The pursuit of an overall win continues...
Let me start by saying that I love this race. On a Saturday, in the afternoon, low key, inexpensive, yet competitive. After finding out that the 2012 winner would not be present, my hopes were high of an overall win. It wasn't going to be easy, but I knew I had a chance. That is, until Jimi Minnema showed up. Jimi, a local pro, rode his bike from GR to the race. I knew immediately that I wouldn't be able to win, but had a solid chance at taking 2nd still. Local studs Eric Zane from the Free Beer and Hotwings Show and Phil Jones from my 2BContinued team were also there, but I knew I had a shot.
The swim was extended from last year, meaning it would take 3 minutes instead of 2. When the race started, I took off from the beach and hit the water. I started swimming right away instead of trying to run through the knee deep water. Need to save those legs for later. By the first buoy, I was clear of everyone and off into the lead. Again, swimming without goggles, I had not problem sighting. Take note triathlon world! I was first out of the water by 20-30 seconds, nearly ran over a kid eating ice cream in the middle of the sidewalk we had to run up (move it kiddo! Where are your parents and why don't they have you corralled away from the race in a safe manner?!).
T1 was quick. Jimi would make up his ground here but deferred to me on the way out of transition. The volunteers yelled at us because we were riding our bikes already, but as we both pointed out, the race director instructed everyone to do so. I technically beat Jimi out of transition and was first on the bike, albeit by only a fraction of a second.
We popped out onto the bike course and started climbing the only hill. I led him up the hill and turned onto the main drag. Then, like a flash, he went by and was gone. I focused on recovering my HR just a little so that I wasn't red-lined, then put the hammer down.
Back to the race. At mile 6, I had worked my average up into the high 24's but was starting to tire. I hadn't been training to race this distance/speed all year. Then, the course turned left to head back to T2...into a very strong crosswind. It was all I could to to put my head down, clench my teeth, and push forward. Somehow I had the power to stay above 20mph, but it was 9 minutes of pure suffering back to T2. The wind was so strong that I didn't want to turn my head to look back at any pursuers, so I hit T2 and transitioned as fast as I could.
Into T2, they didn't let us ride straight back to the racks. Instead, I had to run in my bike shoes. I dislike doing this, solely because the plastic cleats take a beating and it is quite inefficient to do so. Oh well. Wracked my bike, collected my shoes that had been scattered, and took off.
About a half-mile into the run was the first chance to look back, and of course when I did, I saw a guy about 500 feet behind me. That might seem like a lot, but visually on the open road, you can almost hear footsteps. I upped my tempo and was suddenly running fast than I had all year. Thankfully my legs let me open up my stride and keep my infamously high cadence rolling along. At each turn, I would take a time check and figure out the gap to this guy. After a 6:30 mile, he was 30 seconds back. I was struggling, but knew I could hold him off. The next mile was a little faster, and the gap grew by a few seconds. Finally, we made the turn to head back to the finish. At this corner, with 3/4 miles to go, the gap was up to 40 seconds. I opened up my stride a bit more and pushed forward. Finally, I saw my dad and was told he couldn't see him. I cruised down the hill to the finish and hit the line. 2nd overall for the 2nd straight year. Jimi congratulated me and said I had a hell of a swim. I'll take it. Congrats, Jimi on your win!
Very satisfied with the race overall. Great to be healthy and in my final training phase for IMWI. Thanks as always to my ironmate, Kristin, for putting up with my pre and post race nerves and for the unending support. To Jill K for taking pics and cheering loudly. To my parents for supporting and cheering me on (great race, mom!). Lastly, of course, to PowerBar for providing the best nutrition out there.
Keep dreaming...
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