USAT Nationals Race Recap

[emilyj]

I'm killing time in the airport on my layover, so I thought I'd start writing up my race recap.

TL;DR Good swim, but not my best, very happy with my bike, wheels came off on the run.

Thursday: We flew into Omaha late Thursday night. I had already started screwing myself. I had a huge proposal due for work, and an ART session, and I stupidly managed to only eat breakfast. No big, I'll grab a snack while I finish packing. Except I forgot I had to go to the store. Oh, and look. I can't fit everything into just carry on bags. Fuck. So running late, I went to pick up H, realized I didn't have the parking pass for the airport, went back, couldn't find it. Said a few choice curse words, picked him up, and got to the airport and our gate as they were halfway through boarding the B group. We were on Southwest and we were the A group. No time for a snack! No big, I'll grab something in Denver! Except then we sat at the gate in Indy for a mechanical for some absurd amount of time. We got to Denver as they were calling final boarding for our flight so we sprinted and made it just as they shut the door. I ate dinner that night at 11:30pm. Oops.

Friday: Slept in, which I desperately needed. Missed the breakfast time for the cafe at the hotel so I grabbed two Cliff bars and water and headed to the venue to get my bike, get in a practice swim, do my shakeout run and ride and rack my bike. When I arrived at the venue, I learned we were going to walk. A lot. The place was SO spread out. I did get to swim, because bag check was only open for an hour or something ridiculous. I'll just say this - my shakeout run was 1.3 miles. I walked about 20,000 steps on Friday. Didn't eat lunch. Met up with @vtcupcake and her H for a delicious dinner, and then headed to bed at a reasonable hour.

Side note - the muscle spasms in my back and neck have been out of control this week. Nothing has been breaking them, so I got a portable tens unit to wear, which I wore a bunch on Thursday and Friday. I also took muscle relaxers before bed on Friday, which gave me the best night of sleep I've ever had before a race.

Saturday. Let's start with this:



And I'll follow it up with this:



The race was supposed to start at 7am. My swim wave wasn't supposed to go off until 8:55am. I tried to figure out what the best fueling strategy would be, knowing I'd basically eat breakfast and have a minimum 3 hour gap before I even started the race. I ate my oatmeal and banana like usual around 5:40, and brought a Cliff bar and two Gu. I had Tailwind for my bike - I figured one gu before the swim, and one gu out on the run. The cliff bar as a bonus. I also tried to figure out the absolute last minute I could leave so I didn't have to stand around for 3 hours.

Ha.

I was just about done setting my stuff up in transition, when the announced that they were delaying the race start because of the traffic. And people were delayed. Well boo fucking hoo for them. Shuttles started running at 4:30am. Transition opened at 4:30am. At first it was a 10 minute delay. It ended up being 30 minutes. People were PISSED. I was pissed. I was also super worried about my fuel. Because that oatmeal was going to be long gone by my race start. So much for that improved shuttle and traffic system.

We watched @vtcupcake take off, and saw her come out of the swim and go in to T1. She said to me "Be careful sighting on the way back in" and my H looked up and said "By the time you get in the water it will be high noon and the sun position will be totally different!" Ha. We went and sat on the bank of the lake and watched wave after wave of people take off. Then we sat through a 20 minute gap they had between waves because, as they said, they could only have so many bikes on the course and this would keep it more clear. Hmmm. Maybe this wasn't the best bike course option? I ate the cliff bar, gave my H my second Gu, and finally it was time for me to line up.

The swim: I was gun shy after the violence of Muncie, so I decided to hang back a couple of seconds and then start. I got myself fairly close to the outside of the group. The bouys on the way out and back were just guides - it didn't matter what side they were on, so I had a path mapped in my head. The gun went off, I waited, then pushed off, and it took me about 5 seconds to realize my mistake. I caught my group and had to fight through the mess anyway. Even so, it wasn't the violent mess Muncie was. I know I lost time there, and was mentally kicking myself for that dumbass decision. Once I got out in front, I settled in and found a really solid groove. I was passing people in my group fairly regularly, and then I caught the wave in front of me. I felt like I was cruising. The water was warmer than I would have liked (80.3, I think?), but whatever. Got to the end, got pulled out by volunteers, and then had one take me by the elbow and walk me up the stairs because "It's really slippery and you might fall through." Uhhhhh....

My swim time. I don't know what to make of it. It was really slow for me. But the course apparently measured long? And I don't know where the timing mat was. And I fucked up starting my Garmin, so I don't know my own time or distance. So I think it was still slow for me, but I don't know.

