Well, this blog is long overdue! You know when you can't even manage to throw together a quick blog update that the training is working its magic! My apologies for this "magic" (which is also known as "too tired for anything but the couch"). I've been relying on Twitter (@tri3angela) for most the updates: 140 characters are all this tired athlete can manage!
Over the past three weeks I've been to Kona and back, competed in Austin 70.3, and survived my first snowfall near Boulder. (Boulder weather = moody.)
Kona was an experience I won't soon forget; it was an epic 'holiday/secret training/recon mission' that began a week out from the big race, which I was to merely spectate (an Ironman in its own right, I might add!). Seeing the race firsthand sparked a fire under my back-end like no other. Plus, I was able to ride, run and swim the entire course that week (it took the full week to do what competitors do in one day!), which I've now stored in the memory bank, to cash-in at a later date.
Besides the highlight of watching the race, I was literally taken aback at how clear the ocean was and how cool it was to swim amid all the ocean's creatures.
Just a few days after returning to the mainland, and after unpacking everything for those few days (i.e., the bike), I had to repack it all for Austin. Expectations for this race were the same as they have been all year: to do my best, to learn, to finish, and to continue to build toward 2011. Of course, with the streak of 2nd place finishes I've been having of late, I was also hoping to perhaps top that! But the women's field was fairly stacked (even though, as Chuckie said, the women themselves were not!).
The course in Austin was a perfect blend of fast and challenging. The swim was a large triangle where visibility was great. There was a solid group of swimmers in the race, which allowed for some pack formations for some of us slower types. I came out a little under five-minutes after the leader, but for once I wasn't alone! Five of us came into T1 together and it gave me some motivation to try to pick them off on the bike, along with the rest of the field ahead of us.
I punched it straight away and rode away from the group I was with. By mile 48 I'd erased the deficit between Heather Wurtele, Sam Warriner and myself. At the time I thought these two were the leaders, so I backed off a bit (unaware that the Swiss girl Nicola Spirig was nearly 8-minutes ahead!). After downing some more fluids, I decided I had to make a move before the run, as "insurance". I passed the two of them just before T2.
At this point, I kept telling myself the race just started. As Crowie mentioned earlier this summer, the fastest runner is almost always the fastest triathlete, as statistics show. I'd raced a few of these ladies before and knew they were all good runners. And there were four of us in T2 together.
The run segment of this race is anything but easy. I didn't get a chance to look it over prior to the race but had heard it had some off-road portions to it! Some is an understatement! It was in fact 50% off-road on undulating trails, much of which was concealed under tall grass. I relished in it! Sam Warriner gunned it from the start and I tried to keep her in sight. Three miles in she slowed and I started feeling better and better (or at least less bad!). I didn't know how close everyone else was, so I kept pushing the pace as hard as my heavy legs would allow. I managed to hold them off by a few minutes. As luck would have it, I secured yet another 2nd place, along with the five I've already managed this year in 70.3 events! Nicola is truly in a different league and although she had much help on the bike (by swimming up to slower elite men, who started two-minutes ahead of our wave, and then riding in tow of them) she is in the same select group as Chrissie, Julie, and Mirinda, a group I aspire to reach (and beat!). And so it's off to the pool again (and again and again!).
A big thanks goes out to Brian Korinek, an athlete (and friend) whom I coach, and who provided me the homestay in Austin. His family helped me all weekend and filled my tummy up with some great Austin food! I'll definitely return next year.
Since Austin, I've been resting a lot in preparation for Miami 70.3 and then Clearwater, my final races of 2011. I cannot believe the year is nearly done. Nor can I believe how different it was than last year, when I sat out the entire season with injury, doubting whether I had "what it takes" to be competitive at this level. Things are going pretty good, but a win would be nice!
Over the past three weeks I've been to Kona and back, competed in Austin 70.3, and survived my first snowfall near Boulder. (Boulder weather = moody.)
Kona was an experience I won't soon forget; it was an epic 'holiday/secret training/recon mission' that began a week out from the big race, which I was to merely spectate (an Ironman in its own right, I might add!). Seeing the race firsthand sparked a fire under my back-end like no other. Plus, I was able to ride, run and swim the entire course that week (it took the full week to do what competitors do in one day!), which I've now stored in the memory bank, to cash-in at a later date.
Besides the highlight of watching the race, I was literally taken aback at how clear the ocean was and how cool it was to swim amid all the ocean's creatures.
Just a few days after returning to the mainland, and after unpacking everything for those few days (i.e., the bike), I had to repack it all for Austin. Expectations for this race were the same as they have been all year: to do my best, to learn, to finish, and to continue to build toward 2011. Of course, with the streak of 2nd place finishes I've been having of late, I was also hoping to perhaps top that! But the women's field was fairly stacked (even though, as Chuckie said, the women themselves were not!).
The course in Austin was a perfect blend of fast and challenging. The swim was a large triangle where visibility was great. There was a solid group of swimmers in the race, which allowed for some pack formations for some of us slower types. I came out a little under five-minutes after the leader, but for once I wasn't alone! Five of us came into T1 together and it gave me some motivation to try to pick them off on the bike, along with the rest of the field ahead of us.
I punched it straight away and rode away from the group I was with. By mile 48 I'd erased the deficit between Heather Wurtele, Sam Warriner and myself. At the time I thought these two were the leaders, so I backed off a bit (unaware that the Swiss girl Nicola Spirig was nearly 8-minutes ahead!). After downing some more fluids, I decided I had to make a move before the run, as "insurance". I passed the two of them just before T2.
At this point, I kept telling myself the race just started. As Crowie mentioned earlier this summer, the fastest runner is almost always the fastest triathlete, as statistics show. I'd raced a few of these ladies before and knew they were all good runners. And there were four of us in T2 together.
The run segment of this race is anything but easy. I didn't get a chance to look it over prior to the race but had heard it had some off-road portions to it! Some is an understatement! It was in fact 50% off-road on undulating trails, much of which was concealed under tall grass. I relished in it! Sam Warriner gunned it from the start and I tried to keep her in sight. Three miles in she slowed and I started feeling better and better (or at least less bad!). I didn't know how close everyone else was, so I kept pushing the pace as hard as my heavy legs would allow. I managed to hold them off by a few minutes. As luck would have it, I secured yet another 2nd place, along with the five I've already managed this year in 70.3 events! Nicola is truly in a different league and although she had much help on the bike (by swimming up to slower elite men, who started two-minutes ahead of our wave, and then riding in tow of them) she is in the same select group as Chrissie, Julie, and Mirinda, a group I aspire to reach (and beat!). And so it's off to the pool again (and again and again!).
A big thanks goes out to Brian Korinek, an athlete (and friend) whom I coach, and who provided me the homestay in Austin. His family helped me all weekend and filled my tummy up with some great Austin food! I'll definitely return next year.
Since Austin, I've been resting a lot in preparation for Miami 70.3 and then Clearwater, my final races of 2011. I cannot believe the year is nearly done. Nor can I believe how different it was than last year, when I sat out the entire season with injury, doubting whether I had "what it takes" to be competitive at this level. Things are going pretty good, but a win would be nice!
4 comments:
Congrats, Angela! It was so good to meet you. We hope you come back to Austin! I'm glad you got to use the photos. ;)
Congrats on the races. You have proved that you have what it takes. You have beaten some of the best girls out there, now if only we can get you that elusive first place.
Congrats on yet another 2nd place at Miami too!
Great job and good luck at your upcoming races!
Great job and good luck at your upcoming races!
Post a Comment