World's Toughest Half RR

Well...another year has come and gone and my 4th World's Toughest Half is under my belt. This may well have been the toughest of the four because of the scorching hot temps on Sunday, but I also came into this one with a bit more preparation than usual, so I really enjoyed the day!

Here's a picture of our swim start and Brad interviewing me post-race (stolen from Brad's web site) since I'm devoid of race photos for the moment. I need to get better about bringing my camera with me!

So I headed to California for a whirlwind 48-hr trip to visit old friends from Davis, some family from Rocklin, and oh yeah...do a little event called the World's Toughest Half. As you may have already guessed, this race has become a tradition for me. I love the hard courses, and this one takes the cake! Plus, it's a great excuse to visit my old tri buds from California.

I wasn't quite sure how the day would go, as I just came off of St. Croix 70.3 two weeks prior and since then I had basically taken a rest week and then another taper week before race day. As I've always been a volume junkie, I wasn't sure if the whole rest thing was going to hurt me or help me. At check in the day before race day, I was greeted with a very cool number for the race...numero uno (since I was the top female finisher last year...no pro women to pummel me last year!). That is one race number I'm actually not going to toss in the trash : ). It was great to catch up with the awesome race director, Brad Kearns and his wife Tracy. They are really fantastic people!

So...on to the race (since this is supposed to be a race report!). I got some assistance from a guy I was standing next to before the start to zip up my wetsuit before getting in the water. I have a BlueSeventy and it zips from the top down. Apparently, this is a technically difficult suit to zip because this guy seemed to be having problems. When he finally hooked it together, I thought he broke it because of the force involved when the zipper finally zipped...but apparently it was just fine I didn't think more about it (till later, that is...). The swim came and went and I felt okay...definitely not awesome like I did 2 weeks earlier in St. Croix, but pretty good overall. The best part was, I found a pair of feet to draft off of for the 2nd half of the swim. That almost never happens to me, so I was pretty psyched. I popped out of the swim, excited to get onto my favorite leg (the bike)...grabbed the strap for my wetsuit...unzipped the back and then my zipper wouldn't unclasp at my neckline! I was freaked out for a good 45 seconds as I was desperate to get going on the bike, but as the minutes ticked by and it was looking like there was no hope to get the darn thing undone, I just stood there (while some guy kept trying to unclasp it for me) and contemplated whether I was going to be able to complete the race. I was trying to make a decision on whether I should just break the whole zipper by pulling on it really hard and then send it in for a zipper replacement as what seemed like over a hundred people ran by me, and then it magically released! Apparently, when the zipper was applied, the guy hooked it with the little plastic teeth misaligned by 1 tooth. I'm not sure how it finally came undone...but I'm just glad it did and I could get on with my race. No clue how many minutes passed as I patiently stood there watching people run by. It felt like 5 minutes, but you know how times like that feel like an eternity, so I'm guessing it was more like 3 or 4 minutes. I glanced at my watch as I approached my bike and it said some ridiculous time like 39 minutes and change. I think I swam 30 minutes last year, so it was a combo of an extra long course, and my zipper debacle that put me 9 minutes behind.

On to the bike leg...my favorite! Dang, this is a brutal course! It was a seemingly endless 7 mile climb into Auburn, followed by another 20+ miles of climbing to the half way point. I felt pretty good though and was reeling in a lot of the gals who passed me in transition. At mile 20ish, some girl rode by me rather quickly (that never happens to me, unless Karin Thurig is racing!), and it happened to be Anissa Seguin (the only pro woman who was competing). I passed her back a few minutes later, but then she passed me for good after that and ended up putting a good 4 or 5 minute lead into me by the end of the bike leg. She's quite an awesome cyclist...oh, and a pretty darn good runner to boot! The bike went well for me overall with the exception of this one brutal out and back section that occurs toward the end of the bike ride. It was quite hot and the uphill road combined with the headwind made for a miserable stretch of road for me. Once I turned around, I felt great though and the "LeMonde Walked Hill" felt like a cakewalk this year (unlike past years). The bike leg finally ended and the real challenge was ahead...the World's Toughest run course.

Getting started on the run, I actually felt fantastic (a new feeling for me on this course). The legs were great, so I was psyched! I pretty much cruised along focusing on hydrating well and staying as cool as possible and it payed off for me. I enjoyed the new run course...still brutally hard, but scenic and fun. After a long 5hr 45 minutes (my longest time ever on this course), I crossed the line, still feeling like I could have run a few more miles! Must be a result of my MarkAllenOnline training program. Much to my surprise, that put me in 2nd place overall for the women, and 1st amateur. Not sure why the finish time was so slow this year, but I have to attribute it to the long swim, my extra special time in transition with my wetsuit, and the brutally high temps that day. Average HR for the race was 151 (5 beats lower than my "A" race 2 weeks ago). It's funny because training at a HR of 151 is pretty much impossible for me, and I can race above 150 for nearly 6 hours!

Well...that's it for a while. I have a few bike races and a sprint tri (5430 Sprint) before my next big race, Buffalo Springs 70.3 on June 29th (my last chance for a Kona slot!). I'm feeling pretty motivated right now to do some damage in Lubbock and snag my slot to Kona!