Got in to T1, threw on my shoes and helmet and headed out.

Bike: So in the "nothing new before race day" mantra, I didn't really follow that. After a really bad group ride, where about 5 guys on my ride told me my back cassette was doing me no favors, I took my bike to the shop and upgraded. I rode my bike with the new cassette once before I had to ship it. So I was riding and not 100% familiar with how the new gearing was all working.

The first part of the course I pretty much made my bitch. I loved it. Even the hill wasn't terrible. The new cassette makes such a giant difference for me, it's amazing. I averaged 19mph on the first half of the course. Every flat and downhill I pushed as hard as I could, and stayed over 20mph on those sections. I was psyched. I hit the turn around and was ready to kill the second half. Then I turned in to the wind and thought "Oh shit." The wind was no joke. I slowed down on the back half because of the wind. That's where not really knowing my new gearing bit me a little. I played around more than I should have a couple of times, trying to find where the right gear was. At a couple of points, the headwind was so strong I thought to myself "Am I moving?" I got through the tough parts and pushed the last part. I came in and I think I averaged about 18 for the whole course? I'm very happy with that.

I drank all my Tailwind by mile 20, and thought "Oh. This is probably not awesome."

T2 unremarkable. Threw my 2nd gu in my jersey pocket, chugged my remaining water and headed out.

The run: Remember above where it said "increased shade"? They said they got so many complaints on the run being in full sun last year they changed the course to make it better. Well. If last year's was too sunny and not shady, it must have been in the damn Sahara. There was NO shade on the run. Also, it was now about 11:30, thanks to the delayed start and my late swim wave time. So it was warm. And the road was mostly freshly paved blacktop. The course was all flat (yay!) out and back and you did two loops. There were two aid stations. First one, right before mile 1, I grabbed water and took an ice cold towel to put around my neck. Second one, same thing. Looped around at the turn point. My pace was a little slower than I would have liked, but not horrible. I figured I'd take my Gu at the aid station and be good. Got to the aid station - the one I had just come from - and reached for my Gu. Gone. It must have fallen out and I never noticed. Fuck. No fuel at the aid station except water and Gatorade. Double fuck. Grabbed water, grabbed Gatorade, went to change out my towel...and they were out. No more. Triple fuck. This was all before mile 2. Passed the mile 2 marker, got a little bit further and literally felt myself start to crash. Got to the first aid station - no cold towels left there - took a couple cups of Gatorade and figured I'd see my H at the turnaround and could grab that Gu from him I gave him hours ago. Never saw him. I knew I was screwed. I hit the turnaround, saw my time and just wanted to cry. I had had such good runs in the week leading up to this that I was just mad and devastated at how I was coming apart. I had told my coach all I really wanted out of the day was to have a strong run, and here I was, coming apart. I made it back to the aid station, stood there and drank about 10 cups of Gatorade to try and get some kind of calories in to me. Ran off. Saw the 4 mile marker and told myself "Two more miles. You can run two miles. That's less than 30 minutes. Go." Ran to the next aid station, and drank about 10 more cups of Gatorade. Hit the turnaround. 10 more cups of Gatorade. Run. 10
more at the aid station, then the final push to the end. taratru texted me and said my second half was better than my first half, so maybe the Gatorade did its job? I hope so, because I really hate Gatorade.

Crossed the finish line with a smile, got my medal, got to hug my H and @vtcupcake (who I believe said I was a mother fucking badass for being out in those conditions) and then went to the recovery zone, which was giant inflatable pools of ice baths. That was heaven. It cooled me down, I drank another Gatorade (seriously, if I never drink another one that will be fine with me) and then compared race notes with @vtcupcake, who is the original mother fucking badass.

Takeaways:
*Don't be an asshole and not eat for the two days leading up to a race
*Overpack fuel
*Get a better jersey that stuff doesn't fall out of
*Work on a better run strategy with my coach.

I was really unhappy with the delayed start. I thought that was pretty much BS. Everyone knew what time the race started. Plenty of us got there on time. I was also not thrilled with the venue. I walked 20k steps on Friday, and 28k on Saturday (including the 10k from the race). That's just insane. The run course was tough with no shade and not having towels, which was a shame because it was so nice and flat.

So that was my race. No PR for me yesterday. I will definitely be back. This will not be my last time competing at Nationals, that's for damn sure. Running up the finish line shoot with the rows of American flags and flowers? That was pretty damn amazing. I'm glad I had my sunglasses on so no one could see my tears.

The best part? Getting to race with @vtcupcake again.

