On Being #777 in Vegas - September 10, 2012
"well at least you have the best number" someone said to me as I was entering the third (and thank heaven final) loop of the run; so far beyond my normal time for a 70.3 it's hard to even compare it to other races, and with the realization that this was going to be a much bigger serving of humble pie than I'd imagined. I knew it would be bad, but honestly in my wildest dreams (nightmare?) I didn't think it would be that bad.
The morning started out as any typical race day. Thankfully I had none of the 'usual' problems I seem to have had of late on race mornings, with the plumbing in perfect working order. Janet must be rubbing off on me. Got to the race site, and realized I'd left all of my nutrition at the hotel. Oops. That's a big one, that I've never done before, and clearly an indication of how much my head was (not) in this game. And they had NONE in transition. I managed to beg a bottle of water off someone and I had half a gatorade in my hands, which would hold me to the first aid station. Guess it was gonna be a grab'n'go day. Then the valve stem on my front tire came out in my hands and I couldn't get it to inflate. Started to freak just a little at this point, but the tech guy was able to inflate and make it stick. Phew. Disaster averted.
Got into the water, and thought to myself, Okay Katie Girl. This is gonna be a slow day. No point in blowing up on the swim, so we are gonna take this nice and easy. I would've bet a lot that I was coming out of the water at an embarrassing 50 minutes, or more, so was quite shocked to exit at 43 minutes and feeling pretty good. Note to self .. Buy a skin suit. The kit I wore was like wearing a parachute in the water, at least down the front. At one point I think I actually had to put my boobs back in the suit. Love the Soas kit, favourite most comfortable tri shorts EVER, but it is not meant for swimming in.
Then the real nightmare started. As Rinny said the day before the race ..this course is legit. Not the hardest bike course I have done, not even close really, but it was definitely challenging. What made it more so was the heat. And as I read in another blog..everything is great in the desert until the sun comes up. It just got hotter and hotter. And the wind got stronger and stronger. So my worst bike split ever was 2:57, and that was this year at Galveston, when I got injured, and basically could barely use my left leg. My best? 2:37 at Augusta. So as I am riding out there, left with mostly the senior men and a few women on the course, it took everything I had to just ignore how far my fitness has fallen, and keep riding. I mean, literally orders of magnitude slower. Amazing how quickly it can go. This bike split was more than 35 minutes slower than my worst to date, and a full hour slower than my best. Damn. That is just...wow.
And then I got to run. Three loops of a pretty hellish route. Temps reached over 100 that day, and there is little shade to be had, on a painfully hilly course.. And apparently the desert heat surprised the WTC since they had very little ice on the course, and by the third loop the water was literally hot. I decided as I started the first lap, that if I couldn't have a good race time wise, at least I was going to accomplish something, and that was to run the whole thing no matter how slow I went. Ha. Little did I know. It worked for the first 5.5 miles. Even through the aid stations, I refused to walk. Then I had to pee, and that was my downfall. Once you stop, it is very hard to get going again. So I had a few additional 'good' sections, but overall it was pretty bad. I mean, I was averaging 12 minute miles. I have never run 12 minute miles in my life .. Not when I first started running, not in Ironman, ...never. But that's where I was on this day. It was literally a death march on that final loop. I normally do a half somewhere between 5-5:40, depending on the course. I had thought 6:15, maybe 6:30 if the day was really tough. Again, ha. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would take this long to do a half, and honestly, I am not sure I would keep doing it if this was 'normal' for me. My hat is off to those athletes out there who are out there this long race after race. That is tough. Tough tough tough!
So as with everything, it seems, numbers have a hold on me, and my final time, in a race in Vegas where I ran under the number 777 was 7:07. Odd, i know. and, Ugh. Embarrassing to put it in black and white. But you know, there are lessons to be had here, as with everything. As my coach, Brett, pointed out, "you basically raced the world championship off the couch". And he is right. I had a month off after Kansas, not much in the 6 weeks that followed, and near pneumonia for the 10 days prior to the race. I guess it is somewhat of a testament that I finished at all. At least to my bull-headed-ness anyway ;) Many did not finish. And as many of you have reminded me, I did have to earn my way here.
Everyone has off days. I have had some great races and some okay races. I have never had a terrible race. Until this one. And I think that is a good thing to have happen to me. Sucks it had to be at Vegas, but whatever. Now I can truly relate. Most importantly to my athletes. To those that have bad races, and to those whose best race might be a 7 hr race. Now I can truly say I know what it feels like.
I guess I could have not gone at all. That was an option...save face. But that is not really who I am. This was an experience I knew I had to have. And you know, you just never know. Maybe I will never have the chance again to race the World Championship. At least I've done it once, with the medal to prove it. And a character building experience like this has its place.
And besides, I hd an absolute blast with Janet and Kevin. Laughed the whole trip. They are awesome race buddies, and I hope to be able to race with them often. Don't forget the hot wing pretzels that really are like crack .. Can't say Kevin didn't warn me.
"Do it like I would Katrina"
Happy off season :)
Kat
...
twas the night before Vegas 70.3 world champs ... Sept 8 2012
Well I am one hurtin chick. The good thing is it honestly doesn't matter at this race. This is the end of the road for 70.3 and nobody gives a shit what time I finish in. As Andy Potts put it so well at today's pro panel "you have an experience that can't be taken away from you...it expands the experiences under your belt that you can turn to when things get tough". I turned to Janet when he said that and said that is exactly why I came. Not because I knew I would kill this race, in fact I knew that this time I wouldn't even be able to come close, but for the experience. And that is worth so much. Was cool to hear one of the pros say it so well. Also fun to hear at the pro panel? K-bomb got to ask a question and he asked "if they were to add a fourth sport to tomorrow's race, what would you want it to be and why?" The only guy who answered was the sole Canadian on the panel, Jeff Symonds, who had the best answer ever .. Skating/hockey! Gotta love the Canadian for appreciating the humour and giving a kickass answer.
Trivia challenge of the day: How do you know you are a triathlete? You are in Vegas and have eaten at olive garden twice and whole foods three times. And have not had a drop of alcohol yet. Good Lord. But look out Vegas...season ends tomorrow afternoon, hopefully no later than 1:15 pm, and we are planning on taking full advantage. The sooner I finish the sooner we can start celebrating. First stop, in-and-out burger. Second stop, somewhere with alcohol. I wonder if IAOB serves beer...
We had a great dinner tonight at Cugino's Deli ... unexpected, since we thought we would go to OG again. Some intoxicated patrons left more than a tip for the waitress there and so we moved on to the unknown, which turned out to be a fabulous little deli serving awesome pasta.
Now it is 730 and we are all but in bed. Ready to rise at 345 and face the day.
Tomorrow's plan? Just make it through. Start slow. Keep the heart rate low. Hydrate. Enjoy the experience. Stay in the moment. Finish. Get my medal. Bask in the privilege of being able to race this race. Appreciate myself and my efforts for qualifying to be here. Life is good.
Best of luck to Janet and Kevin. Thx for another great race experience. Thanks Brett for helping me through the summer.
Here's to making it here.
Happy racing everyone
Kat
