This course being a regular ride of mine was definitely in my favor and helped reinforce that I should ride foreign courses at least once or twice if possible prior to a race for the strong psychological advantage it provides.
Heavy training without a taper the week of the race didn't seem to be a factor at all.
For those who weren;t there lets just say the wind was challenging. 25+ MPH gusts blew us all over the course. Anyway enough whining and on to the race report...
After the starting gun sounded I hit the first two run miles in under 14 mins and left transition about 30 seconds ahead of pace.
I knew the bike course would be tough as the wind was blowing SxSE meaning that the majority of the course would be headwind or crosswind with very little precious tail wind. I felt good on the bike and for the first time started to develop a bit of competitive demeanor. I didn't like being passed on the bike and tried to take back any positions I could. About 4 miles into the bike course I reached for my bottle of Heed to take in my first calories and fluid of the race - about that time someone passed close on the right and surprised me - there went my bottle - luckily for calories I had a gel in the back of my jersey. I came to the turnaround at just over 34 mins and was hoping for some water but no luck. I knew I would have to ride strong on the backside as the wind would be even more challenging on the return. Things were going well as I came within a mile of the bridge that marks 3 miles to go when I slipped my chain and had to dismount losing several places and momentum just prior to a windy section of the course. At this point it was tough and frustrating trying to get my momentum back but I kept repeating "the bike is where you win or lose this race" and kept going. By the time I approached the dismount line I was starting to feel really thirsty but cautioned myself about drinking too much as I have learned from other races I am definitely prone to stomach cramps if I drink more than a mouthful at a time.
I exited transition approx. 3 minutes off goal time, took one sip of water and began my run. I definitely could tell I had had a tough bike and while ;bricks in the last few weeks had improved my running of the bike, I had yet to run off the bike this tired. I just kept my head down and engaged in a little self talk to keep myself going. By the turnaround point I knew I couldn't make up the time I had lost on the bike and was running closer to 9:00 miles that the 7:30s I had hoped to run.
As usual in the last quarter mile I found my fire once the finish line was visible and sprinted across at 1:19:21. I finished with just enough "gas in the tank" to realize I could push harder and improve my times next race but not enough left to lessen today's achievement.
Overall a great race and the experience of running hard all week and even doing hour and a half brick workout the morning before race taught me that my training plan is working for me and building the endurance and recovery I need to go on to more challenging events.
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