The weather was amazing. Lake Erie was almost like glass, there wasn't too much wind, and the sun was in and out. Near the 50 mile mark on the bike, I rode on some wet roads, but throughout the whole day, it never rained on me.
I watched many of my Grunt Girls / CTC friends begin their day at 8:28 am. Ten minutes later I began my day with the women age 39 and under.
SWIM
The lake had some lovely MUCK at the beginning of the swim. After plowing through that, and fixing my goggles, and walking a bit, and fixing my goggles again, I slowly began my day. I had been nervous for a few weeks about Lake Erie being too wavy. Even though it wasn't, I was still being a bit cautious. It really wasn't until I was about 2/3 done with the swim, that I finally kicked it up and began swimming.
1.2 mile swim - 45:30
T1
Since the weather was cooperating, I skipped the arm-warmers. I cleaned some muck off my feet and legs, dried a bit, and tried to leave quickly.
Time - 4:03
BIKE
Because of road / bridge repairs not being completed, the bike course had some VERY last minute changes. The day before the race I was able to drive some of the new roads, but didn't even know about one change until it was too late to check it out. So, race day had some surprises. I must say, it seemed to have worked out in my favor. There were a few spots where local traffic made things a little tricky, but overall, it was a great day on the bike. I drank plenty gatorade, and ate some gels and a Hammer bar. A BIG plus, was being able to use my aero bars for the first time ever in a race! WOW! I'd say that made a big difference, too.
56 mile bike - 3:04:14 - 18.24 avg mph
T2
Just before entering T2, I realized I could beat my overall goal time as long as I ran the same pace as last year, or a bit faster. I knew a fast T2 would give me even some more cushion in there. I was excited to have TWO of my good GGR friends in transition at the same time. Seeing Matt and the cheering crowd got me pumped up, too. I decided to skip clean sock. After putting on my shoes, all I did was quickly grab my hat, garmin, and race number and took off.
Time - 1:54
RUN
Being so excited, I started off a bit too fast. My garmin didn't locate a satellite until I was at .2 miles, so my times are a little off, but I ran miles one through four around 10:12, 10:32, 10:48, 10:56. I then stayed around 11:08 to 11:50 per mile until I hit the mile 11 marker. With two miles to go, I realized I could get under 6 hrs and 20 min if I could finish in under 22 minutes. I knew I could do it, and picked up the pace. Having the PRO men and women pass me, seeing so many great friends alongside me, and truly enjoying the moment, I KNOW I smiled for all of those last 21 minutes.
13.1 mile run - 2:23:49 - 10:59 avg pace
Total FINISH TIME - 6:19:32.42
Next Up - Well, there might just be a FULL IRONMAN in my future.
