Deciding to Race
Shortly before my first half Ironman, North Carolina 70.3, I already knew I wasn't done racing that distance. I enjoyed the training a lot, and I wanted to do more. After a year of issues with my road bike, which ultimately is too big for me (anyone need or know someone who needs a really nice, excellent condition 54" Cervelo S-Series aero road bike, hit me up!), I invested in a tri bike that happened to come available. After NC 70.3, I waited until my post-race talk with coach to make any decisions about what was next. I did know that I would love to race NC 70.3 again - it is my home state race, which means it isn't much trouble as far as travel logistics, it was very well run and a lot of fun, the course plays to my strengths, and I want to see how I improve over the course of another year of triathlon training. In the meantime, I started talking about 2022 with my husband. We had many conversations in which I brought up Musselman 70.3, which my coach, my good friend & "gear guy" Scott, and other Coeur Ambassador and Collective Beat teammates were planning to race. I figured it was off the table because the date was ON our wedding anniversary. At some point, the conversation shifted to how we could make it a family vacation. We could drive up for the race and stay on the lake afterwards. When I finally talked with my coach, I raised the question about doing Musselman and NC 70.3 in 2022 - that would be a total of 3 70.3s in just under a full year! With the timing between the two races (3 months), she said it would work as long as I set realistic goals, with one as my "goal" or "A" race. So after more discussion with my husband, I decided I would do Musselman 70.3 on the journey to NC 70.3 - a race to check in on the growth I had made and fine tune training going into NC 70.3.
Getting to New York
Musselman takes place in upstate New York in the city of Geneva on Seneca Lake. It is a 10-hour drive from our house, without traffic and without stops - and you can imagine the number of stops with 3 kids. We decided to do the drive in 2 days, with a hotel stop along the way. Those two days were challenging for me. I had to accept that I couldn't control the schedule or how long it took. Issues like a constipated 3 year old who insisted she had to go to the bathroom every 45 minutes at one point just had to be accepted and addressed with patience. I focused on what I could control. I packed my own lunches for on the road and breakfast for the hotel. I got my Wednesday workout in before we left on our first travel day, but my coach wanted me to save my Thursday workout for when I arrived on our second travel day to get a shakeout from my travels. Unfortunately, we got to the lakehouse much later than expected. Jonathan and I had to problem solve - how to fit in unpacking the car and settling in, my hour ride and 30 minute run, his trip to the grocery store, making dinner, eating, and getting everyone to bed. Luckily, I have a very patient and understanding partner who helped me make it work. My ride felt really good and took me on part of the race route (which I didn't know the lakehouse we were renting was right by), and my run had some big descending paces as I loosened up.
Race Prep
Friday, two days before the race, I got up and went for a swim in the lake. I loved that I didn't have to worry about logistics - I could just put on my wetsuit and walk out the back door and down to the lake. The water was chilly but not the coldest I've been in. And I had a wetsuit on - I've been in water that cold without a wetsuit before I bought my Blue70 wetsuit (which I love). What amazed me was the water was clear! I could see through the water. Falls Lake and Jordan Lake where I swim in NC are completely brown, and the water at NC 70.3 you cannot see through, so this was a first for me as a triathlete. It was a combination of some awe and a little bit unsettling to see in the water for the first time. I did an easy swim out and then turned around. Besides being not 100% sure where I was swimming back to, it was a good swim back. My pace wasn't great, but it was just a shake-out swim.
Next, I hopped on my bike. Just a nice, easy 25-minute ride. Bike was feeling good. Legs were feeling good. And then a slow, easy 15-minute run for my final shake-out before race day.
Then it was time to pack everything up that I would need for the next day and for race day, eat some lunch, and head to race check-in. Again, I had to let go of control and recognize I was on kid time and couldn't be 100% on athlete time yet. I had planned to meet some of my Coeur teammates at 2:00 for check-in, but it was about 2:00 when we left. Then I didn't realize where we parked was a good 15-minute walk to check-in. However, I wasn't the only one running late, and I ended up getting to check-in at the same time as most of the others.
Check-in was fun. I loved getting to meet so many of my friends in person for the first time! And to give and receive hugs! Checking in together also meant we would be racked together. It was fun knowing our bikes would be "having a sleepover" together as Michelle put it and we'd know the people around us race morning and transitions.
After checking, in a few of us hit the merchandise tent. After some debate, I settled on a few items (less than my first 70.3, but still plenty). I got a tshirt with athlete names on the back, (of course) a new BOCO Gear hat and visor, and a Musselman 70.3 sticker.
