BRANSON 70.3 RACE REPORT... and MORE MIDWEST FUNFEST

My race really didn’t start in Branson… it started with the race to take apart my bike to break it’s flying virginity at midnight the night before the plane took me off to the mainland… err, I mean back to good ol’ Iowa. The plan was to visit Iowa the week before the race and head down to Branson with the fam to help support me for the race. Apparently Iowa provides the best prize money for the pros at the Hy Vee Triathlon the weekend before I arrived. I’m going to try my best to get myself on that starting line next year.

It was a good trip back that let me fit in enough days to make it to Lisa (Koll) and Kiel Uhl’s wedding. It was great to see all of my track alumni and those who I haven’t seen since my undergraduate years of collegiate running. Lots of good gals and lots of good catch up boyfriends, engagements and babies! Oh my! Yes, I’m getting “old.” And my sister is getting married in less than a year with wedding planning operating in high speed! Talk about weddings galore! No, not me yet… as that is the very popular reversal question asked. I got some racing to do.

Throughout the week before the race I had the opportunity to train at all my old venues and enjoy some new ones. Those new ones being the awesome trail that leads to the Dragoon bike trail that runs by the DSM river, the High Trestle Bike Trail that you can actually ride fast and in aero on and bless her speedy little heart Lo Lo our dog that can pull me along at a 6:02 mile pace for 4 miles (wasn’t expecting that one for my brick after a hard bike sesh). Yes, it’s safe to say that this dog can outrun me in a 10k. And with Ben racing his first half Ironman in 4:25 in Oregon while I’m gallivanting around at the wedding- awesome surprise to me! He’s got me pretty much beat and matched on to my fastest so far and has only been running more than 1 mile or ever riding a bike for a year… damn boys! The old training venues, the Ankeny Family YMCA where I had my fastest non-competition swim workout splits ever this past week, the country farm roads up to Slater and Ames and back, our giant downstairs airplane garage with the CompuTrainers and Tready’s… It was a good mix of the old and the new.

I also got to meet up with some awesome people, my family, my friends, my sister and more. Special shout out to Steve Fry one of the world’s best bike mechanics at Bike World. I actually put my bike back together successfully; he just gave it even more TLC- awesome guy and awesome people in that store. And, I have to say, my Mom is an amazing massage therapist, she added and complimented very well with my local massage therapists work Chance Fitzpatrick with a combo of myotherapy technique along with trigger point and deep tissue massage. I have my run legs almost 100% back because of her. She really got my legs feeling sensation again and downing the hamstring tightness. Yes, I’m lucky, I know ;)

The drive down to Branson began Thursday afternoon. Friday consisted of going over the swim, bike and run course. My Dad and I arrived to T1; he drove the course while I rode behind him, as the roads are HILLY. I like mountains, I really do, I love hills, but these were some swervy curvy hump bumps with blind corners and speedy cars with it not being closed/race day. And I simply hoped in the car when it got to the highway part. I’m glad I pre-road the bike course- even just the first 10 miles, because I immediately changed gears, literately and figuratively. I changed my racing strategy plans of attacking the bike course to seeing what I could do on the run. And let me tell you, I’d rank this bike course almost as hard as Lake Stevens 70.3. There are lots of longer power punchers, but not as short of power drilling and energy draining hills as the Lake Stevens course. After riding the course, we traversed on down to the Branson Landing where T2 for the run start took place. I loved the run course layout. I especially loved running through the shopping promenade and in front of a badass water display show where later that evening we had dinner at the Cantina Laredo and enjoyed a “Journey” concert outside in front of the light show. Dad was happy.

Pre race day was a lot of preparation and anxiety over the predicted race day weather. So far in Branson it was raining, no DUMPING almost all day every day and creating some massive rivers in the roads. The forecast called for a repeat the next day, specifically the next morning right at 7 AM. In my mind, I was saying “bring it on rain- MO whatchu got over Oregon?!” Ok- maybe Mizzou has thunder and lightening that zaps my computer charger completely. Or what can be described as angry rain- rainstorms. Whelp, I was ready.

3:30 AM my mom comes and wakes me up. Funny, I’d been having dreams all night that I was waking up getting ready to race in at least 5 very different and very odd scenarios in which I thought impossible for my brain synapses to concoct. Each one was ended abruptly by awakening to thunder. So my Mom was for real, no drinking mojitos and making a cucumber salad at a Hawaiian beach while somehow tuning up my bike in transition to race. Dream #4 was comical yet the most depictive of an underlying reason. Think I’m dreaming of Kona much? 2012 baby!

