Boulder 70.3

Boulder 70.3 was a little different this year because Jeremy and I had a newbie with us.  Bruce decided a couple of months ago that he wanted the challenge of a 70.3, and we were thrilled.  We spent the days before trying to give him helpful tips and tricks, and keep him calm.  We went out to the stroke and stride at Boulder Reservoir on Thursday so that Bruce could see the venue, swim in the water, and practice mass starts.  It was a crazy night but we all walked away with something new we learned.  So when Saturday rolled around Bruce's nerves had a chance to settle and it wasn't quite as intimidating.  

Bike prep in the kitchen.  This is normal for Jeremy and I, but I don't know what Leesa thought about it!

Bike drop-off and checking out the course

Tattoos before bedtime

For Jeremy and I, we weren't really sure what our goals for this race were going to be.  I didn't know if I wanted to race for fun since I hit that slump this summer.  If I wanted to go for a Taupo World's spot.  Or if I experiment with it and be okay if everything fell apart.  Ultimately I decided to enjoy it and see how hard I could push on my bike.  It was strange, as I lined up at the start line I almost didn't have any butterflies at all.  

Here we go!

My swim felt calm and relaxed.  I didn't know what to think about that and tried to remind myself that I was racing.  I had pretty open water so I just enjoyed the swim.  I didn't think that it was a ROKA first out of the water swim, which was actually a little disappointing because I've taken that ROKA award every time I've raced this course.  I ran through transition then jumped on my bike.  I was so excited about the bike leg.  I wanted to PR on this course and I wanted to push hard.  My power meter has been acting up, so I didn't use any pretty numbers as I rode.  I just tried to ride hard.  I was flying through that course and was only passed by a couple of girls, which happens.  The ride was beautiful and the weather was perfect.  There was no funky wind and it wasn't too hot yet.  The real trick was staying ahead of Jeremy.  He started about 10 minutes after I did on the swim which meant that if we both rode as we were expecting to ride, we might finish the bike at the same time.  There is a small out and back along diagonal highway towards the end and as I turned around I saw that I still had about a 3 minute lead on him.  It's a good ride when I'm that close to Jeremy.  

My legs were definitely tired getting off the bike but I hoped that the run would go well.  Unfortunately it was hot and I have never had a good race in the heat.  I tried to start out steady and slow, but it still didn't work.  Each mile grew harder and harder.  Jeremy finally caught up with me around mile 6.  I asked him to stay with me until that last 5k when I knew he needed to take off.  I was having a small emotional break down.  We ran together for about 3 miles.  We've never run next to each other at a race before and it was really nice to have company.  Unfortunately Jeremy was struggling just as much as I was and slowed down around mile 10.  I was thinking about that podium and the fact that maybe, maybe I'd be able to hold on to it, so I didn't slow down to stay with him. 

I love seeing my little guys at the course cheering me on.

Leesa, Alysha and Brody were there at the race cheering the three of us on and watching all of the kids.  The course was different this year so they didn't move around in order to find us.  We saw them at the run turn around then right before we made our way to the finish.  

Our awesome cheering squad.

 It was an ugly run finish, and nowhere near where I needed to be to place how I wanted.  Jeremy finished just a minute behind me.  We never get to see each other at the finish line like that!  We hobbled to the lake and floated like dead things for awhile until we cooled off enough to make it back to camp.  McKenzie unceremoniously broke the news that I took sixth.  Ugh, again?  That's what I placed last year.  Last year I felt like it was because I had made a huge mistake and everything imploded because of that.  This year, it felt different.  It felt like I accomplished my mission of testing myself on the bike.  I also learned that I just need to be braver about embracing the pain of a hard run.  So while I was mostly ok with it, when I passed by the awards ceremony it was really hard to see all of those ladies up on the podium without me.  I've gotten rather used to being up and like that feeling...a lot.  

Post race compression stretches

Everyone stuck around to cheer for Bruce.  Every time we saw him he was smiling and had the best attitude.  I knew that unless something tragic happened, he had the mental strength to make it across that finish line.  There weren't that many split mats on course, so as we sat and waited for Bruce I couldn't help but grow more and more nervous.  Finally we saw that Mr. Happy jersey coming down the chute, walking, but moving.  He broke into a jog right at the end and finished with a smile on his face.  

Jeremy was there at the finish line and they let him put the medal on his dad. 

We were all pretty baked by this point, kids, spectators, athletes, and it was a bit of a chore to wrap up at the venue.  Bruce, Jeremy and I stuck around for roll down just in case.  The fourth place lady took my spot, and the 10th place guy took Jeremy's.  We weren't that far off.  I would love it if we could both go one day.  

Annette- swim 28:12, T1 2:38, bike 2:34:20, T2 1:41, run 2:02:13.  Final time 5:09:04

Jeremy- swim 35:41, T1 3:46, bike 2:24:49, T2 1:35, run 2:02:45. Final time 5:08:36

Bruce- swim 47:26, T1 6:00, bike 3:35:37, T2 5:29, run 3:17:17.  Final time 7:51:49