Florida 70.3

I had barely gotten back from Texas when before I knew it, it was time to race again. Off to Disney for Florida 70.3. My husband and I headed down to Orlando on Thursday, which is day earlier than I usually arrive, but my family was coming to watch and they had all arrived on Wednesday. I loved having the extra day though and it definitely made the lead up to race day much more relaxing. My family had rented a house near the race site and it was great to have a lot of room to spread out (and the pool in the backyard didn’t hurt either). Since we weren’t able to swim in the lake prior to race day and since I had the extra time, I decided to the National Training Center in Clermont and check out the facility. The pool was beautiful - a 50m outdoor pool. After my swim, I headed right over to bike check-in since my bike had not shifting very well on my ride earlier and I definitely wanted to get it fixed before race day. I left my bike with mechanics and headed over to the pro meeting. When I came back to get my bike the mechanics were still buried in work and told me it would be hours before they even got to my bike. I started to have a mini break-down since it was getting late and I still had lots to do. Thanks to my husband who took control of the situation and the rest of family for figuring out our dinner plans and coming to pick me up I managed to settle down a bit. Obviously I don’t handle stress before my race very well! My bike problem ended up being much worse than I had anticipated but fortunately the mechanics were able to get it in working order and I headed off to dinner starving. Our wave start went off at 6:23AM and it was practically still dark! After missing the pack at Texas and having to swim the whole 1.2miles by myself, I was determined to have a good swim here. I lined up on the beach, put myself right up front and sprinted into the water when the cannon sounded. I managed to find some feet and although it was quite a battle to stay on those feet I managed to stay with the group for the whole swim (which made it go my SO much faster!). I usually don’t get hot while swimming but it didn’t’ take long for me to begin overheating. I knew then it was going to be a long hot day. The run up to transition was long and I managed to get in and out of transition ahead of the girls I had been swimming with. My plan on the bike was to relax and settle in the first few miles and I think I managed to do a pretty good job despite a couple of other women and I trading positions throughout most of the bike. It’s hard to ride your own race when you are when there are other girls close by although it definitely made the ride go by quickly and I was super happy with another bike PR. The hardest part of the bike was just getting in enough fluids and calories. The heat and humidity were making for pretty steamy conditions. Off on the run I knew it was going to be a long 13miles. My legs were not feeling as peppy as I would have liked and the trail on the grass path through the middle of a field did not help me feel any better. At the end of the first lap I was told I was in 4th place. Yikes! I tried my hardest to keep my position but with the amount I was hurting and some speedy women behind me didn’t help. The result was me getting caught and I managed to only hang on for 8th. A little disappointing but I still finished with an overall PR and a step in the right direction. I spent the rest of the day soaking in the pool at our house and trying to replace all those fluids I lost. It was an awesome way to end a hard day. Thanks to Orbea for my super fast bike, for GU in getting me through this super hot and humid race day and to Jake for all the great cheering (and the above picture!)