[sadlebred]

You are badlass for racing in those conditions! It must have been ridiculously hot!! Congratulations!

[labbie]

The start delay would have totally ticked me off. Congrats on toughing it out and problem-solving to come through and finish strong!

[wambam]

Losing my fuel is seriously the thing of nightmares. I'm sorry that happened! But you are amazing and I know IMLou is YOUR race!!!

[wawa]

I had so much fun tracking you! You are a complete beast out there getting it done in midday heat.

And I'm sorry the race was full of lies. That swim exit sounds...interesting. maybe not so much for that venue USAT?

I'm curious about your cassette change. What did you have and what did you change to?

[mysticmuffin]

Let me just say that you are a complete badass for battling those conditions, especially while having a fuel (or lack there of) issue. I think I'm sweating over here from just your descriptions.

Nationals are somewhere else next year, aren't they? Sounds like this venue was wayyy less than ideal.

Congratulations! I can't wait to see what major ass whipping you have in store for IMLOO.

[cinco]

Thank you for sharing! The logistics sound frustrating and I share your loathing of gatoraid. You did real well in my eyes though! You and @vtcupcake are as tough as they come.

[cole]

Congrats, you are amazing. It's been awesome watching you kick ass this year, and I'm so excited for you to continue to do so in Louisville!

[CallingAllAngels]

You are amazing. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

[bostonmichelle]

Congratulations!! You are amazing for battling it out in those conditions! I can't wait to see you tear up IMLou and come back to Nationals again! I'd be really ticked about the delay and venue issues as well.

[emilyj]

Aug 14, 2017 7:08:23 GMT -5 wawa said:

I had so much fun tracking you! You are a complete beast out there getting it done in midday heat.

And I'm sorry the race was full of lies. That swim exit sounds...interesting. maybe not so much for that venue USAT?

I'm curious about your cassette change. What did you have and what did you change to?

I had an 11-25 on the back. We have nothing but hills where I live, and I have done nothing but struggle on them. I'd start a climb in my smallest gear and barely be up the hill before my cadence was down in the 30's and I was just mashing the shit out of my pedals and getting nowhere. I did a group ride that was about 4K of elevation gain a couple weeks ago, and was getting left in the dust on all the hills. Several of the guys looked at my gears and said they were doing me zero favors.

I upgraded to an 11-32 and put on a longer derailleur arm, and holy shit. It was a whole new world.

[taratru]

What is it with the running in full summer sun?!? There have to be more trees in this country. And the delays for late people?! Too bad, so sad. Same thing happened to me and I was starving when I got in the water.

But you still kicked ass and I'm super proud of you. I can't wait to see the growth between now and Louisville. 😊

[wambam]

What is a cassette?

[hurricanedrunk]

Congrats on making it through a tough course and delayed start! Thanks for sharing your race day experience, you are badass!

[irene adler]

I am so impressed. Congratulations on finishing such a tough race. You are one BAMF

[wineandcheese]

Badass! Congrats on finishing!

[shauni27]

You are so fucking awesome, dude. Beyond impressed and so inspired! Congrats on kicking ass!!

[wawa]

Aug 14, 2017 9:10:05 GMT -5 wambam said:

What is a cassette?

the stack of gears on the back wheel.

[moreace01]

Oh man! Sounds like such a rough day - it sucks so much when things don't go as planned. Still, you are totally badass in my book.

Really hope your back stops being a PITA soon.

[lilypad1126]

Race delays are THE WORST! Congrats on handling it so well and finishing strong!

[jreeds]

Congratulations!!

[G22]

So many congrats! It's hard when one thing doesn't go as planned, let alone several. You worked hard out there and have so much to be proud of!

[farfalla2011]

Sounds like you did amazing considering all the craziness you had thrown at you. Great job!!

[mrs.jacinthe]

Amazing and so so badass!! Nicely done and congrats!!!

[gt7301b]

Uggg, I can't imagine dealing with a delayed start on such a big race. I am pissed off for you!!

Congrats on staying strong out there and powering through.

[libbygrl109]

Congrats on a hard-fought race. You are truly amazing.

[thom]

Love your pic together!!! Again so sorry about the delays and organizational problems. You raced hard and get mega props from me. Congrats!!

[keweenawlove]

Congratulations! That race sounds absolutely brutal. It's so frustrating when even freaking nationals can't be organized.

[breezy8407]

Sounds brutal (again!) Love the pic.

Great job!

[kams]

Amazing! The conditions were so intense - congrats on gutting it out. You've inspired me to talk to my shop about my cassette. Hope recovery is going well. IMLou won't know what hit it.