So with IM China being canceled it meant a change to the schedule. I was able to come home early and get in one more race before my first IM. The race was a little akward on distances but it worked out quite well for me and suited my strengths. It was a 1 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 9 mile run. They had a military discount and on top of that I was able to use a discount code for 15% off. So all in all I ended up getting into the race for $142, which isn't too bad for a long course race. It was also only a few miles from my brothers new condo so I stayed the night there and then got a short warm up ride to the race start the morning of.
I have been racing all of my races now with a purpose and it makes them so much more meaningful and gives me a reason to push myself. Before this race I wanted to race for my family, for the simple fact of how much they support me. I also knew that all of them were going to be there for the race and that meant a lot for me. It is very rare to have them at my races since I primarily race out of the country. Knowing that they were all going to be there for some reason made me nervous, I have never been nervous before a race before. I didn't sleep all that well the night before and maybe got 2 hours of sleep.
So race morning came and I woke up and hung out with my brother and had breakfast bright and early at 4am. I got a good meal in, the typical cup of coffee, 2 instant bags of oatmeal, a banana and a sports drink. Also kept the streak alive and took care of business. So the morning went well and the short 15 minute ride to the race start was nice and loosened up the legs a bit.
Swim- 1 Mile-
It was a 2 loop swim course with each lap being .5 miles and going around a small island. It was in a lake so there was no chop and it was smooth water. I was in the first wave with 18-34 Males and we had a decent size wave. I came out of the first loop in 2nd place, which I didn't know till after the race. I was kind of shocked by that as my swim is my weak point but is slowly improving. After the second loop I came out with 2nd and 3rd place swimmers and was in 4th. A few other guys from later waves got around me and smoked the swim so I ended 18th overall with my swim time.
Bike- 56 Miles-
It was a good ride with some great scenery. It was a little windy though and had 2 good climbs which had some switchbacks on it. Overall it was a good bike and there were 3 of us that legally worked with each other for a majority of the ride. I ended up dropping the 2 of them around mile 40 but then at mile 45 I had to stop and pee and they got around me. Took a couple more miles down the road and I ended up re passing them. Overall I felt really strong on the bike and was happy about my time and 5th fastest split on the day.
Run- 9 Miles-
With the run being 9 miles I was a little bummed as the full 13 would of been better suited for me as my run has become quite strong. The plan going into the run was to negative split and build into it. This is something that is pretty difficult to do but some of my run training has included some training with negative splitting the run so I felt like I could do it going into the race. The first 4.5 miles I went 28:18 and then for the second half I went 27:26, for a total of 55:44. I was able to run down 3 of the 4 guys that were ahead of me and crossed the line in 2nd. But due to the wave starts there was a 47 year old that finished within 2 minute of me but he started 9 mins after I did so he ended up winning the whole thing and then the guy that had crossed the line first came in 2nd overall. I ended up being 3rd Overall and running hard of the bike was a key to the successful day.
Splits/Stats:
Total:
Overall-
I felt like this was my best race to date and I was able to put everything together and have solid performances in each event. I felt like I had nailed my nutrition as well which was something that I wanted to make sure was squared away before IM Korea. This was definitely a huge confidence booster going into my first IRONMAN and I can not thank everyone enough for all of their continued support. My family has been great, my coach has been there to keep me going when things got tough and then all of my friends, you guys are truly amazing!
The bike all setup in transition area.
Coming out of the water 2nd in our wave on the first loop, the guy right behind me was in 3rd.
Coming out of T1.
Headed out onto the run...
Bottle of wine and a Clean Water Bottle......Hopefully wearing that bright blue shirt on all these podiums will get us some more triathletes into the AF ;)
Mamma Weez and myself.
Bryan, Steve, Mom, Maddy and Me
Brenda, Me, and Dad
The 3 of us. Man I miss these 2 when I am gone! She can be a typical little sister most the time but I still love her to pieces!
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