Finally got back up to running for an hour at a time this week. It was also around this time that I started making some friends with the folks in the IOS tri club. Fred and Preston were the first two I connected with and it was nice knowing some folks before the training ride. First, I'll recap the Jordan Lake Open Water Challenge (which coincidentally enough is happening this weekend in 2016). I also got Chris and John to run together and with me for a change. We ran part of the Raleigh course as a bit of race prep. Aside from being hot it went well. I did 7.2 miles in 1:09.
The problem with charging your watch the night before a race is that, in my case, it leads to an increased risk of forgetting said watch in the morning. That's exactly what happened. I realized it when we were all getting ready to head to the lake from Natty Green's, but didn't have time to run home and get it. I called Chris to bring it to me when we got to the lake. I still didn't have it for the race, which I would have liked to, but I definitely wanted it for the ride after. The OWC is the first in a series of 3 races, each of which have a short and a long option. My plan for the series is to do the 2.4 OWC, Big Deuce, and then the 1.2 Championship (since it's a week after CHOO). I really want to get in the top 3 overall women for the series, you'll find out later whether or not that happened. Back to the race. It was wetsuit legal, which was nice because the buoyancy helps. Race day was pretty miserable. Tropical storm Ana was making her presence known in the form of strong winds and very wavy/choppy conditions. The course was triangular. Into the chop, perpendicular to the chop, then with the chop. I remember myself and a few others following someone, since it was pretty hard to sight the buoys over the chop. Unfortunately, the person we were following was unknowingly cutting the course. Someone in a kayak turned us around before we terribly far, but we still added about 500 yards or so to the swim (just a guesstimate). For the 2.4 we had to do two loops, the second one wasn't as bad, but it was still a really rough swim. I finished in 59:40, but could have been much faster. I wasn't in the top 3 overall females, but I was 5th overall female, 13th overall for the 2.4 and first (technically 2nd, 3rd overall female was in my AG) in my AG (25-29). Man, I wish I had a map of my swim, would be cool to see. Oh well.
After the swim was the training ride for the Raleigh 70.3. A chance to ride the course and have some good eats after. I took my time changing and getting on my bike. The weather really sucked and I debated not even doing the ride at all. Pouring rain and wind doesn't make for ideal riding conditions. I convinced myself that I still needed to ride, because there is no promise of perfect weather on race day. The first 30-60 minutes was miserable. No better word for it. I was drenched, even with a rain jacket on. Preston drove by when I was on 64 and asked if I wanted to bail, but I knew I had to stick it out. I was glad I did. I remember that the second half to two-thirds of the ride were better and mostly dry. All in all, ride wise, it went pretty well. I was by myself for a lot of it, which I didn't mind so much. It's nice being out and being able to think. I tried to eat a goo, which I didn't care for. Honestly, I don't know how people are able to eat them. I'd need a full bottle of water just to get it down. I stuck with my stinger waffles, which I know I can eat. I also tried salt tablets, but those were a little awkward too. I know I need to eat more than I did come race day, or I'll be in trouble.
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| Map of the Raleigh 70.3 practice ride. |
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| Ride Data |
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| Training log for the week. |
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