It's better to write my run recap more than 24 hours after finishing. I'm definitely feeling my DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), which tells me that I really did leave it all out there on the run. I learned after the race that I'd gotten out of the water and T1 12th in my age group, and after passing nearly 200 people on the bike, had worked my way into 6th in my age group coming out of T2. The five people ahead of me, and the person right behind me, were all top level age group athletes, most of them being prior Kona qualifiers or USA Triathlon All-Americans. Fortunately, I didn't really know any of this out on the run course. I just knew one thing. My legs felt pretty good, but I had one gear and only one gear. Trying to push harder than that gear didn't feel good, and I knew that feeling would only get worse. So, I worked hard to find my rhythm and stay with it. I ran most of the first eight miles around 11 minute/mile pace. That meant that I was probably running at about 9:30-10:00 pace and walking the water stations and the short climbs. Around Mile 9, this wasn't feeling good, so I changed my plan. I switched to walking a little more, focusing primarily on my breathing. My legs felt ok, but my breathing didn't. Whenever I pushed a little too hard, I really couldn't do it. The last few miles, in particular, I began to feel lightheaded whenever I pushed a little too hard.
Also, around Mile 9, the run began to feel like a chore. That was probably the point at which I mentally switched over to the same mode that I used at the SnowDrop Ultra, which was definitely helpful. If I'd have tried to push too much at that point, the result would have been pretty bad. Instead, I maintained a pretty even pace to the end. Unfortunately, the mile markers at the end were way off, and the last 3 miles essentially became four. For someone who likes to pick up my effort over the last few miles, this was not good. Fortunately, I realized it and modified my effort, allowing myself to run the last quarter mile to the finish.
I started the run 6th in my age group and finished the race 7th. My goal had been to make the podium, and I missed that by 14 minutes. The two people ahead of me were top quality age group athletes, and to think that I was that close to them is an incredible accomplishment. For a change, the person finishing in 8th in my age group finished 42 minutes behind me! In a way, I feel like I've made it into the upper tier. Not the top tier, as I was nearly 2 hours behind the winner of my age group. Remarkable!
While this may not seem positive, I'm limping around and I'm definitely sore today. Years of racing tells me that means that I pushed my body close to it's limit yesterday, which is always my number one goal. Now it's time to focus on getting prepared for Kona.
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