Soma Half Ironman Race Report

Yesterday was my second half ironman distance race. Overall, I am happy with my time (16 min. improvement from Vineman) but there is still soooo much I have to work on to be completely satisfied.

Britt, Liz, and I drove to Tempe on Thursday night - against the advice of many teammates. We wanted to get the drive over with and be able to sleep in on Friday and just relax that whole day. I suppose we should have left Friday since it is hard to drive when it is so dark out! We may have had a little problem with Border Patrol since I didn't see the random check point and blew past them at 70mph. Oops. Friday was pretty uneventful- a whole lot of eating ...which I loved... and hanging out at the five star Quality Inn.

We met up with the rest of the Breakaway crew on Saturday to do a 60min. ride. We decided to ride part of the course and it was then that we saw that the course had a lot of sharp turns and u-turns. This made me really nervous because I have about 0% technical abilities on my bike, but during the race everything was fine. I that I had to get my brake pads switched to fit my race wheels, but once that was done I was set to go. Lipe called and offered us advice and told us good luck, and we told him we loved him. Haha, he puts up with so much. Oh and apparently him and Kent work at Natural Meats?? Anyways...

I warned Britt and Liz (mainly Britt - Liz already knows) that before races I typically am in foul moods because I am so nervous, but after recieving a call from my mom and dad singing/cheering "Go Wooey, Go Wooey, it's yo' birthday, it's a holiday" and then the same for Liz/Britt, my mood definitely lightened up.

Swim: (29:40)

Swimming was the part that I was least worried about. I have always felt comfortable in the water and I was confident that I would be OK even if I got hit during the start. I was laughing to myself at the start because when I was on a club team growing up, I was always SO afraid of swim meets. I didn't like racing with the older girls and I was just so intimidated. When I would line up at the blocks, I would find my mom in the bleachers and she would pretend to throw me a can of Whoop Ass. I would take the imaginary can and drink it and probably ask for another can. Thinking back on it now, I must have looked absolutely nuts "drinking" air - but it always calmed me down. Don't worry, I didn't drink any cans of Whoop Ass before Soma, but if my parents were there they probably would have thrown me a can or two!

When I first got in the water, I was in shock. Not because of the temperature, but because of the disturbing taste of the water!!! It made Mission Bay seem like the purified water. Anyways, I felt strong the first 500 meters of the swim. Right away, another girl and I were leading the pack. She dropped me like a bad habit about 600 meters in and then I was screwed. I don't sight very well and the sun didn't make it any easier. I was quickly gaining on the last wave of thrashing swimmers, so trying to swim/see through them was not fun. On the way back to T1, I could finally pick up speed again, but some of the men (who were 3 waves ahead of me) were the most obnoxious people ever. I have to wonder why they would choose to pull on my feet and try to hit me? They aren't going to gain anything out of it and it's not like they were passing me either. Oh well, I just took it as the were giving me a pat on the back as I swam by them. :)

This was the first race that I've been in that had wetsuit strippers. That was so cool! Instead of trying to get my stupid suit off for 45 seconds, some lady pulled it off in 2! It turned out that I had the 3rd fastest female swim of the day, but this swim was 1 minute slower than Vineman which is not kosher.

Bike (2:34)

I was really nervous for the bike course because of the turns and I also was convinced that I was going to get a flat and have no idea what to do. This turned out to be my best part of the day, but I definitely went out too hard and killed my legs for the run. It was hard for me to hold back because the course is so flat and it was so easy to go fast. I saw Gary and Kent right away on the bike, but I kept them semi-close... for the first two laps. Gene and I went back and forth for the majority of all 3 laps which was entertaining and at least there was someone to pass encouraging words with.

Run (2:06)

Ugh. The run is seriously social suicide for me!! I swear I'm not that slow! If I am running in just a half marathon, I would be WAY under 2 hours! Unfortunately, I have not been able to translate my run into triathlon races. I felt fine the first 3 miles.. I was holding under a 8 minute pace for the first two miles and the third mile was around 8:05. Once I passed the third mile marker, I was kind of like, "oh shit... this is not going to be pretty." I didn't want to think negative thoughts only 3 miles into the half marathon, so I told myself that I was doing fine and that I will easily make it to the finish under 2 hours. I was slowing down to about 8:20-8:30 by mile 4. My personal goal was to not let superstar runner, Beth Gerdes, pass me until mile 4. I saw her at about mile 4.75 so then I said I wouldn't let her pass me until mile 5. Right as both of our Garmin's beeped to signal the mile exactly at mile 5, she took off! I told her after the race that one day I will dial my run in and not let her pass me til mile 7 or 8! Beth offered me supportive words to just stay in my head and focus on what I was doing. That totally helped me until the end of the first loop. Once I knew I had to go back and do that whole loop again I was about to cry. 6 miles feels sooo long when you are basically shuffling your way to the finish! During Vineman, there were at least spectators along the course constantly cheering. There were spectators yesterday, and they cheered for the pack of people in front of me, but when I went by them it was silent. Awkward. That at least got me to laugh, since the same thing happened to me in Cancun!

Time Overall: 5:13

2nd AG

As I mentioned earlier, I am happy overall with my time from the race - but definitely not satisied. I've got to pick up my run because a - it sucks b - that is where I am getting beat. The first place girl was 8 minutes slower on the swim and 5 on the bike, but her run (1:39) spanked mine! At least I know where I have to improve!!

After the race, most of the Breakaway crew hung out for awards (except for Gary and Mona who left soo quickly after the race and Kent who was in the medical tent after his crash). Gali was the 2nd over all age group winner which is amazing!! Beth was 6th overall! Liz did her first half in 5:40 which is baller shot caller , too! Congrats to Gary, Kent, Gene, Mikey,Christiane, Britt, Beth Regan - you all did great! Now, it is time to take an Epsom salt bath and later dine at my favorite Mexican place, Ranchos!