Race Report!
Pre Race
So, we had to get down to Providence Saturday to check in and do all the logistical things. I was lucky enough to hop on a commuter train from my school straight there, half a mile from the Expo where you check in. I started off not so well with biking to the train. My bike computer was working well and all the sudden it stopped…turns out the sensor fell off somewhere back from me. I went back and luckily found it. PHEW. I got to the train way too early, but made it to Providence in one piece. I met up with my friend Mike (aka Garf) who luckily had a car and bike rack. We checked in, shopped, met up with Tim, and dropped off our bike-run bag at T2. The logistics of this race were kinda weird…the swim was down in Narragansett (56 miles down), so this wasn’t a looped course. Our hotel was somewhere in the middle so we checked in then headed to the swim start to drop off bikes and whatnot. The weather was awful...downpouring and tomorrow didn't look good.
Race Day
We woke up at 4am, left the hotel by around 4:30. The weather was actually pleasant! No t-storms! Of course the one way road caused a lot of traffic so we had about 5 min to set up before the transition area closed. I didn’t have much to do so it didn’t really matter. The bathroom lines were awful, but hey when you gotta go you gotta go. In a race this long it’s reaaaaaallly important. Haha…plus my wave started at 6 45am, 45 min after the first wave. Mike and I got our wetsuits on and didn’t warm up in the ocean, we just body surfed. Haha. I was getting pumped and dancing with the music (yeah I know, way to use up energy ill need for the next 6 hours), but whatever. The swim was…interesting. The waves were pretty rough…I swallowed some water several times on the way out. I thought it would be easier on the way back but there were so many people! I was seeing white caps, blue, orange, red…man. I felt like a special ed kid trying to keep in a straight line afloat. Oh well, the swim went ok (2nd in my age group), but not that great. I got out anxious to start something else (A.D.D). The wetsuit strippers rock….by the way. I took my sweet time at T1 making sure I had everything. Well, turned out I put my socks in the wrong bag. Oops. Looks like I will be going sockless for the first time ever biking.
The bike started out nice and easy… in fact the first hour I was easily averaging 17-18 miles per hour. Ok, then that was done. Talk about hills! There were some nasty ones…big ones after smaller ones. At about mile 25 my back started to hurt and I realized this is about when I usually stop biking (ive never done more than 26 miles straight with this training bc of my back). By mile 35 my butt hurt, my back still hurt, and I was getting major A.D.D. Omg do I really have another 20 miles left? The scenery was so nice but only entertained me for so long. I was really good with nutrition (and able to eat easily) alternating cliff shot bloks and Gatorade mix for about 300 cals per hour. I think I was talking to myself at one point bc i had never sat on a bike this long…and making chomp noises when eating. People that passed me probably thought I was weird (they are right). I actually passed women on the hills but they passed me again on the flats…then I passed them again…you get the picture. I saw lots of people with flats, birds, water bottles on the ground (one I ran over almost lost my balance), ocean, funny guys yelling at us to climb the hill faster, etc. Fun course though, definitely filled with turns, twists, and hills.
I was SO glad to be at T2… my body was beyond ready to move different muscles…I cant even sit still for a 3 and half hour car ride! I was waiting to see if my socks were in my T2 bag, but they weren’t. Ok, going sockless for the first time ever running now. I put on my hat and realized I should have had sunscreen in that bag too. Doh. It was pretty hot outside by now..so that was a not so smooth move of me. Oh well…race goes on. We started at the capital of Providence then ran towards the water and did two loops of that. Started out great…then there was THE hill. I turned a corner and saw it…I went holy shit, really? I didn’t do any hill training, repeat…. No hill training. Everyone in front of me was walking up it. I was determined to not do that…so I didn’t. I passed a bunch of men and did a "come on guys, keep on going" and they laughed at me. Man, that was rough…but I carried on. The sponges were my favorite…I took in some Gatorade and water throughout but no food please. We had to go up that same hill that came down….just not as steep, ouch. First loop felt awesome, awesome awesome. I was slowing myself down to 8 50 pace. At times I was going closer to 8. Mistake Julie, you didn’t train but up to like 6 miles. The 2nd loop, 2nd hill killed me…I had to walk part of it (ashamed)…and on the way back up had to walk a little bit too). Everything got tight and hurt. I felt like I was shuffling….but I tried not to slow down too much…just walked every aid station as long as I could. The last half mile was awesome with the crowd bringing you into the finish. 6.08 with a 7th place finish in my age group. Overall...pleased to just finish in one piece.
I had to hit the medical tent…. Haha. My friend was like Julie your shoe is all bloody…guess my toe was bleeding for most of my run but I didn’t even notice. Gotta love it. Well, overall pleased with the race…kind of hard to believe I did a race that took 6 hours! Turns out the soreness wasn’t horrible, just the sunburns!!!!!!!! Note to self, apply sunblock and pack socks J I saw my PT yesterday and I am STILL in line….wow. all that and my back is still in place (just a bit tight). Great news.
What’s next? Taking it easy this week…although I did run 3 miles today in the rain, which was nice. I have another race in September, but nothing till then (unless I get a free entry to do a sprint in Boston). Thanks for all the support and cheering (even though you might not have been there). maybe another one next year? :P