I met back up with my family, who drove me to my hotel room. We had decided to take on the extra expense for me to stay in a hotel before the race. First, I wanted a good night's sleep. Second, we didn't want the whole family to have to wake up to get me to the race super early Sunday morning. Since I wouldn't have transportation, I needed something near the race. The hotel right there had a 2-night minimum. Later, I found another without that, but we decided to stick with 2 nights so I would have some space to sleep, relax, and mentally prep for race day. So despite the stress and anxiety of traveling with kids to a race, I would have 2 days of being on my own to get ready for race day. Once we unloaded my stuff into the hotel, I realized I forgot my triathlon bag, which had almost everything I needed for race day! Luckily, I forgot it at the lakehouse, not at home in NC. We decided the family would bring it by the next day. Then, I got my hugs and kisses and settled in with my Normatec boots and my pre-made dinner to relax for the evening and get some sleep.
Saturday I slept as long as my mind and body would let me (not as long as I needed, but that's race weekend for you), and chilled in bed for a while enjoying the quiet, lazy morning. I ate my pre-made batch of Kodiak cakes and banana, getting in some good carbs for the next day. Then, I took my bike to check it into transition and met up with Debbie for the athlete meeting.
At noon, there was a meetup of Coeur teammates for a photo. It was so fun seeing everyone in person! We had people racing the full 70.3, a couple relay teams, and even teammates there just to spectate and cheer.
After the photo, I headed back to the hotel room for some lunch. I started getting all my race nutrition and hydration ready. So many bottles of Skratch! Pre-race Skratch. 4 bottles for the bike. 3 bottles in a bladder and soft flask for the run. Plus allllll the bars and chews for the bike and run. Once that was all ready, I chilled in my room until Scott was ready to drive the bike course.
I rode in the van with Scott and Sean for the 56 miles of bike course. It was interesting hearing their take on the course. I was seeing lots of false flats and several big inclines. I also noted that quite a few of the downhills would involve braking or not going hard because they went into a sharp turn. It was good to have seen the course. It also is the first time I drove a bike course of any distance much less 56 miles, which put into perspective what we do. Around Mile 44 or so, we stopped by the lakehouse that my family rented. Scott got to meet Jonathan, Caleb, and Emma (Zoe was being shy and stayed hidden), and I got my tri bag so my family wouldn't have to drive out and drop it off.
Back at the hotel, I got everything situated for the race, ate my dinner, put on my boots. After my boots, I stopped by Scott's room to get a room key for the next day (I would be racing during checkout but Scott was staying another night, so in the morning, I would stop by Scott's room and drop off my stuff to get after the race). Then it was time to get some sleep
Race Morning
Up when it was dark and getting ready for race day! Drank my pre-race shake. Ate as much of my gluten-free English muffin as I could. (The brand that the NY Wegman's carried was not tasty at all.) Then I realized the hotel fridge was VERY cold and that some of my bottles had frozen. I put some hot water in the bathroom sink and let the two most frozen ones soak in there. While those soaked, I gathered my belongings and took them down to Scott's room. I came back, gathered my gear, nutrition, and hydration, and headed down to transition.
At transition, I got everything set up. The bottle of Skratch I had planned to dump into my front hydration system was still a solid block of ice in the middle! I found another bottle that was thawed and dumped it into the front hydration system. At least I knew I'd have some cold drink on the ride! I borrowed a pump and pumped up my tires. Then I debated what to do with my bag since I didn't have a support person with me that morning and there wasn't a bag drop. (This was something I was very disappointed to hear the day before. For those of us without a support person, it is really helpful to have a morning bag drop.) Since I had that extra water bottle and my hoodie, I decided I'd go back to the room to drop things back at Scott's room and to use a real bathroom. I hurried back to the hotel, and Scott was ready to leave about the time I was. We walked back toward transition where I had left my inhaler. I was a little stressed about the time, but Scott was cool and calm. I got into transition and got into my wetsuit. As we were leaving transition, I remembered my inhaler and rushed back and took it. Then I met back up with Scott. I had him help pull up my wetsuit and zip it. I have never had someone lift up my wetsuit and secure it up on my arms as well as he did. It felt great! We talked some more as we walked to swim start. Then we said our good-byes as he went to the faster area of the corral.
I went down the corral asking what time people were because I couldn't see the signs. I found what I thought was the right section. Then another woman told me that we weren't actually in the corrals. There was a large group of people about the width of the corral adjacent to it. The corrals didn't have enough space and people didn't even realize they weren't in the corrals. I talked with the woman, who was doing her first 70.3. We had a great chat about kids, training, how we got into triathlon, etc. She found a spot we could get into the corral through the fence, so we decided to do that. We moved in and waited for our turn to start.
