Ironman 70.3 St. George and Bare Bones Duathlon - Back to Back Weekends of Fun!

This one is a bit delayed, so I’m going to include the two races I completed over the past week.

First up: IM St. George!

I raced here two years ago, but unfortunately got a flat and suffered on the run having just come off a hamstring injury. I was hoping to better my 10th place finish, as I was feeling better prepared than in 2017. On the other hand, I really had no expectations going into this race. I had a really rough patch of training this spring, whether it be from a bit too much time off over the winter, or perhaps my expectations of myself were a little too high. I was beginning to feel like this was going to be one of my worst seasons as almost every session felt like a fail. I could pick maybe 2 sessions in a week that were ok, but I was completely dissatisfied with the rest. Mentally I was dest

MXLLS

IM St. George is a gruelling race and always attracts a top notch field, this year even more than in 2017. This race is both beautiful and tough! The ride is very well known for the beautiful (if you’re looking) climb up Snow Canyon, and the run is no joke. It’s pretty safe to say that the only flat part is the finishing chute/post finish line area. Running uphill is not a strength of mine, but here I was, ready to do what I love…. RACE!

The swim is in Sand Hollow Reservoir – Beautiful clear water, but fairly chilly. This was a big field, so I figured my chances of finding some feet were pretty good….. Just hopefully the right feet! Over the years I have placed myself all over the start line, and haven’t really found a “prime” spot… So I plunked myself in beside Paula…. I’m not sure why, but I thought maybe I could get a boost off the start line… for about 5 seconds before falling off into the chaos!? Either way, I stayed with a group and came out in 29 minutes. Not great compared to the field, but anything under 30min is great for me.

I was in a good headspace going out onto the bike course, and settled in pretty quickly. Keeping my watts in check, I plugged away, picking off the girls ahead of me one by one. I’m used to this game and just have to remind myself to be patient and it will pay off. A lot of the girls were riding very strong and it took me longer than expected to catch them. I came off the bike in the top 10, but knew I was quite far back from the leaders.

And now THE run…lol. I was quickly passed by 2 girls as I headed up the steady grind out of transition. I had pushed to the upper end of my watts and my legs were definitely feeling it. It took a little longer than I wanted to get into a groove, but I kept those girls within site. I knew I was still in the top 10, but I quickly realized my goals of top 5 were totally unrealistic. I was chasing girls who were all fast runners. Unless I was going to pull a 1:20ish (1:28 is my fastest), I wasn’t going to be catching anyone. I figured I would just redline it and hope I would not blow up. I controlled the things I could like my nutrition and effort, and hoped for the best! While I didn’t catch anyone, I still placed top 10, was 16 min faster than 2 years ago, and came out with a half Iron PB on one of the toughest courses I’ve raced on. Disappointed in my placing, yes…. But I am super happy knowing that my fitness is nowhere near as bad as I thought it was, and I raced as hard as I could. I would not have changed I thing…. And that’s a great feeling:)

Bare Bones Duathlon

This is a fun local race that I try to do every year. I love racing these smaller races because I can race for fun with no pressure and no numbers. I was happy to come out with the women’s win, third overall and second fastest bike split overall.

Now for some big training weeks leading up to Victoria 70.3 and IM Frankfurt!!!

Thank you once again to my family, friends, coach and sponsors: Ventum, Skechers Performance Canada, Swagman Racks, EnergyLab, BlueSeventy, Pioneer, Wattie Ink, Podium Imports, ISM saddles, The Bike Barn, Nuvista Chiropractic and Wellness, Zizu Optics, Zelious, Frontier Coffee Company, and JonnyOcoaching.