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| Santa Cruz 70.3 2019 Finisher |
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| Mission Accomplished |
Santa Cruz 70.3 Race Recap
We drove up from LA on Friday. Made it in time to go to package pick up. I got my number and picked up some souvenirs (now I had to finish). Then we walked down to the pier and looked out on the wharf. It was later in the day and the winds have picked up, so the ocean water looked choppy and cold. It made me not look forward to the swim come Sunday morning. We ended up grabbing some not so delicious dinner and headed back to the house to relax.
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| Duane and I on the wharf |
Saturday morning, I went to a swim clinic at the beach with Edgar. I was happy I went. It was a great overview of what to expect race morning. Ended up swimming about 500 yards and was able to get use to the ocean and the coldness. Afterward we went back to the house and grabbed some lunch and then headed back to Santa Cruz to drop off our bikes in the transition area. For Dinner we just cooked up some pasta at the house and laid low.
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| Edgar and I and Swim Clinic |
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| Swim Clinic put on by Megan Tobin of SMOG |
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| I got a Primo Bike position |
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| Erica and I heading back from setting up our bikes |
Sunday morning, Erica, Edgar and I woke up early and headed out to race start around 5am. Ran into Ilana and her friend, Ida in the transition area. Set up my transition area by putting out my gear and nutritional needs for the day. In the transition area we learned the water temp was 60.3 degrees so it would a wetsuit mandatory race, which I was already planning on wearing my wetsuit and booties, but just a friendly reminder it will be cold. Ended up putting on my wetsuit, only to be quickly reminded by Erica that I need to get my body marked. So quickly ran over to the body markers to get that taken care of and before I knew it, it was time to head down to the beach for race start. I walked down with everyone (Erica, Ilana and Ida), but lost Ilana and her friend once we got to the beach.
I ended up seeding myself in the 45-50 minute group. (One of the advice from Saturday was to seed yourself aggressively so you are not having to dodge slower swimmers, but not too aggressive where you are getting swam over). At 6:50 the pros are off, around 7:36 it was my turn. Erica got ahead of me in the corral so started about 5 seconds before me. (Race metered out the swim start with 5 people every 5 seconds). All the training and time spent getting over my open ocean fears paid off. The water was a little choppy as we went around the wharf and I drank a fair share of the ocean, but I was comfortable in the swim, swam straight, and PR’ed by about 2 minutes. Ended up finishing the swim in 46:21.
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| Surprised at my time |
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| Swim: 46:21 |
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| First Leg done! |
Got out of the water and found out this race had wet suit strippers, so of course I used them. Within 10 seconds my wetsuit was off, and I was running up the hill to the transition area. I ended up leaving my booties on until I got to the transition area since it was about a .29 mile trek to get to my bike. In the transition area, I quickly stopped at the port-a-potty, then put on my bike gear. Spent way too much time trying to get a stupid rock out of my sock, which I never did and finally gave up on.
Finally I was out on the bike course. The first 3 miles felt great, I was ready for this. That feeling left quickly soon after turning onto highway 1. At that point, the realization of the fight of the wind appeared, it was blowing me all over the place and I knew I was going to be battling a tough headwind (turns out it was up to 20 mph wind). Luckily I was aware that the course was an out and back, so if I could just get to the halfway point, the misery would be lifted and the wind would be at my back. The other thing going against me, was my watch wasn’t tracking the mileage right on the course, (the mile 28 turn around ended up being mile 31 on my watch and my pace was off due to this) so I was doing math along the way to determine if I was going to make the bike cut off. At the halfway mark I was behind the cut-off time, but the wind help me gain that time back. On the return trip of the bike, I realized I hadn’t been hydrating enough. I ended up having a really bad headache, so tried to focus on getting the proper nutrition and hydration the last 20 miles of the ride, in prep for the run.
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| Bike: 4:08:03 |
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| I just wanted off the bike at this time |
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| At least I looked fast :) |
The end of the bike course is shared with the run course. As I was coming in, one of my SBRC teammates saw me and said Go Melissa as he was on his run. (Jeff later told me I looked angry, my response was that I was frustrated). Then Erica, gave a similar cheer when she saw me. As I came to the transition area, I was surprised to see Duane cheering me in. These familiar faces were just the encouragement I needed as I headed into the transition area.
I ended up being disappointed with my bike portion of the race. I had hoped to be faster than 3:45 and ended up finishing at 4:08 (last place for my gender age division). Wind didn’t help, but overall I knew heading into the race that my bike abilities were not where I wanted it. Definitely need to focus on cycling if I ever do this again.
Finally I was out on my run. I was thinking this is my sport, I got this. Right after I get out of the transition area there was a nice hill that I had to go up. I opted to take this time to get some nutrition before I really start the run. Once I start the run, I realize it was not going to be as easy as I thought. The wind was just as bad on the run as it was on the bike and once again I was running into it. I had to catch my hat from blowing off twice through out the run. It was hard getting into a rhythm the first 5 miles. Ended up walking a lot more than I had hoped. Once I got in the mini loop prior to heading back, I was able to find a good cadence. On the way back, I allowed myself to walk the uphills, and forced myself to run the downhills. Around mile 12.5 Erica came back and found me to try and support me and let me know Duane is up ahead. Finally, reached the beach and crossed the finish line. The run time ended up being around 2:52. I was hoping to be closer to 2:30, as I’m a much faster and a more capable runner now, than when I have previously done my 70.3s. (Its still faster than any other 70.3 I’ve done, but overall felt I should have been faster).
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| 2 feet off the ground, still running |
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Had to run up the hill, knowing
the photographer was at the top |
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| Run Finish: 2:52:25 |
Ended up finishing with a time of 8:04:00, which beats my previous PR from 2013 of 8:05:02. I’m happy I PR’ed and did the best I could for that day. But I know I’m stronger than that time and can do better. Similar to how I feel about marathons, I feel I still haven’t conquered the 70.3 distance.
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| Success: 8:04:00 |
I know I am my worst critic, and I need to celebrate the positive aspects of the race (there is plenty to proud of), which I will end with now:
1. Overcame my fear of the Ocean (This was BIG for me)
2. Improved my swim time
3. Improved my run time
4. Huge leaps forward in the mental game (It was tough during the wind to keep the negativity out)
5. PR’ed the race distance
Am I gonna do another one? Not for awhile, but I'm sure I will be back at it again before I know it. (I did tell my husband during the peak training period not to let me sign up for another, so it will be awhile).
Special thanks to my husband for putting up with all my training hours and tiredness, Shangrila Rendon and Fiesty Fox Coaching Staff for the swim and training plan support (I got way more support than I was expecting through out the whole training cycle), SBRC coaches and teammates, Bryan Mineo with SMOG for helping me overcome my Ocean fears, DGF family and all my friends and family who have supported me these past few months. I truly appreciate the encouragement and help from everyone along the way.
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Temporary Tattoo I put on my arm to remind myself
when things got tough |