The Swim
We got in the outer chute so we could have a little space as we started. (Little did I know until later, but the timing mat for that chute got disconnected - those of us who went through that chute did not get an official swim time!) The water was chilly but not bad. Last year before I got my Blue 70 wetsuit (which, have I mentioned, I love), I swam in water this cold without a wetsuit. It was very shallow, and as I was swimming, I could see people walking instead of swimming. The water was also clear. It took me a little while to get into a groove, but then I was going. I had a little trouble sighting because of where the sun was in the sky. I had my usual experience with longer distance open water swims - I would feel like I must be way off course because I wouldn't be near people or could see people off to the left or right from me, but then when I sighted I would realize that I was pretty close to on target or on target. Overall, I felt like I was swimming pretty well, but I also felt like I struggled to really get in a groove the first half. There were a lot of people swimming over/past me, and I was having to navigate around people a lot (likely due to the terrible swim corral situation). The nice thing was with the clear water, I could see the other athletes around me and could try to find some feet to get on for a little bit and could avoid the breaststroke kicks.
I picked it up on the second half, with some strong kicking the last couple hundred meters. I saw the sandbar shortly before the swim finish and knew that we were close but not done, despite seeing some athletes stand up and take off their caps and goggles. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, and then I was done.
Overall, I felt like I never had a comfortable, strong groove. I need to work on my effort level in long course open water - finding the balance between not going out too hard that I either can't sustain it or burn out for the bike and run and not going out too easy so that I don't have the swim I'm capable of. My time was slower than I expected and than my goal, although it seems that a lot of athletes found it to be a slow swim. One possible explanation I heard was because the water was so shallow that times tend to be slower.
T1
Out of the water and time to head to transition. It was nice not having the looooong run that we have for NC 70.3. I had a good transition, even remembering to turn on my bike computer before I got everything set. It was nice having my bike relatively close to the bike in/out so I had less space to run in the grass in my bike shoes.
The Bike
On the bike and on the road I went. The first 10 miles I worked on getting my heartrate down and getting into a groove. I felt pretty good, although my splits were slower than I wanted. The next 10 miles were strong. I averaged 18.9 and 18.0 mph, which is really fast for me. I was within my goal heartrate zone and making sure to fuel and hydrate. Then, I started getting into the hills and false flats. Climbing is not my strength. As we'd go up, I would get passed. As we would go down or flat, I would pass people. The next 15 miles were slow and a bit of a struggle. I couldn't keep my cadence up where my coach wanted, and it was frustrating me. I remember saying out loud, "This is a really long day!" We went up one of the largest hills in full sun, and I decided to grab a water from the aid station, the first time I've ever done that on the bike, and used it to pour on me to just cool off a moment and reset. It helped me refocus going into the next hill.
During those miles, I was frustrated, but I still made friends out on the course, cheering for teammates and other athletes. A guy I kept leapfrogging with and I cheered each other on later on the run. There were a couple others who I recognized from the bike that I exchanged "hi" with on the run.
With the biggest of the hills done, I was able to pick up my pace again the next 10 miles. And then more false flat and just keep chugging along. I laughed as I came out from under an overpass and headed up the final false flat, remembering Scott talking about how it was the last stretch and flat, but it did not feel flat at that point.
Finally, up that final stretch, turn the corner and head towards transition. I passed a couple more people and then the lane narrowed. And then I heard them - my kids and husband were there cheering me on as I came into transition!
T2
Once again, I was happy to have my bike rack near bike in/out because it was little running in my bike shoes. Helmet and bike shoes off. Run shoes on. Grabbed my running vest, visor, and race belt to put on as I ran to run exit. Since my bike was racked near bike in, that meant a longer run to run exit, but that also gave me time to get my running vest on and buckled, my visor on, and my race belt on. As I was exiting T2, I heard my Coeur teammates cheering for me. I was ready to go!
The Run
I felt good starting the run. The course was a small out and back and then went out away from transition, past a water stop and then up a hill and a stretch uphill to a loop through the park, and then back to that stretch and big downhill, past the water stop, then back along the path that went to transition and repeat with the short out and back.
First mile was strong. My watch was completely out of whack. It somehow lost like a quarter mile. But I was feeling good to start (like often happens) and keeping my pace in check. I passed my family two times in that first mile because they were in that short out and back. I loved getting to see them and knowing I'd be back to see them again. Heading out away from transition, things started to slow down. I came up on a big guy running close to the same pace and jokingly told him I was just going to draft off him for the whole run. We laughed together and kept running, seeing each other here and there throughout the course.
The best thing about a two-loop course is that I got to see my faster teammates running in to finish their race while I was going out. I also got to see teammates throughout my run, whether they were ahead of or behind me. The worst thing about a two-loop course is that you know you have to do it all again.
