2013 Morgan Hill Sprint - The failed race that wasn't

I decided to sign up for this race last fall. Thinking only of the distance, I had wanted to do a sprint as my first race of the season. However, this race was offered after Silicon Valley International Tri. So, a sprint would be my second race of the season.

The Morgan Hill Sprint is a 3/4 mile swim, 16 mile bike, and 5 mile run along parts of the same course as the Silicon Valley International Tri that I did in April. Several of my friends (Tania, Tricia, and Barbara) were doing this race as a relay. All three women are faster than I am so, I planned to use them as my rabbits. The main goal was to not let them get too much of a lead on me. I wanted to have made it to mile 1 before I met Barbara coming back on the run. This would be the mental carrot to help me dig deep.

I had everything packed and ready to go the night before. I ate my pre-race dinner early as planned. I went to bed early. The alarm went off at 4:30am and I woke with a mild migraine. At this point it was a slight headache and full on nausea. I wasn't sure breakfast was going to stay down. Well, I wanted to learn to suffer in my races. Ha! Be careful what you wish for.

The race site is a 25 minute drive through back roads but, I wanted to be there early to get parking and a good transition spot. So, Grumpy and I were on the road before by 5:30am. Good thing we did as every one had the same idea. As I set up, Grumpy found a beautiful spot to watch the sunrise.

Tiny buoy to the left is the start line

Mist rising from the water

After setting up, I met up with my friends and soon it was time for warm up. An easy jog and it was time to get in my wetsuit. They announced that the water was 69F. I was glad I had chosen my sleeveless wetsuit for this race. The water was algae and goose poop filled. Stacking up to be a perfect day all around.

I swam out to the starting line and waited for the count down to the horn with the rest of the women 40 and older. As with the Silicon Valley Tri, most people lined up to the right.

Start buoy to the far right and turn buoy the big yellow triangle

My wave this time was made up of women 40 and older which was a much bigger group than my wave in the Silicon Valley. This meant that I had more fast feet to try to hang on to. However, since this was a sprint, there was also a lot of less experienced athletes out there. I set my sights straight and my strokes were well balanced. The closer I got to the turn buoy, the more crowded the water became as the people that lined up to the far right merged over. I avoided being kicked and I "held" on to as many faster feet as I could. About half way through the swim, I thought I spotted my friend Tania blasting passed every one. She had started 4 minutes behind me and had already caught up and passed me. She was putting on a tremendous lead. The final turn buoy was crowded and no one gave an inch. Finally, my hand brushed the cement bottom and the moment of truth -- am I going to actually pop up?

Swim: 25:52  (goal time was 26:00 - not bad!)

I ran up the ramp with no wobbles. Out of my wetsuit, into my socks, shoes, and sunglasses. Put on the helmet and grab my bike. I'm outta here.

I battled that woman for the inside line around that last buoy -- whahahaha!

T1:  2:10 

Out on the bike, I downed my first gel and hoped it stayed down. I started out a bit harder than I should have and pulled back on the first hill. There were a group of 4 women and 1 man that I trailed up the hills and made up some ground on the first of the down hills. At about mile 5 there is a tremendous down hill into a sharp right turn. Once I made the right turn, I lost my water bottle. You can't leave ANYTHING on the course or you risk penalty (plus it's not cool). So, I stopped and got it. It took less than a minute. 

Getting on the bike

Back on the bike, I didn't think I could catch the group. It was at this point I realized, the thing about sprints is -- YOU RED LINE THE WHOLE TIME! That means you go until you think you can't go any more. I couldn't get my legs to red line. I'd forgotten how to ride fast! I thought about backing off and just relaxing through the rest of the race. I had a migraine for crying out loud! What am I doing out here? But, my headache wasn't that bad. My stomach was not complaining. Keep pushing. 

I caught up to two of the women before I hit the big steep uphill. I caught another who was walking up the steep hill. I definitely red lined that hill! As I zipped down the other side of the hill and rolled around the final turn, I caught sight of the man and several new people. I'm not holding the watts I'm supposed to but, keep pushing. I caught the man just as the road leveled out and I slipped out of my shoes to dismount. Dismount and into transition.

Bike: 1:00:28

Rack the bike. Off with the helmet and grab my bib, visor, and fuel bet, and I'm outta here.

T2: 1:32

At this point, I realized that my Garmin wasn't working. Coach has been trying to get me to learn to run blind, it's hasn't been easy. When push comes to shove... I reset the Garmin so it just told time and I tried to find a pace I could run the whole distance. 

I went into myself and ran. The sound of my breathing was like a metronome. I started to notice it was starting to get hard to breathe at mile 1 and saw I was already running sub 10:00 -- too early for THAT speed, back it off. I thought that I must have missed Barbara. I passed a few people and more people passed me. Some where close to mile 2, I saw Barbara coming back. I was pretty amazed that I was that far before I saw her. 

At this point, I stopped worrying about how fast I was going and just tried to keep the effort up. At the turn around, I was able to go slightly faster due to the down hill. The miles began to fly by and the time just ticked, ticked, ticked. Soon I was back at the parking area and I came up on a woman in my age group. It was time to pour it on. She picked it up too but, couldn't hold on. The downhill of the finish shoot took me and it was a fight to stay on my feet.

Physically can't go any faster here.

Run: 51:54 (goal was 50:00 still not bad)

Overall: 2:21:56 (goal set in December - 2:20)

I didn't ride as well as I am capable of riding. Looking back, I realize that I wasn't mentally prepared to red line the ride. I don't know if this was due to the mild migraine, if I've set my mind on long course riding, or both. But, I didn't quit and I kept pushing. I had splits close to my goal times. I feel great about my performance and am looking forward to the rest of the season. Bring it on!