Leadman Race Report

Recover boots and beet juice...ahhh....

Better late than never right?  I'll make it short and sweet.   First of all...lessons learned.  Don't race in 90* weather if you haven't seen/felt 90* in 6 months.  It's hot...like really hot.  Especially in the desert.

Swim 2.5k - 49:04 (actual garmin swim time 48 even) 9th AG - Rumor has it this swim was long and I'm really hoping that's the case :)  I know I can swim faster than this!  Either way, it was good to get in the open water.  This is something I am never comfortable with on race day.  Panic ensues as soon as I get caught up in the crowd.  I started right behind Alyssa...yeah I didn't stay there long.  HR spikes, wetsuit starts to choke I (again) almost waved the white flag.  But as usual the chaos thins out and I was all alone.  I felt like I was working pretty hard (even though the clock didn't show it).  I enjoyed the rest of the swim and made it back to the 'stairs'.  The stairs getting in and out of the water at Tempe Town Lake are as really high, as in volunteers pull you up to the bottom step.  I think I sat there a min or two trying to get my legs under me.

T1 - 2:09

Bike 70 miles - 3:19 - 6th AG - So the course was changed last minute from being similar to the IM course to 4 loops with ~90 turns!  No joke.  I was really worried about this course since I'm not a real technical rider how I was going to get my speed up!  Plus there was a sprint and oly distance going on as well.  It didn't get crowded until the 2nd loop and by the 4th loop it was quiet again.  It wasn't actually all that bad.

T2 - 2:11 - I fumbled racking my bike!!

Run 13k/8 miles (SLOW) 14th AG - Not much to report here except I was cooked.  I immediately had quad cramps, like within the 1st 1/2 mile.  I was reduced to a jog/walk.  The course was in the middle of Papago park (i.e. THE DESERT) on HILLY single track and on the dirt trails along the canal.  Great course.  I wish I would have enjoyed it a little more!  Did I mention how hot it was?  This Kansas girl was not ready for the heat!  Wowza!  Did I ride too hard?  Maybe.  But I wouldn't go back and change it.  I was a stellar bike and I am very happy about that, especially how early it is in the season.

5:42:19 10th AG

So while I am happy with this, I am super bummed about that run.  It is what it is at this point and I've moved on, but I will be working on this!  Awesome training day for sure!!  The countdown to Kona has began 24 weeks...6 weeks till Kansas.

And of course the best part was hanging with my teammates after.  :)  The Shanetini's (Shane's martini's) hit the spot! 

A big thanks to the LaPan's for being the best hosts ever!  

 

You know you're in the right house when this is what you wake up to!

Post race with my awesome teammates!!!