As I said, I was feeling good as I started. In my race planning chat with my coach, she mentioned I might want to consider walking through water stops. This is not a strategy I have used before (especially because I carry all my own Skratch hydration with me), but I was willing to give it a try. I walked through that first aid station and then picked right back up running. Somewhere around this point, I realized that I didn't have my little tube with my AltRed with me! It had fallen out of my vest pocket. But I did have my little tube with Imodium, which was much more important given my IBS.
It was about Mile 2 that suddenly things started getting slower. I kept fighting to stay in it and keep my body moving. Miles 3 and 4 were slower than the first two, but I was still moving forward. After walking through the water stop before the hill and then hitting the hill, it was mentally challenging to keep pushing, especially with people all around me walking. I made it up the hill, and then we had a long false flat. It's somewhere around here that I started adding in some more walking, which is not typical of me. I was just struggling both mentally and physically with this run. I never gave up, I kept moving, but my pace wasn't where I wanted it. I was working hard to stay positive, cheering for those around me whenever I had a chance and always thanking the volunteers and police. Mile 5 was slow, but I picked it back up for Mile 6. When I ran by the athlete finish area just before the transition area, I gave up some cheers to my Coeur teammates who were chilling out enjoying some food since they were done (ah to be fast or to be on a relay) - they were happy to see me and gave some cheers back. On the out and back, I was SO happy to see my family again twice. It really was the highlight of my race. I LOVED seeing them so many times. Zoe was proudly holding a sign, Emma was on Jonathan's shoulders at one point and never seemed quite sure what to make of me out there running, and Caleb ran up ahead with his "Hit here for a power up" Mario sign that I made sure to hit. It was hard leaving them and going back out again!
Miles 8-11 were kind of miserable. I was trying to run. I was going so slowly. The hill and especially the false flat following it really got me. There were fewer people on the course. I just kept going. As I hit the false flat to come back, I heard two guys behind me doing run-walk. The one guy was explaining to the other guy that he was doing 30 seconds run and 30 seconds walk. I realized that the guy joining him in his intervals was the guy from early in the race that I said I was going to draft off. I decided to join them. We'd run hard for 30 seconds, then I would power walk for 30 seconds. I would get ahead of the guys while walking, and then just as they'd catch up on the run we'd be walking again. As we got to the big downhill, the first guy asked if we were going to just run through the walk intervals, running all the way downhill. The other guy (who I learned was named Rodney) and I enthusiastically said yes. We ran hard and fast down the hill. Just after the bottom, it was a walk interval. We started walking and realized we were near the aid station. The guys decided to walk through it, but I decided to keep the intervals going and went on. I used my cadence to count and just kept going - 30-60 seconds running, no more than 30 seconds walking. I was now feeling good and making progress. In fact, that last mile and a half I was back to my pace at the beginning of the race! I was moving again!
I was feeling good and on a walk interval when I saw Scott and Lectie on a bench. Scott told me to stop walking - that I needed to be running for my photo and that I could just run to the end. I groaned, but I started running again. I was close. I kept going, kept pushing. I could feel the energy building up, I could hear the noise of the finish line. Just. Keep. Running.
As I approached the finishing stretch, I started to kick. This was it. Run hard and FINISH. I could hear my teammates and my family cheering for me, but like usual, I only had eyes on the finish and pushing myself as hard as I could.
I had done it. It was not the race I wanted, but I had once again completed 70.3 miles. This was my third time, counting my virtual 70.3. It was my second official race, only 7 months after my first. Even with my struggles on my run, I finished very strong, and I had almost the same run time as my first race.
Post-Race
Post-race was challenging. I went through the finisher area. I came out and had no idea where to find anyone. I couldn't find my family or my teammates. I walked down towards transition hoping to find someone, but no luck. I saw a guy with a BOCO ambassador hat on and asked to borrow a phone. I called and left Jonathan a message where I was. Then I was done. I just sat down where I was. It was hard to be alone so long after such a challenging day, but eventually, my family found me and I was surrounded by their love. No matter how challenging the day, they were SO proud of me. And it meant so much to have them there and to have gotten to see them at the end of my bike, 4 times on the run, and at the finish!
I did eventually see my coach, who said she had a difficult day and told Caleb who was wondering why we weren't talking about my race that we'd debrief later. I also got a big hug from Jess Smith, who I had never met in person before, and Scott came along and we talked about our races and he talked with Caleb about swimming, discussing the challenges of doing butterfly stroke during triathlon.
Then it was time for me to load up my bike and gear and head back to the lakehouse with my family. Was it the race I wanted? No. But I'm proud of the race. It was my second official 70.3. I finished strong and always kept moving forward. I had a lot to process from this race and my training. It was definitely a good test run to consider what to change before IMNC70.3.