Sure enough when we got to T1 there was no rain and no light. I prepared T1 and did my usual warm up. In the water I was trying to almost slap myself awake and get into race mode. With 3:30 AM being 1:30 AM my time, and warming up the hour before the 7 AM Central time, I was trying to focus. With the sun not coming up until 3 min before 7, I was swimming in the dark, warmer 71-degree water. So needless to say I was not really ready to kick it up a notch and definitely felt that something was “off.” The canon went off, but I was still off. I was sprinting or so I thought, but just wasn’t ready to fight the pace that quickly both mentally and physically. I can normally psych myself up something good but went with what I had. I ended up drafting for the first quarter of the swim but got quickly separated from the front pack of girls. The entire swim I was thinking ok- GO! Faster arm turnover, kick those legs, and pull with those arms- now! OK- NOW! Well, it just wasn’t a happenin’! I came out of the water at 30 min exactly. Bummer. But again, I kind of expected a slower time with that brain-body connection not fully wired up yet.

I hoped on my bike ready to ease into a stronger steady effort on the ride and then run it down. The bike course felt awkward for me physically, but the course was RAD to go over! I actually enjoyed it. We got to ride down the highways that were completely closed off and go up and down up and down being able to challenge speed and practice good aerodynamics. And whatdya know- the sun came out, and no blasphemy rain had been bestowed upon us yet. I found myself catching up to the top placing pro ladies gradually knocking the time down at the turn arounds and my avg mph speed getting faster.

You know if it’s a hard bike course if my bike time was 2:52 with the 2^nd fastest bike split and the fastest guy pros only averaging 22 mph. I honestly had times on the bike course where I thought top 5 was not going to happen today for me. For the first time I did ask myself why I was doing the race, even though the racecourse was awesome and I truly enjoyed it! I had that not so competitive feeling. But once I started getting closer and closer and passed a couple ladies, my game started to come around. Maybe it’s the time zone thing…. I’m blaming the time zone difference for lack of mental motivation for the first 2 hours... (I REALLY can’t use this one for Ironman Florida!)

I hopped off the bike feeling fresher than normal due to not pushing the bike as hard as I typically do. I almost think it was a blessing in disguise I wasn’t too into the bike. It made me pumped to get off it and start running that half marathon which hasn’t been the case in most of the half’s this year. Running down the promenade provided music, cheering, signs, perfume scents, shopping stores, lights, camera, and action… All the commotion made me feel like I was running pretty fast. I started ticking off the miles at 6:20 pace feeling pretty good. And to my disbelief, I was really gaining on top 3. Sure enough, I blazed by up to 3^rd place and was still gaining onto first and most importantly Nina in second. But then my hips and hamstring started to tighten the last couple miles and I started to do the math in which I knew it was impossible to run 2 consecutive miles at 5:30 pace to catch her so I didn’t push it to far and let my legs do their thing.

I’ve noticed that when I know the finish is in sight my body's frequent physical response is to have my hamstrings and lower back tighten up or cease up right when I know the end is coming. It’s been happening in my workouts too. So I’ve been working on mentally controlling my thought/ physical responses by having to “convince” myself that I have a lot more miles to go and I end up break through it. So with 2 miles to go, I kept telling myself I have 5 more to go, and in November I’ll have 15 more to go at this point :) I ended up finishing 3^rd place with one of the most epic scenery finish lines of the 70.3 series. The finish line was in front of this multi-million dollar light and waterfall exhibit. And I just missed 2^nd place by a mere minute behind Nina Kraft… Immediately I thought if I had just biked a little harder or had my swim right on or been out riding with the front pack the whole time… Persistence. Someday the big “W” will come, and it will be earned. But right now I’m pretty pleased to be a continual podium finisher so quickly after having such an intense injury and resulting downtime and surgery.

And the rain, it was kept at bay for no longer than 5 minutes after I finished. Because it started DOWN POURING. I really lucked out. Hard core, but you know who’s hard-core?! All those age groupers out there who finished that race and to Jessica Meyers who really raced and wanted the win- she earned it out there. She also has the cutest twins ever that are literally mini versions of her. Jasmine Oeinck did phenomenal for her first half ever and having to change a flat, she sure picked a toughie course for it! And came out of the water faster than any male or female pro. And Caroline Gregory as well for sticking it out and having her first top 5 finish in her first year as a pro. Let’s just say 4 out of the top 5 females wore TYR hurricanes.

After finishing this race was when I was going to decide if I was going to compete in Ironman Florida and perhaps the Miami 70.3 the weekend before. I feel confident in being able to transfer my 1.2 mile swim effort to 2.4 and my 56 mile bike to 112 and my 13.1 scaling back the mile pace just 5-10 seconds to make it comfortable to hang onto. I feel that my body has gotten stronger and is ready for IM training for the next 5 weeks with less running and more quality sessions, but still loading on the swimming and cycling.

It’s nice- my hamstrings are starting to contract again.