Puerto Rico 70.3

Puerto Rico 70.3!

It was a LONGGGG year last year dealing with illness and injury. I decided to kick start my year early in Puerto Rico and am happy with my decision to do so. In preparations for IMTX this year, PR seemed like the best course to test how I dealt with the "elements". Heat, Humidity, wind, and patience. It was more a mental battle then a physical battle, although that run was pretty brutal!

Since I havent raced for over a year with Ironman, my pre-race week mannerisms were that of a scared 5 year old girl. Workouts were going well leading into the race with every indication that I was fit as a bee,  but on tuesday I came down with a case of just TOO Much fatigue in the body. I listened and I rested--whatever. I slept for 12 hrs and took 2 naps. That was kind of alarming so of course I started doubting myself and freaking out that I was sick again. Coach David told me to HTFU and get on with life. And so we did.....

I flew out Friday and stayed with some friends on the island. The first thing I always do when I get somewhere is build my bike immediately so I know whether or not I need to track down further assistance. All was well, despite my bike box being upside down when I went to pick it up. Seriously, what are airlines thinking? I enjoyed an island dinner on the beach and then it was lights out.

Saturday when I woke up I was super excited to see the island in daylight, but also had the stomach rumblings of a nervous belly. I knew that I was ready to race at this point because the butterflies were there. I did a quick 20 minute shake out and cooked breakfast at the house. Then I headed to the race site and checked in and tried my best to chill all day. That didnt last long as I Found myself in the water swimming around. I even swam over a manatee! I freaked out! I started kicking so fast and screamed a little, only to realize that little guy could care less about me. SUPER.COOL.

View from my hotel on the small beach. Water was beautiful!

The girls I was staying with finally arrived and we went to our meetings and then caught a quick dinner in downtown San Juan. Old SJ was a super cute little area to walk around and grab a meal. It was SO hard to not eat all the traditional foods, but I had to stick to routine and nothing new before a race--so chicken and rice it was.

RACE DAY!
I woke up early before my alaram (typical). I had a weird sense of calmness that I NEVER have before a race. Dont get me wrong, I was nervous and excited, but I was also calm and confident that I was ready to fight. After checking in my bike I went back to my room and tried to make myself sit down for 20  minutes. I layed there visioning the race. Visioning myself pushing, feeling strong, and finishing. I went down to the swim start and saw one of my Magnolia Masters friends so we took a quick warm up swim. I could tell I was rested and ready as my pickups were coming along effortlessly.

Swim Venue

The Swim: 
The swim was held in the lagoon between the host hotel. The water was an AMAZING 78 and it was salt water so I was buoyant as a balloon. As the girls lined up we watched the men take off and took note of the draft line they hugged. I tried to line up closer to the girls I thought I would swim with and this worked out nicely. I was surprised to find arms flailing and the FIGHT was on. With the heat in this race I knew I need to be considerate of my pacing and so I decided to fight for feet for a couple 100meters and then tuck in. A group of 6 of us swam together the whole way and I felt REALLY relaxed. I actually remember thinking "come on lets pick up the pace". But I knew to just go with the flow. If I surged and beat the other girls out of the water by 30 seconds that wouldnt of really done much for me. I swam the swim efficiently and exited the water in 28:19 with the gang in my Blueseventy speedsuit. 

We had an 800m run to transition. Half of it on cobblestones (OUCH) and half of it on a track! We actually racked our bikes on a track so it was kind of funny taking off for our 300m sprint around the outer bend. I put on my Specialized Evade race helmet (good choice of helmet with the heat as it breathes much better then my old Rudy project aero helmet), and off we went.

Awesome scenery in the background!

THE BIKE
Since I didnt get to ride my bike prior to the race I Actually feel I wasted alot of time in the first ten minutes just trying to get comfortable and actually TRUST that my bike was put together correctly. The streets of San Juan are also full of pot holes and cracks so that was not helping. Once I finally settled in, I took a drink to get the salt water taste out of my mouth and remember telling myself "head down, lets go". Preferably that comment would have come 10 minutes prior, but I was now comfortable my bike was not going to break down and I was ready to hammer. The course was a 2 loop course heading to the city of Durado. It was along the coast and the scenery was awesome.  The island also has a problem with iguanas on the course and I could actually see stains in the cement of where iguana bodies once layed. Of course with loop courses the problems always come down to the drafting as the 2nd loop tends to get a little busy. To my surprise there was some female pros drafting and could obviously care less. Post race a few of us girls chatted about it and how we all tried to flag the officials down to point it out. We think we got the girls but just couldnt believe they had no respect. During the bike I also decided to not look at my power meter even though I had a power number in mind that I wanted to hit. I felt I needed to get a good feel for how hard I was racing in a HIM with respect to the race ittself. After downloading my file I actually hit my target number within 3 watts and my power file is literally a dead straight line meaning I was consistent and did not drop off. I remember thinking during the bike ride that THIS was the most prepared I have ever felt during a HIM race.  This was a good sign.

THE RUN
Onto the run, I began by telling myself "Dont listen to your legs the first couple of miles". Sometimes its hard not too (SHUT UP LEGS RIGHT?)  We start by running immediately up a tortuous hill. If you have ever ridden out of HCC, that "Hill ramp" that is near by is pretty much which we had to run up (we also had to run up it again to get to the finish line!) !! What a way to get going. I could tell off the bat that I was immediately dehydrated. I was super thirsty and found myself CHUGGING the cups of water at the aid stations. Usually I just take a sip but I was legit drinking the whole cup, plus some more. This was a note to myself that I needed more liquid on the bike (not calories! Just fluid). After about 4 miles, Once I got the ice into my suit and started cooling myself down, thoughts of not finishing started exiting my head. I started feeling good and got into my flow. This is something I want to point out to my readers/athletes/friends. Instead of thinking about how bad I felt, I focused on getting my calories and fluid in. My race drastically changed once I regained hydration. With this, I am not afraid to admit that I WALKED every aid station. In a race like this and what many of you will be experience at IMTX, you never want to pass up an aid station. Take the time to get your calories and fluid, but run when you need to.

Actually Running when I needed to run

Yes I stole these pictures and no I am not paying for them :)

The week before the race I ran a workout of 12x800 with 2 minutes walk in between. I remember thinking after the workout, that even with 24 minutes of walking I still ran a decent pace. This workout was in my mind the entire run in San Juan. I knew that as long as I kept moving and running, I could get my break at each aid station. Yes, I would have liked to run the entire run and albeit a bit faster, but this was my goal for the day. Patience. Mental aptitude & Practice.  Executed perfectly.

I was extremely pleased with my race and it was a really good showing of dusting the cobwebs off after a year of nothing. I stuck with "MY PLAN" and my plan only. At Texas, this will be key.

Finish line.

Post race I enjoyed some local DRINKS, FOOD, and snorkeling! It was an absolutely wonderful trip and I learned so much going forth for the rest of my season.

Post race beverages. I order a smoothie and literally got the whole blender!

MUFUNGO!! An Island classic

French toast at PINKYS--our fav spot!

Working on my "Ironman" tattoo early...

Having fun post race with friends.

Big Thanks to my Coachs David Tilbury-Davis, Tim Floyd of Magnolia Masters, Bay Area Schwinn for getting me to the race,  Oatmega Bar for also helping out with expenses, KiwamiTri for my AWESOME new suit. Freaking loved that thing! So Comfortable. Blueseventy, SBRSports, KLEAN athlete, and of course Aussie Cycle Works for my speeding missle. 

Next up: Galveston 70.3!