SOMA was fun..... hot but fun! The race was not a qualifier for Kona, Veags or anything. It was a 70.3 at the end of the season on my birthday. I trained well, not as I would for O'side, but I was not out of shape. I have been running a lot and the goal was swim hard, bike in control and try to PR on the run.
Swim: 28:56 Considering my swim training I am happy with the swim. It was a fast swim and I should have been faster- simply a good reminder I need to swim more. I can swim a 26 and need to when racing against girls who can run so much faster than me.
Bike: 2:37:49 This is a flat course so I expected a fast bike split. But what I did not expect was so much wind, each loop was windier and windier and so many turns- I think 16 turns with 4 U-Turns per lap x 3. So it was not a down and aero and ride course - lots of braking and then ramping back up. Quarq- you suck! Sorry....but this is the 2nd race power was not right. Lap 1 my HR was 170 (ok not moderate riding) and my power was showing 170-180- was probably more like 220. I realized the power was off once I focused on my HR but that was around mile 18. And I was playing leapfrog with Dan who every time I passed my said "Fck" and then hammered by and then I could see him begin to slow in the distance and I would attack- power spikes for sure but it was fun. Starting the 2nd lap I realized I had to slow down... not really trusting my power meter I settled my HR and also realized I was behind in calories and liquid. With it being close to 90 degrees I needed more. The optimal aid station for me was located on the left side of the road and I realized I am not all the coordinated to grab bottles while riding with my left hand so I missed a few and that was probably a mistake. I was feeling good and having fun. With so many turns and loops the bike goes by fast. After loop 1 I was aiming for a 2:30 split but realized I would demolish myself if I kept that up. Loop 2 I backed off and then loop 3 picked it up.
Run: 1:45:42 OUCH goal was sub 1:40. I headed out with heavy legs and a Garmin that was not getting a signal - so no pace. I settled in mile 1 and waited...no pace. After 1 mile when Garmin keeps asking me "are you indoors" I know I am not getting a signal that race.Garmin and Quarq suck So I switch to manual and by mile 2 I see 7:40 and am worried. This is the pace I want but it does not feel sustainable. Mile 3 7:45 - definitely not sustainable. Mile 4: 7:55 and the downhill slide begins... So I forget the pace and focus on the dude in the neon yellow top who is ahead of me and I stay on his heels for the next 8 miles. It was not all that fun and my heel was raw by mile 8 and bleeding and 3 blisters erupted around mile 9. The one under my big toe has got to be the worst.... In any case I was struggling and trudging along. Oh well...I did not give up, give in and I passed yellow shirt at mile 12. I see the finish and start sprinting running with what I have left and am done only to find the finish is another 1/4 mile at least....ugh... Finished sub 5 with 4:55:21 a 70.3 PR so I will take it.
AG winner which is always fun and even more fun to share the podium with the boys. It was fun and it was even more fun to share the day with one my athletes who came from Seattle to race and with Julia from SD who rocked the day and won her AG and PR'd her run by 16 minutes!!!
We had a awesome girls weekend...Julia and I road tripped it out Friday - we had pod casts to listen to and I had pages of tri -geek articles and we managed to talk non stop instead- ride flew by and there we were.
Friday night we ate Mexican - no margaritas but lots of salty chips :) Saturday was pre race bike and run and all the expo, bike check etc...it was fun sharing a room as we chilled, braided hair talked about everything and did not worry much about the 5 hours of fun in the sun that was upon us.
Saturday dinner with joined up with some SD peeps at Oregano's..YUMM!! Not often, okay only night before 70.3 or IM do I slam a giant bowl of white pasta....it was good and the garlic bread was even better. It was a good thing we all had it - cause it was garlicky!!!
We stayed close to the start and rolled out of bed at 5- enjoyed our UnCrustables- which have more preservatives listed than you can imagine- seriously the entire side of the box. Okay why? Well we had one morning and there I was with a loaf of bread, jar of almond butter and jelly - too much and waste of food. So we went with easy. But really- people please don't feed these to your kids- this should be Ironman pre-race food only.
Bike: 2:37:49 This is a flat course so I expected a fast bike split. But what I did not expect was so much wind, each loop was windier and windier and so many turns- I think 16 turns with 4 U-Turns per lap x 3. So it was not a down and aero and ride course - lots of braking and then ramping back up. Quarq- you suck! Sorry....but this is the 2nd race power was not right. Lap 1 my HR was 170 (ok not moderate riding) and my power was showing 170-180- was probably more like 220. I realized the power was off once I focused on my HR but that was around mile 18. And I was playing leapfrog with Dan who every time I passed my said "Fck" and then hammered by and then I could see him begin to slow in the distance and I would attack- power spikes for sure but it was fun. Starting the 2nd lap I realized I had to slow down... not really trusting my power meter I settled my HR and also realized I was behind in calories and liquid. With it being close to 90 degrees I needed more. The optimal aid station for me was located on the left side of the road and I realized I am not all the coordinated to grab bottles while riding with my left hand so I missed a few and that was probably a mistake. I was feeling good and having fun. With so many turns and loops the bike goes by fast. After loop 1 I was aiming for a 2:30 split but realized I would demolish myself if I kept that up. Loop 2 I backed off and then loop 3 picked it up.
Run: 1:45:42 OUCH goal was sub 1:40. I headed out with heavy legs and a Garmin that was not getting a signal - so no pace. I settled in mile 1 and waited...no pace. After 1 mile when Garmin keeps asking me "are you indoors" I know I am not getting a signal that race.
We had a awesome girls weekend...Julia and I road tripped it out Friday - we had pod casts to listen to and I had pages of tri -geek articles and we managed to talk non stop instead- ride flew by and there we were.
Friday night we ate Mexican - no margaritas but lots of salty chips :) Saturday was pre race bike and run and all the expo, bike check etc...it was fun sharing a room as we chilled, braided hair talked about everything and did not worry much about the 5 hours of fun in the sun that was upon us.
Saturday dinner with joined up with some SD peeps at Oregano's..YUMM!! Not often, okay only night before 70.3 or IM do I slam a giant bowl of white pasta....it was good and the garlic bread was even better. It was a good thing we all had it - cause it was garlicky!!!
We stayed close to the start and rolled out of bed at 5- enjoyed our UnCrustables- which have more preservatives listed than you can imagine- seriously the entire side of the box. Okay why? Well we had one morning and there I was with a loaf of bread, jar of almond butter and jelly - too much and waste of food. So we went with easy. But really- people please don't feed these to your kids- this should be Ironman pre-race food only.
Post race....race to hotel, shower and change and pack and rush to awards- celebrate and I flew home to John and Riley and off to a birthday dinner with a few friends....Pretty much THE perfect birthday!!!
Favorite FB message of the day.... "Happy Birthday Julie! And what is a SOMA?"
Congrats on an awesome race. I saw your name on the results and it was so familiar from my coach (Michelle Simmons) talking about you! BTW - Soma used to be a super great healthy restaurant that sponsored this event in it's first few years. It's since closed, but for some reason the name has stuck!
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