had to be careful not to turn an ankle. Crossed the first bridge and saw two girls. I went after them. Caught the first girl and passed her. She tucked in behind me and was at my heals. After a minute we caught the second girl. This wasn't that difficult she was bonking pretty hard. I could hear the first girl right behind me. I was breathing hard, actually very hard and loud. I had a chest cold so my breathing was very labored. I'm sure this girl was thinking I was going to drop at any moment by the way I was breathing. We passed the water station and could still hear her behind me. Got to the soccer fields and I started to prepare myself for a race at the finish. Turned into the woods and looked over to see that the girl had been replaced by a guy. She had fallen about 100 yards back. Kept on pushing, I didn't want anyone to pass me (man or woman).
Finish 1:10:30
I feel pretty good about this race. Going into this race I was nervous because it's been awhile since I last raced. I was faster and stronger than last year and I feel faster and stronger.
