Flew to Seattle for hair trip, then 5 days later Kev raced Bayshore 70.4, and our friend Kathryn flew up from Hawaii to race it too. She flew home, and 2 days later we flew out to PR!
Kenz and I have been working my butt off all winter to be ready for San Juan 70.3! It was the same day at St. Patricks day, so i had high hopes that the luck of the irish on my side. Checking in, number 411. yeah, superstitous....dont judge! ha!
Sooo worth the 15 hours of travel time to San Juan. ouch. We arrived thursday am passed out (highly recommend the Conrad) and woke up to beautiful, scenic, hot, and humid San Juan!
We fell asleep that first afternoon in the hammock on the ocean, a definite must do for everyone! So peaceful...waves crashing, breeze blowing the palm trees, sunshine burning my face to a crisp. oops.
Super humid weather on day two was my first shake out run...left me pouring sweat, out of breath and pretty nervous for race day.
Spent the next couple days doing the usual race tuneup stuff, eating delish puerto rican food, touring awesome forts from the 1600s on electric bikes. pretty damn awesome race-cation.
Check-in to the race on friday went sooo smoothly! Very organized race!! I was super stoked too, but crazy nervous..all I wanted was to get my slot to vegas!
4:50 am race morning wake up call...we had to run our gear bags over to transition, and then walk the mile back to swim start before the waves start going off.
My wave went off at 7:12, soo thankful it was early enough--so I wouldn't be running in the afternoon heat! Had my new fancy 226 kit on from ORCA along with my trusty ORCA Killa Swimskin, and the water was turquoise and looked clear! The swim was pretty smooth on the way out, but after making the turns to head back to transition I realized why it was soo easy on the first third. ugh. Nasty current and swimming into waves that got more and more intense as you get closer to the exit and the open ocean. Honestly I've never been nauseous on a swim before...but the waves lifting you up and crashing you down was really rough on the tummy. swim time 32:39, 3rd in age group.
Ran a quarter mile to T1, longest yet! Then you run thru a stadium, grab your bike, and run another couple tenths of a mile to the mount line. barefoot. totally trashed the feet, since they don't carpet it. ugh ended that in just over four minutes. yuck.
Bike course was not my strength (flat), but still absolutely gorgeous and scenic. Lots of iguanas too! They're HUGE! Chilling on the side of the road watching you go by...pretty funny. Legs felt super fresh, shook off the swim nausea, and was able to hammer away till it starting raining pretty heavily. Slowed a bit, couldn't see out of my glasses...and I'm always sooo scared of wiping out now! :) New Orbea Ordu rides like an absolute dream. I can tuck down nice n tight, and hammer away, while she handles sooo steady and smooth. Beyond excited to race her again and again, going to be a fabulous season on her!!! 1st age group off the bike, and rode a 2:36! yay! Only a couple minutes off some of the super badass pro chicks! Love it!
T2 was just a backwards version of T1, so pretty long still...threw on my Newtons and ORCA visor and ran thru the stadium begging for sunscreen! Apparently Banana Boat sponsors the event, so the set up a huge tent at T2 exit....was pretty nice to have like 5 peeps spray the heck out of you with 50-something! Rockin! No burn for me!
The run course didnt play to my strengths either! GRR! Oh well, it was INCREDIBLE! Sooo beautiful right along the ocean, to San Juan...past the two forts built in the 1600s...then down the cobblestone hills thru to the protected paths on the backside of the forts...right ON the ocean. amazing.
My energy was great! legs were ready to go! Its too bad I felt my right ankle 'pop' at mile 3 of the course, and knew it was pretty bad. Saw Kev on the way back, about mile 5, got my placing updates from him...and let him know I was in pretty bad shape. Like any good husband and spectathlete he tells me I JUST got passed, how far behind her I was, how far in front of 3rd I was, and to STOP whining! So thats what im thinking the whole time...shoot I came this far, I'm in 2nd place...I have a huge lead on 3rd...stop whining--maintain an 8:30 pace and you'll be fine. So thats what I did. I power hobble/jogged up the massive hills. Had a super high cadence, and 'ran' on my right heel till I hit 13.1. Soooo relieved to be done! 'Ran' a 1:56. 2nd in my age group. :)
Had medical carry me to the tent...and doc could feel the break already...casted it and then she made me promise to go to the doctor when we got home--so I could go to awards, and claim my Vegas slot too...I got super lucky and there were 2 slots for 30-34....YAY!!!!! I definitely thanked God for that little blessing, sooo wonderful! 5:12 with a broken ankle. Not bad.
My dream of hitting a sub 5 HIM will have to wait for another day...had it in my grasp! I have never felt sooo good after a race tho, so much in the tank that went un-tapped...cant wait to have my ankle all healed up!!!!
The next 2 days Kev and I celebrated at the pool, I could finally have a delicious mojito...omg. Best. Thing. Ever. Yum. (And yes, i took my cast off so I could sit in the pool!!!) :)
We found out that its annoying to have a partner on crutches, but great when going to the airport...wheelchairs and personal attendants at your disposal! (trying to be glass half-full here, cause not walking does suck. ;))
Anyway, Im pushing for another trip out there already. It pretty much rocks. Loved every second, next time we need to stay a little longer me thinks. :)
Sooo I'm super thankful for my sponsors this year. They all have gifted me with soo much time, effort, and incredibly fast gear to race and train with. Check them out if you can, you cant beat truly great companies that have amazing customer service and high quality products. Thanks to Orbea, ORCA Triathlon, Pro Bike Supply, and Relax Reflect you have a very grateful chick over here! :)
