Up until a day before the race I was feeling pretty tired and definately questioning whether or not I was recovered from Kona. But at athlete check in and race morning I began to feel ready to rock. I love to race and was soaking in the atmosphere.
I toed the start line wanting to give it my best and have fun! I thought I was prepared for the pain that would come with the 4:30 performance it would take to secure a podium spot.
Short little warm up and into the corral.
The water was pretty calm and had cleared up a little from the day before. It even seemed to be a little warmer!
The cannon went off and I ran right to the front on the buoy line. A couple of dolphin dives later I was off! One girl got in front of me and I quickly lost her draft. I stayed in second for the rest of the swim, but could feel the hands of another on my feet, the whole way round. I felt like I gave a steady effort for the duration of the swim and came out in 28:20. Over a minute faster than the swim I did here in 2006. Good start!
I had a super fast transition and was out on the bike in no time.
Right away I had an issue. My aero bottle lost a velcro strap in transition and the bottle came loose. Actually, it came right out and was bouncing around. I tried to drink the bottle quickly (I liked what was in it!) and decided to ditch it at the first water stop. Nothing serious.
I was averaging just over 36km/hr for the first 10 km stretch and was pretty comfortable. Shortly after 10 km, my odometer stopped working. Great. Racing by feel was my backup plan.
Next problem: I went over railway tracks and my aerobars bent right down.... "Oh well, I can fix it by gently pulling them back up everytime they fall". Sure enough, I pulled them up. High enough to take on the 'praying Landis' position.
Hey, it happens. I went on my merry way and after passing the first place gal, I was passed by two legally riding, very fast gals in my AG. I knew I couldn't go that fast just yet. Needed to warm up a little more before I picked it up.
My legs actually felt pretty good for the first half. I knew I was working, but hey, that's how a half IM goes.
At about 45 km the packs started to go by. I was really excited and impressed that they were able to keep the first half so spread out. But unfortunately, the second half was pretty rough.
A small pack caught up to me which contained 5 girls in my AG. One of them was riding very hard and legally, while the others sat on her tail.
At this point, a draft marshal pulled along side the group, causing it to break up a bit. One of the blatant cheaters actually said to me, "that draft marshal just ruined all my fun!". My jaw dropped.
I finished the ride thinking I was in the top ten, but not really sure. My legs were pretty tired, but I was excited to run (I heart running). Took it out at a decent pace, but felt that maintaining the pace needed for a 1:30 half was a little too ambitious. As the miles clicked away, it got hotter and I found myself in a world of pain...... definately not recovered. I held on as best I could and wouldn't allow myself to walk, even though all I wanted to do was curl up in the fetal position.
Total time: 4:34:54. 5 minutes better than 2006.
Can't complain about my time or the effort. I just didn't have the extra gear I had in Kona. I know I pushed hard, as I don't remember the last time I was this sore after a half IM..... I actually embrace this soreness as it really makes me feel alive.
After the race we ventured to Shephard's for the post race party. I don't get out very often, but I have to say that when I do go out I giver pretty hard. Last night was no exception and we all had a blast.
Here are some pics approved for this website:
Mirinda was ALMOST the best dancer there ;)
Good friends, old and new.
6 comments:
Great report. I'm sure you would have killed it even more had you not raced Kona 4 weeks ago. I'm for them changing the location and the timing of that race to make it a better race. Good job on the PR though! Enjoy the offseason.
NICE job! hey, 2 championship races in one season is spectacular!
Way to wrap up the year!!
Chrissy, I popped over to your blog from Bree Wee. Great job at Clearwater. I recognized Deborah from the picture in your post. I met her at IM USA 2007. What a great gal and athlete. I'd love to send her an e-mail.
eric .at. snakebiteracing.com
I just saw that Slowtwitch comment you referenced on Maggs blog-Geeze what was that dudes problem???
There are so many nut job out there...and that's exactly why I stay clear of Slowtwitch.
I think you had an amazing performance. There's no way to could have done that after KONA.
Chrissy!
Great way to end your season, congrats! Hey, I am going to be in Tucson the week of Thanksgiving...wanted to know if you are going to your usual Masters swim practice (s) and if so, perhaps I can swim with your team and you? If you get this...email me: jhtriathlon@sbcglobal.net
thanks! :) Jen H.
