White Lake RR

This race was to be a test of the results of my base building going into the 2008 season. However, with my recent diagnosis of two stress fractures I found a runner, Annn and switched my registration to a relay. I felt little pressure about the race as I had decided to do it as a training event to practice nutrition and see where I was in terms of my bike fitness. So instead of fussing over the weather and other pre race planning I just decided I would take whatever came my way and give it 100%. Well I did give it 100% but the weather proved to be a beotch. At 89 degrees with a warm southerly wind, the day was going to take a toll on everyone.

The Swim: The water was beautiful but I just could not get my groove going. Normally I prefer open water swims but I just had a hard time with my stroke. I kept plugging away until I could see the finish and then put my head down and went all out. I think my wetsuit is definitely too tight, I could barely get a good deep breath in and felt winded for the entire swim.

T1: Uneventful, I took my time as I wasn’t “racing” and I walked T1 so as not to stress my foot. I am often very dizzy after the swim anyway so the walking gives me time to readjust to being upright.

Bike: The bike course is pancake flat which is one of the reasons I chose this race. I wanted to use it to assess what I need to work on in preparation for IMFL. Going into the race, I was optimistic for a decent bike split after a solid winter of trainer work. My plan was to leave it out on the course as I didn’t have to run. It took me about 10 miles to stop feeling wobbly, but then I was able to drop into aero and really push it. I was averaging 19 mph and even hit 22 for a short while. I began to think the bike was going to be awesome until… we made a right turn into a solid wall of wind. From miles 15-50 we had a 15-20 mph head wind. It was brutal; my speed dropped from 19 to 13 while I was pushing the big gear in 17. I also started having stomach cramps and chafing which forced me to sit upright to relieve the pain. 50 miles later I was cursing the wind and desperate to get off the bike. I was disappointed in my bike time but I gave it everything I had, I just could not have done any better that day.

T2: I rolled into T2 where Annn was waiting. A quick minute to exchange the timing chip and she was off.

Run: This is Ann's story to tell so I will let her do that.

I have never seen so many people cross a finish line in tears of relief and pain. I learned a lot from this race.

• I need to re-evaluate my nutrition plan; my stomach was bloated and cramping about half way into the bike.
• The wind and heat was tough for me.
• I need to ride a lot more flat windy rides to prepare for IMFL.
• I need someone to put on my sunscreen.
• TRIgirls are awesome to race with, the day was lot of fun.