Sunday, November 2, 2014

2013 Races Part Two

So....just trying to catch up on recapping all my races and I seems I am over a year behind.   So here goes, a quick recap of the rest of 2013.

GWN July 2013
This was my first time at this race and it didn't disappoint.  There was a huge TTL crew there and this was a big part of why  my day went so well!  I swam, biked and ran well across the board.  Quads tried to cramp a bit on the run and I had to pull back at times, but other than that this race was near perfect.  Swim was 28:31 (according to sources around 150m too short), bike was 2:33:55 and run was 1:34:47 for a total time of 4:37:12.  When I crossed the finish line of this race I was bawling because I couldn't believe how fast I had gone!

Calgary 70.3 July 2013
After GWN I was pumped to do another half so signed up for this race right after.  This race also went so well!  Everything really clicked across the board.  Swim was a bit rough catching up to the men who had started 5 minutes ahead of us (got kicked a few times).  31:00.   Bike was 2:31:53 (a shorter course).  I had some trouble with a group that was drafting in the last 5km so elected to slow down rather than try and blow by a group of around 10 that were all "flirting with drafting".   You know the ones that stay just inside the draft zone, enough to get a benefit but not close enough to make it blatant.  Run was great 1:35:59 on a tough course.  Total time 4:38:52.  I was so excited by how well I did I claimed my 70.3 world's spot for Sept.

Calgary Women's Run Aug 2013
I didn't taper for this race, my legs were bagged but I still really wanted to go sub 40 on this course again.  Hung on for dear life and finished in 39:52 good enough for 4th overall and 3rd in my AG

Ironman 70.3 World Champs
I was just flat out disappointed with my performance at this race.  I can't pinpoint one thing as being the problem but the end result was I underperformed.  My swim was 2 minutes slower than normal and my swim typically doesn't fluctuate.  The bike was hard, lots of hills and heavy rain followed by heat made it tough.  Things fell apart on the run and I wasn't able to run to my ability at all.  Swim was 34:08, Bike 2:48:30, Run 1:42:46.  18th in my age group when I knew in my heart I should have been top 10, if not top 5.  I wanted redemption for this race.....   

Melissa's 10km Sept 2013
My plan for this race was to run a good pace to the hill, hold effort up the hill, cruise down and work really hard on the flats to finish.  I did this in a new course PR of 41:12 which on the day was good enough for 2nd overall and 1st in my age group.  Always fun to win some $$$

Last Chance Half Nov 2013
I wanted a PB at this race but mother nature dictated otherwise!  There was more than a few fresh centimeters of snow at this race making conditions tough for everyone.  On top of the fresh snow it was also quite cold.  Must have kept the fast gals home because my 1:31:04 in the snow was enough for 1st overall and $500 paycheck :)