My latest comment to CY:
CY-What's the matter, my comments hit a little close to home? The insecurity is finally showing itself? You finally bit, the famous temper FINALLY CAME OUT!!!! Too funny. The alleged "saintly" CY finally shows her true colors. Awesome.
Everyone else: 1) you don't know ME, and more importantly, you DON'T know CY either. As for "looking into CY's mirror", that's a rich one. Who'd want her pathetic life? She ought to take a look in her OWN mirror and find out why it is she is such a nasty person. As for KY, that's a joke, he proved to me long, long ago that he is TRULY an ugly person, I have stories upon stories that I could tell. I cannot stand the sight of him, and infatuation with HIM or CY is not a factor,and CY KNOWS THIS, but it's very funny that she wants all of you to think that. CY was unfortunate enough to treat someone like total dogshit many years ago, and then was unfortunate enough to have one of my friends find her hysterically funny blog many years later. We are poking fun at her because as one friend put it, "we'd actually feel guilty, but mean people suck, so we don't!". These two are horribly self-centered mean people who only care about themselves, and if you knew them long enough, you'd figure that out. But the beauty of life is that, if you do get to know them, you WILL figure this out, and all of the carefully crafted facades will come crashing down on the two of them. I suspect it already has in some cases.
As for my husband, YES, he knows, he actually reads CY's incredibly awful blog. And nice guy that he is, he shakes his head and tells me, "man, what an arrogant little bitch!". Many, many people have read this and felt the same way. I think the two posts that got to most people completely torqued were a) the rambling musings and preachings on "what makes a champion", and b) the whole, "look at us, look who cool we are, we VOLUNTEER our precious time for children's cancer." This after treating a family going through that very ordeal like a piece of shit. Why don't you ask her about THAT? She paints this picture of what she wants you to see, and not what's real. So good for all of you, judging something you know NOTHING about!!!! I applaud you for being so happily ignorant.
I just happen to know KY, (unfortunately for me, he was in my life at one time, and if I ever had regrets, that was the biggest!). What that means is I know what he's like and pretty much his motivations in life. That's WHY I am not with him, he made me sick with HIS poison(and my friends and family as well). CY, he can tell you every lie in the book (and I am sure they have been too numerous to count), and that's ok, but know this, he didn't deserve me or my daughter, my family DESPISED him, and my friends MADE FUN of him, because he was such an ass! And since I know how he works, I have a pretty good idea that CY's marriage isn't what she wants you to think it is. And the fact that this is the "comment" that made her depart from her sweet "created" blog life to bitch about how horrible DJH is, it's LOUD and CLEAR that there's trouble in River City.
One of the commenters is correct-I am a decent person, and I don't usually waste energy on any losers that happened to touch my life, past or present. But when those losers treated a dying girl and her family with as much disrespect as these two jokers did, that changes the scene a bit. CY is a mean, hot tempered, immature little troll who was insanely jealous that her then boyfriend was playing her off me when she met him, and she went out of her way to be as rotten to US as possible during the summer that my daughter was DYING. KY did the same until I told him to QUIT CALLING US. Yes, CY, he was CALLING me and telling me horrible things about you. And you married him! I guess better you than any other poor sucker out there. That's karma for you, baby. You reap what you sow.
Get over yourself, CY, and take a good hard look in that "mirror". I would think that the image staring back isn't what you wish it were!
And for the rest of you, when did you forget that you are BLOGGING publicly? Yes, my comments might be mean spirited. (Ironjenny, in your case, you just didn't like that I called you on something...there was no mean spirit in it and you know it, once again, look in your OWN mirror.) But there is no law that says that I can't comment on a blog if it enables comments, and I wouldn't even dream of doing anything beyond commenting on a blog. And as for CY and KY, I will say it again, I don't care if I don't see either of them in this lifetime or the next. (PS..it was I that threatened CY with a restraining order, not the other way around, bet you all didn't know THAT.) If you all don't like comments on blogs that reveal way too much personal crap, don't blog, or don't enable comments. CY, if you don't like it, disable your comments, or better yet, quit boring us with your "I am so much better than you" crap and just go away already. But ahh, you WON'T disable your comments, because then you wouldn't get the ego and self esteem stroking you so desperately crave. Ugh. Get a real life already, CY. Your fifteen minutes are almost up, and then what will you do?
Post a Comment