So it’s pouring rain right now and while normally I love running in the rain, I decided to stay dry and use the time to update you all on the first half of my season!!
Last Sunday I raced my 7th race of the 2014 season, the Memphis in May Triathlon (technically in Tunica, MS). The day before the race it was pouring rain (kind of like right now) but it managed to dry up a little by the end of the day, only to start pouring rain again the next morning during the Age Group race. It successfully turned the entire, swim entrance, swim exit, transition, finish area and every other grassy space into thick ankle deep mud. Bring on the cyclo-cross!
The swim takes place in a five foot deep man made lake behind the hotel, and with all the rain and chilly temperatures it dropped the temp low enough to make it a wetsuit legal swim for the Elite race (it has to be under 68 degrees Fahrenheit). Which meant I got to wear my ROKA Maverick Pro wetsuit for the first time! It. Was. AMAZING!! I PR’ed my swim time from last year by two minutes.
Then I got to squelch/run my way through transition to my bike and out onto the course. Thankfully right outside the transition exit gate there was a natural depression in the road that they filled with water so we could rinse off our feet. The worst part was trying to run from the bike-in to run-out with my bike, first I tried just lifting it, then I decided to try rolling it ahead of me, which after about two seconds I realized was not happening. So I swooped down to lift it onto my shoulder and thus I had my first taste of cyclo-cross. I may need to convince my coach to let me try a few races this fall…
Since I was ankle deep in mud I grabbed my run shoes and ran through the puddle again so I could rinse my feet before putting them on. Unfortunately this extra time reflected in my run time and not my transition time since we had already passed the timing gate.
The run was awesome! I had a lot of time to make up for on the bike, I PR’ed my time for an Olympic bike course but as the youngin’ of the group (3 years younger than the next gal) I still have a few years of being patient and grateful for the little accomplishments made on the bike. I managed to run down two girls by the last mile of the race and was so close to running a sub 40min 10k. The best part though is that I managed to PR my swim and bike time and still ran a faster 10k that the two previous Oly distance races I finished this year. So far this year I have been faster with an overall time every race and consistently run faster every race.
I am so happy with where I am right now compared to this time last year and I owe a lot of that success to my coach Wesley Johnson.
Since my ITU race extravaganza in Florida early March I also raced Lifetime South Beach Tri and St. Anthony’s Tri. Next up on the schedule is an awesome local sprint race in Salem, Utah that I will be able to race with my BAM fam and my Mom and Grandma are even volunteering at the aid stations!! I’m so happy to have such a loving and supportive group of people around me here. I’m looking forward to many more finish line crossings and hopefully PR’s this season.
Annnnd it’s still raining. Guess I’ll clean my room…
Next race: Salem Spring Tri: Salem, UT May 31, 2014 If you are in the Utah area and looking to try a Tri or just need a fix (because let’s be honest, Triathlons are addictive in the best possible way) come join us and make sure you say Hi!!
Zara Guinard 