This past weekend I raced in Kansas at my first 70.3 for the season. The day I arrived, it was WICKED HOT! I was a little concerned about the potential heat and humidity on race day, especially since Colorado has experienced such a cool spring. After getting settled into Lawrence, I double checked my nutrition to be sure I had all I needed for a hot day on the course. Sure enough though, the temps were much cooler Saturday and they were forcasting thunderstorms for race day. It seemed as though the weather had a mind of its own and so I really just decided to see what race day brought, and stop trying to figure out the forcast.
Race day morning brought high humidity but cloud cover and I was a bit relieved to see that it might not be a scorcher. I made sure I was stocked with electrolytes and Nuun tabs (http://www.nuun.com/) for the race. As the swim started, I had a very clean swim and was anxious to see my split as I exited the water. I was a bit dissappointed as it was just an average swim time for me... and I have been swimming very strong in the pool over the last 3-4 months. I put the swim behind me and headed out on the bike. I was looking forward to riding this challenging hilly bike. Watts were in check for the first 25-30 miles and then my stomach began giving me fits. This is very unsual for me. I cut back the nutrition a bit and cut back the effort on the bike a bit and never really seemed to perk up. I had a descent bike split for the course however and was optimistic for the run, even though after a few light showers on the bike, the sun was blazing now.
I headed out on the run, and my legs just did not feel right. I also had some cramping that was starting so I quickly aborted the traditional nutrition plan to focus on my sodium needs. After consuming 430mg of sodium and water, my stomach returned to normal and my hammy's were happy again. As I was doing pace checks though, my run was SLOW! I realized at that point, my race was not turning out the way I had anticipated. I started wondering if the heat was really the issue, if it was the sleepless night I had due to a bachelor party on my floor at the hotel, if it was the long drive to Kansas. The bottom line was... I didn't really know why I was so off. It could have been the combination of everything. I struggled in the run significantly the last 10k and my run time continued to drop. The tank was empty and I know now it wasn't full when I started the day for some reason. What I do know is, you race long enough, you are going to have bad days and Kansas was not so hot for me with a 5:42:13. I am happy I finished, I still enjoyed the day, and I'm looking forward to recovering and getting out there again!
Photos: My fans sand sculpture, Teammates Andrew Hodges and Tim Hola, my fans, finish with sister and bro-in-law; Thia and Brad
PS. CONGRATS TO MY DEAR FRIEND SUSAN LANGLEY FOR TAKING THE AG WIN WITH 4:40:23... you are smoking girl!
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