Last weekend I toed the start line for Boise 70.3. It had been a few years since I had taken part in this awesome race! The first time back in 2011 I remember freezing the entire day and struggling to get through. I decided I probably wouldn’t do it again. But when it is just down the road and considered a home race, this year Guy and I decided “why not!!”.
We have been settled in Boise for 4 weeks now and have had a great block of training. Following Busselton 70.3, I finally made the decision that it was time to make some changes to my training in order to take my racing to the next level. I am excited to have recently begun working with Jason Shortis. A legend in our sport. The training has been challenging, in a good way!! I have been loving it and I can’t wait over time to see the results in my racing! But back to Saturday…..rather than my usual full race report and blog…here is a list of the good and Not so Good from the weekend!
GOOD – Midday start on Saturday!! There was not stress about having to get up early and not getting enough sleep! It was a leisurely sleep in, morning warm up ride to drop off run gear, no rushing around.
NOT SO GOOD – Midday start! I am such an early morning person, although it was nice not to be stressed out. My body prefers to get up and get it done!
GOOD – Leading the swim for 1895m!! I had a good start and just went with it. My swimming is slowly improving with each race. My BlueSeventy Helix felt awesome!! I had adjusted to the water temperature by swimming at Lucky Peak 3 times before the race. It was exciting!! I have never lead the swim out before…..but:
NOT SO GOOD – I was a little bit surprised to be passed in the last 5m of the swim?? (not having been in that position before!!) I got excited a bit too soon about coming out of the water first!!
GOOD – Had a good transition, was not cold at all and very excited to be on my awesome Ceepo, felt super comfortable and was ready to RIDE!!
NOT SO GOOD – My legs were on a totally different agenda!! As soon as the initial decent was over and the climb began I felt terrible. Just flat, no power. It was like I was stuck in first gear and couldn’t get out of it!
GOOD – I just went with it. If this was the way it was going to be, I was going to do the best I could do on the day!! Maybe I would have run legs in T2! I stayed on top of my nutrition and stayed mentally strong trying not to let how sluggish I felt get to me!
NOT SO GOOD – Nope!! No running legs in my T2 bag!! They were missing in action!! Although I initially felt okay….this didn’t last very long. I could not find that strong, smooth rhythm that excites me about running!
GOOD – But again I just tried to stay mentally strong and ignore how bad the body was feeling!! Reminding myself how it feels the last 10km of an Ironman and this was not that bad!! Keeping the cadence high and concentrating on my technique.
NOT SO GOOD – Being passed in the finishing chute after running in 3rd for 21km!! But honestly there was nothing left in the tank!! I was done!!
Every race and every training session is a learning experience! All that is required is a little bit of tweaking leading up to the next event. For now it is time to buckle down for another month and enjoy the summer of training in Boise!!
Thanks to all my incredible sponsors and supporters!! See you at the next one!!
