Although the course at Newfound Lake was the most excellent I have ever experienced it wasn’t my day on Sunday and I finished a distant third to Lesley Paterson and Cait Snow. Those two ladies were strong and fast from start to finish with strong swims, strong bike splits and insane run splits. I was unhappy to have to experience some unpleasant sensations getting my butt from start to finish but I still got a solid result with a third place with some much needed WTC points and some prize money so I am stoked I got it done. I was sick on race morning with some kind of stomach flu or bad food and didn’t have any power. I had a bad swim and then just faded out of contention very early in what seemed like a LONG race.
The coolest things about New Hampshire: everyone is outdoorsy and active, the scenery is spectacular, there are hills everywhere and the lakes are numerous and so clean and pristine. Gorgeous! I was happy to have borrowed Kathy’s Mercedes which was retrofitted with a vegetable oil burning motor so I drove to this natural oasis with a tiny carbon footprint. The race includes a one lap wetsuit swim, two laps of a very hilly bike course that I enjoyed very much piloting my Shiv on and a two lap hilly run course to make this a very challenging race venue not unlike the course in Lake Stevens. I absolutely loved it. The coolest thing about the Mooseman 70.3 is they play the Canadian anthem FIRST on race day! Wow! Lots of Quebec athletes were at that race which is not unexpected given how close to Montreal we were. The little race finisher medal is shaped like a moose which is a cute little tchotchke to add to the collection. Read more….
This is my first time having a bad race in 70.3. I have blown up on the run before but I have never just felt awful starting a race this long. I think it is even more mentally challenging knowing how long the day ahead of you is going to be. It was not an option to not start. I flew a longass way to get there to collect points from one of five races I can count towards my Worlds qualifying ranking which are impossible to fit in my XTERRA schedule. I think it was good to tough it out. Although, I am sure the idea of dropping out occurred to me many times, not surprisingly more often when I was hearing race splits, hah! I wasn’t sure if I should just cut my losses but when you are in third place you cannot drop out of a race. That would be stupid on two fronts, the fact you are on the podium and the fact you are throwing away points you are already on your way to collecting. I went into the run knowing I was never going to get any closer to Cait or Lesley and not knowing if I was going to stay in front of the girl behind me. When I saw 4th at the first turnaround I knew I could probably struggle away at my “just finish” pace and get it done. It was cool to watch Lesley and Cait booking it.. Cait’s second lap of that run was pretty freaking crazy.. she has these tiny feet that just rocket! Lesley looked powerful the whole way and was well in control of the whole deal.
My day included a lot of stomach pain and ego pain especially on that run. All details of the day are gross and are forgettable but long story short I just steadily faded away the entire day from no calories. I managed to finish the entire day with nothing to eat which just goes to show I should cut down on the chocolate, haha! With no appetite for my rolling picnic I was a goner.
I was definitely watching the girls behind me but it was like watching the race on tv since I was participating but not really controlling what was happening. I was finishing a half Ironman, not racing it and that isn’t a very satisfying feeling, honestly. I tried my normal “coke during a run bonk” routine but sadly the coke sent my stomach into worse cramps and slowed me down even more. So I just let myself get slower and slower drinking water listening to the guy behind me tell war stories to all the spectators about his race that was still happening next to me and how the bike was 10 miles too long and how he had blew so badly (while he was running next to me and shortly after… dropping me). Clearly this was not my most shining moment. However, I got through that 21 km run in my AVIAs with NO BLISTERS AT ALL. YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!! No socks no worries my friends. No reminders of that run, haha!
However with three miles to go I saw the girl behind me at the last turnaround and I remember thinking she is definitely getting closer and sure enough as I approached the finish I could hear some cheering behind me. Lucky I looked back in the last 300m because if I hadn’t sprinted I would have lost another spot in the last few meters! Amber made a great effort and just fell short of running me down! Good job girl but yay me for hanging on to it. In the end I had all of four seconds on fourth. I was so drained at the finish of the race I just wanted to go lay down in bed but I had to get all the way back to Boston. So I had a little nap in the med tent with all the hot firefighters while they decided 2 bags of IV fluid made sense. All I asked for was Imodium! It was excellent and got me revived enough to drive back down to Boston. I was sure I had the flu but today it seems like I probably ate something bad as I am coming back to life already, albeit eating a little less than normal. In the end, maybe this is just an awesome chisel program to get me nice and light for the super hot race in Richmond this coming weekend. Everything happens for a reason?
Congratulations again to Lesley Paterson on continuing her awesome start to her season and to Cait Snow for a run split that would have crushed a lot of the men’s field. Very impressive ladies! I have Richmond to focus on now and then I think I need to take a break for a bit before I resume the 70.3 racing. I would like to have a good go at that distance this year, healthy!!
Thanks so much to Specialized, AVIA, Nathan, Shimano, Maxxis, Sundog Eyewear, Powerbar, Profile Design, USANA, Saris, Genuine Innovations and Justin’s Nut Butter for the support. Highs and lows of racing.
You are invited to join Conrad and I on Friday night from 6-7pm at 3Sports in Richmond Virginia… I hear there will be beer there. Good times!
3 Sports – 6241 River Road, Richmond, VA 23229. (804) 288-4000