70.3 World Championship Race Bike & Run

56 mile bike – 3:03:47

Normally I’m excited to get on the bike but I was not looking forward to becoming even colder. I had dried myself off as much as possible but my legs were mostly exposed and my tri kit was wet. This was certainly not how I’d normally dress for riding at 40F. I accepted the situation for what it was, knew my goosebumps weren’t going anywhere and that my feet would be numb the whole ride despite the socks and toe covers.

A mile or two into the course, I passed a woman lying face down in the middle of the road getting medical attention. My biggest concern on the bike course is not that my legs will feel horrible or that I’ll get a flat. My concern is that I’ll crash. This was a strong reminder of that concern and that I had a bike failure only a week ago. But I got back into a positive mindset and told myself “it’s going to be a good day” because I truly believed it would be.

I like a challenging bike course. I’ve done flat courses and they just don’t have the same appeal to me. This course was right up my alley. There were a few sections where you could settle into a nice rhythm but also lots of short climbs and descents. My legs were feeling good or maybe they were just feeling numb so I didn’t notice if they were feeling bad. I rode stronger when I needed to for hills and conserved my energy when I could.

Honestly, had I not known it was a women’s only race, I would have thought there were a bunch of dudes on the course. Somewhat because I was surrounded by a lot more strong female riders than you would typically see at any 70.3. But mostly, it was because everyone was so layered up that we all looked bulky. Visuals aside, it was such a unique and fun experience only racing against women. The women’s race didn’t have as many participates so the course was never crowded. There was always room to pass and I never saw any drafting. It was the most civilized racing course I’ve ever seen which made me laugh. It didn’t matter if we had one, two or even four lanes of road to use, everyone rode in one lane the majority of the race. No one ever rode three abreast while passing. The course even seemed quieter.

The other enjoyable part about the two-day event was that it allowed the men to spectate while we were racing. I think there’s something different between someone supporting their crazy athlete spouse/daughter/friend vs someone spectating who does triathlons as well. They understand what you are going through. Like normal, most of the bike course didn’t have spectators. The few sections where there were, it was mostly fit looking men. There was even a group that were loudly cheering in only speedos which was good entertainment.

The miles ticked by quickly. There were several times where I stopped thinking about racing and instead focused on being grateful. I took the time to look around at my surrounding and soak up the experience of racing in such a beautiful place. I was there to have a good race but mostly to have a good experience. I stayed on top of drinking and eating. I never did anything stupid with my effort, nor did I take it easy other than when descending or trying to pee.

Around mile 40 we hit the Snow Canyon climb which is about 1000ft gain in just under 5 miles. It was slow as I knew it would be from riding it a few days prior. But I was happy to have an excuse to sit up and take in the surroundings some more. I took my gloves off and unzipped my jacket because I was starting to heat up at that point. There was a guy in running shoes and a cowboy hat, holding a sign that said “ride faster or I drop the sign”. I told him maybe I wanted him to drop the sign, to which he did (obviously had underwear on) and said he’d find me on the run. It was a good distraction. By the top of the climb, I could tell my legs were starting to feel tired but I knew the long descent to transition was coming soon. I passed my friend towards the end of the ride and told her not to worry because she should run at least 20 minutes faster than me. I struggled to pull my gloves back on and zipped my jacket back up as we rounded the corner at the top.

The final 10 miles were mostly downhill, reaching up to 40mph. I made sure to take in extra fluids during the climb knowing I wouldn’t want to drink as much during this last section. We turned left onto Diagonal and saw the runners on the other side of the road. The crowds started getting thicker as we got closer to the roundabout with the Ironman statue. There was a lot going on rolling into transition, with the cyclists, running and tons of spectators all in one area.

T2 – 3:21
 
I said a little thank you to the bike gods for getting me safely to transition. They had bike catchers at this race which I am always thankful for. I quickly grabbed my bag and sat down to start delayering. I took the time to change my socks since I knew my cycling pair would be a little pee soaked and I wanted a lighter pair. I had to take the time to put on my watch since I couldn’t do it while running and holding a bottle.
 
13.1 mile run – 2:07:02

I finally got feeling back in my feet as I started to run. However, I could tell within the first mile that my stomach felt off. I waited over 10 minutes before I tried drinking from my bottle.  A few minutes later I ate some chews. Big mistake. As I was afraid, there was air trapped in my stomach. I had been so careful during my last race to eat and drink slowly and only while sitting up while riding and this race I threw caution to the wind. I paid the price. I’m sure people think I’m crazy when I say I have a tendency to swallow a lot of air, especially while racing and that it can cause a lot of sharp pains in my stomach. There’s nothing I can do but either try to burp it up or wait for it to work its way out the other end. Sometimes at home I’ll go into down dog or a handstand which helps but that didn’t seem like a good mid-race solution. The problem is the air blocks anything else in my stomach from passing into my intestines.

Less than two miles into the race I was walking a bit to see if that would help at all. It did not so I went back to trying to run through the pain. While running uphill was not enjoyable to my fatigued legs, the downhills were actually more painful on my stomach from the harder pounding. I was determined to never walk downhill though since I wanted to take advantage of the gravity assist. I wasn’t concerned about my pace as I was only thinking about my stomach. The occasional walk gave my stomach the break it needed to get a burp out here or there. Around mile 5 it was starting to feel better so I risked drinking a little from my bottle. It was ok for a bit but then it started to revolt again.

When I passed Bill, I tried motioning to him that I had a stomach budge since he would know exactly what I was dealing with. Most other people probably thought I was motioning to being pregnant. At this point it was midway through the run, I was starting loop two and in the 4 miles uphill portion. My stomach pains were taking away any drive I had to worry about hitting a certain pace. I always knew I wouldn’t place well at this race given it was the championships. I also knew the terrain would make for slower times. My main goal was to have fun, and the sharp pains were taking that away.

There was a lot of walking breaks during those uphill miles since my legs were feeling very fatigued as well. After a while I threw away my bottle, accepting I couldn’t take anything else in. I continued to grab water cups at each aid station to pour on myself to keep cool. In the end I drank maybe 12oz and took in 1/3 of the calories I normally do during the run. Once I got back to the downhill miles, I kept running steady. Certainly not fast, but I was moving. 

Could I have pushed harder? Absolutely. No question. The desire or drive wasn’t there though. And I’m ok with that. It was honestly amazing to simply be surrounded by so many strong, fast women, fighting their hardest out there. When you think about it, the majority of people will never be in the presence of that kind of determination. As a triathlete, it’s easy to think we are normal but we are the exception. Most people try to keep life as easy as possible so it’s a gift to be surrounded by people trying to make it as hard as possible.

I eventually made it to the finish chute and I made sure to enjoy it versus sprinting to the finish. My run time was several minutes slower than I would have liked but as I like to tell athletes, no one really cares what your time is other than yourself (and hopefully your coach). This was the hilliest run course I've done, so all things considered, it wasn't horrible. It was firmly in the middle of the fastest and slowest run times I've had in the past.

Overall – 5:55:10
 
A volunteer met me at the finish line and walked with me through all the different stations making sure I got everything and was in decent shape to send me on my way. St George really does put on an amazing race. I like to race in different locations but I could see myself returning one day. As soon as I found my family, I laid down on the ground for a while trying to get my stomach to settle. I didn’t manage to eat anything until about two hours later.

Overall, I’m happy with the day despite a bad run. It was a great experience and that’s what matters. I did manage to squeak by with a small swim PR so that’s something. As always, I’m thankful for my family and friends who support me at the race and from afar. I always feel the love and think about it while racing. 2022 racing season is now officially over and I’m recharging to start prepping for 2023!