I was ready. I wasn’t nervous. I wasn’t worried (other than getting a flat tire).
It was a lonely, solo adventure to Madison as Alex was participating in the MS150 for Team Optum. He encouraged me to find someone to go with me but I didn’t want to inconvenience anyone with a two day trip to Madison. I spent a lowkey Friday night reading (going over pages in Roar once again) by the pool and watching Dead to Me over cooking a race prep meal at home. Roasted sweet potato, carrots, peppers and salmon. The nice thing about a local(ish) race is eating at home (and sleeping in your own bed).
Saturday, The Day Before!
I slept in, ate overnight oats + plain yogurt for breakfast, and leisurely got ready for the four hour drive to Madison. I downloaded a few Rich Roll podcasts, ate a few snacks and lunch along the way, and the drive was easy. I drove straight to registration at Olin Park in time for the 2pm Athlete briefing and relaxed in the NormaTec boots before heading to my hotel for the evening. Earlier in the week I’d googled farm-to-table restaurants and found a few but decided I’d visit them with others on a return trip and I’d rather bring a meal and save the money.
· Breakfast: overnight oats // plain yogurt with banana
· AM Snacks: Larabar //fresh blueberries //dried mango
· Lunch: Roasted veggies, white rice, salmon
· Dinner: Roasted veggies, white rice, salmon
· PM Snacks: Larabar // 2 squares of 85% chocolate
· Drinks: water // OSMO hyperhydrate drink
· No exercise other than light walking around event site
· Sleep: Lights out around 8:30 – sleeping around 9pm (woke at 11pm and 2am)
Sunday, Race Day!
Alarm was set for 5:00am with a goal of leaving my hotel by 5:20-5:30am. The “fun” part of being somewhere new is the surprise you find – in my case it was the mini fridge was actually the mini freezer and my Picky Bar (Overnight) Oatmeal was frozen :/ I put some hot water in the ice bucket and warmed my oatmeal…and ate in the car on the drive over.
The one small bite of worry I had was over how long the line would be to pay & park at Allianz Center and take the shuttle to Olin Park. And the line was long!
Swim // 38:22 // 22nd AG
It was a little hectic lining up for the swim start as we were all trying to file in along a narrow bike path. I wove my way towards the front and hit the water at 7:14.The swim was uneventful as I kept a moderate pace throughout and really wished I could breathe bi-laterally as all of the buoys were on my weak side (goal for 2020). I came out of water under 40 minutes and headed for T1.
Bike // 3:02:41 // 21st AG
With the hilly course and not wanting to blow up as I did last year at Boulder 70.3, I took a notch off the bike pace and tried to save some for the run. I didn’t love the bike course; several bad roads and narley turns.
Run // 2:04:51 // 32nd AG
I was excited to start my run without leg cramps this time! I started quickly and worked hard to hold a 9:16 average throughout the race. I wanted to break 6 hours and knew I was pace so I kept that in mind as I ran through the final park and crossed the finish line in 5:53:48!
Takeaways
- I can break 6! This is a HUGE hurdle to overcome after trying to for 2 years! I’m ready to break 5:30 in the year(s) to come!
- I need to learn how to breathe bi-laterally while swimming.
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