Mel’s Adventure on Skinny Tires – Lake Stevens 70.3
Well my second ever half Ironman came and went yesterday. Similar to last season, I had three weeks to prepare for my only half Ironman of the season. Again I chose a race with one of the toughest women’s fields of the season (18 pros – more than the men!) but it was conveniently within driving distance of Victoria and at a point in the season where I had no XTERRA obligations to worry about. This time around I had MUCH more fun than my first race. Lots of things went right and some went wrong but overall, I ended up fourth while actually being in the race. Had my swim not been such an utter disaster I would have actually REALLY been in a race which is disappointing, but still motivating. Certainly, I need more time to be really strong on my Specialized Transition but with my limited preparation I was actually in the mix and the prize money so I am motivated to prepare a bit more when I do more of these events next year. I thought I would do a report that was all highlights/lowlights and impressions from Lake Stevens rather than a blow by blow account of my weekend. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
Highlights:
– A killer homestay with Penny and Michael Dorsey. I had two amazing evenings with wine, delicious food and fun conversations. They are wonderful people I was privileged to have met. Thanks guys!
– My Specialized Transition was SO FUN to ride. Riding with a Lazer Tardiz time trial helmet and some fast DuraAce wheels were icing on the cake but really, riding this kind of bike is super fun. I can’t say it is as fun as railing singletrack on my Era mountain bike but it really is super cool to go fast.
– Running someone down in a triathlon. Granted, Sam Warriner did not have her best run ever but still, I ran someone down. I like that feeling. I want more of it whenever necessary.
– Linsey Corbin and Stacey Richardson for being the friendliest other pro woman at the event. Thanks for the warm welcome ladies and Linsey, it was a pleasure to tow you in the swim although I really wished I had someone towing me as well!
– Finishing in a sandwich between super star pros and actually feeling that I was kind of sort of competitive and taking home prize money from an Ironman race which had you asked me two years ago if I even thought I could have finished I would have laughed… who time trials for 90km? was my opinion before…
And the lowlights….
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