Photo: Ruby Orbea with Jack and Adam’s Bike Service Engineer, James, and I

To be succinct, the Hermann Memorial 70.3 went like this:

Survival.
Pummeled with chop; crowded with people. That was a tough one. Kept my crown as the TIMEX Multisport Team Slowest Swimmer (38 mins).

Rocking.
I love my bike. I love racing my bike. Fastest overall female age-grouper split by 7 minutes; I was right in there with a handful of pro girls in the 2 25-2 27 range (Sam McGlone and Karin Thuerig went faster). I’m convinced the Orbea Ordu has some special features like a motor. I haven’t been racing my bike regularly this year, so I went into the race feeling very uncertain about my bike fitness. I raced using power for the first time – it was helpful, as I was able to accurately manage my consistency. (2 hr 26 min).

Erratic.
Not running for a year has put a strain on my running. No excuses. Just need to be better prepared. Looking back, I didn’t drink enough on the bike, and with little aid-station sips, it wasn’t cutting it. I had to stop and drink, which helped. I just could not will my legs to turn over consistently; my splits were erratic (almost 2 minute deviations). My fitness just may not be there… yet.

Race mantra.
I used, “I am well, happy and peaceful” as my meditation mantra today. It was solid for the most part, except for a few moments on the run, when it was horrid and I swore off racing for a second or two.
So, my sweet ride into first deteriorated into 5th AG, but, well, as it goes.