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Rev3 Williamsburg was incredible. \u00a0Absolutely incredible. \u00a0Rev3 puts on wonderful races, and I cannot think of a single thing I would change about this day.<\/p>\nRev3 Williamsburg was incredible. \u00a0Absolutely incredible. \u00a0Rev3 puts on wonderful races, and I cannot think of a single thing I would change about this day.<\/p>\n
This was my second year for this Rev3 Williamsburg Olympic course. \u00a0(I did the race in 2015 as well, when it was taken over by Challenge, but the course was very different and really can’t be compared.) \u00a0So of course, I had goals. \u00a0Well, one goal. \u00a0Do better than last year.<\/p>\n
I knew this was going to be a challenge though. \u00a0Last year’s race was incredibly fast partly due to some extreme currents in the water, so I figured this year’s swim would be slower. \u00a0Also, just in general, it’s July. \u00a0If the day ended up being extremely hot, all bets were off. \u00a0But I still had goals. \u00a0Last year, I raced an amazing 3:33:33 (best race time ever), so my goal was something around or under 3:30.<\/p>\n
The great thing about this race is that it’s a big race with that big race feel, but because it’s only about 2.5 hours away, it also feels very local. \u00a0I knew so many people racing this weekend, people both from Mid-Maryland Tri Club and the Coeur team. \u00a0It’s always fun to see friendly faces on the course. \u00a0This year, they also added a sprint on Saturday (as well as a kids race) which made for extra cheering fun.<\/p>\n
Saturday morning, I got up bright and early (well, it wasn’t bright yet) and headed out to cheer on the sprint race. \u00a0We got there in time for the swim start, and watched the swimmers enter and then finish. \u00a0I’m definitely glad I got to watch. \u00a0Not only was it awesome to cheer on friends and strangers, but it also gave me a look into what I was facing the next day. \u00a0The water was clearly incredibly shallow, as people were able to stand fairly far out (of course, that’s not the best race plan, as you expend way too much energy walking through water). \u00a0Once the swimmers were close to the shore and stood up, it was clear the mud was ridiculous. \u00a0The water was also incredibly dirty, and by the time the last swimmers got out, it looked like they were swimming in chocolate milk. \u00a0Yum. \u00a0So we stayed and cheered and celebrated with our friends as they finished, and it was awesome.<\/p>\n
![\"Rev](\"http:\/\/elbowglitter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_4214-300x300.jpg\")
Race morning, I followed my normal plan of getting to the race site stupid early. \u00a0I like to get there as transition opens. \u00a0Do I need to be there that early? \u00a0Nope. \u00a0Setting up transition takes maybe 10 minutes if I’m not moving particularly fast. \u00a0But I like to be there and get mentally ready and also hang out with people. \u00a0When people register for this race and list their tri club affiliation, if enough people from the club register, they rack you together, so you are near people you know. \u00a0This is also nice because you can assume your teammates are friendly and won’t just throw their stuff down on your transition spot.<\/p>\n
Finally, it was time for race start. \u00a0We watched the 70.3 racers start, then it was our turn. \u00a0There were two men’s waves and two women’s waves. \u00a0I was in the first wave of women. \u00a0I walked into the water with a friend and sort of slipped as the concrete dropped off. \u00a0But since I was in the water, it wasn’t a big deal. \u00a0Also, the water was warm. Disgustingly warm. \u00a0The official temperature was over 85 degrees. \u00a0So gross. \u00a0It definitely felt like bath water. \u00a0And unfortunately, while there was a current, it was nothing like the previous year.<\/p>\n
The horn blew and I was off. \u00a0I was generally pleased with how this swim went. \u00a0Occasionally, I found myself in packs, but didn’t struggle too much to get around them. \u00a0I also did a really good job sighting and felt like I swam a pretty straight path. \u00a0The water was super warm though, and I definitely felt myself getting hot. \u00a0And though I did my best to try to not get the water in my mouth, I definitely could feel the grit between my teeth. \u00a0Disgusting. \u00a0Also, my foot was starting to sting. \u00a0That wasn’t a good sign.<\/p>\n
The water was so shallow that I understood why people were walking. \u00a0I wasn’t to the final turn and my hands were hitting the ground – and I don’t have long arms! \u00a0So I did my best to keep moving forward without walking and risking sinking in the mud, and finally, I was out. \u00a0And I was dirty. \u00a0My poor beautiful Coeur kit. \u00a0I hope it recovers.<\/p>\n
Swim: 29:41 (2016: 25:47)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
I glanced at my watch on the run in and knew that I was slower than last year, but thought I could pick up time on the bike. \u00a0Of course, now my foot hurt. \u00a0When I got to my bike, I paused and took a look at my foot. There was a chunk missing from the ball of my foot about a centimeter long. \u00a0That’s good. \u00a0But it wasn’t bleeding profus<\/p>\n
ely, and since I knew it couldn’t be stitched, I just rinsed it out with water from the bottle I always bring to transition for rinsing my feet, and put my socks on and hoped for the best.<\/p>\n
T1: 3:04 (2016: 3:03 – clearly I’m getting better, since this year I stopped to check my foot and wasn’t really slower.)<\/p>\n
On to the bike. \u00a0This is a fast and flat course. \u00a0I was trying to do race math and figure out just how fast I could get off the bike and how much time I could leave myself for the run. \u00a0I’m not great at math on a good day, so trying to do race math while biking… well, it keeps me occupied. \u00a0This course is a bit long – 27.2 miles on the bike. \u00a0I hadn’t actually looked at my splits from last year, since I knew the swim wouldn’t be comparable, so I didn’t have a set goal, but figured something under 1:40 would be good. \u00a0My foot definitely hurt when I first started pedaling, but it sort of settled into a low ache, and I could mostly ignore it.<\/p>\n
I do most of my training on hills, so I’m not really sure what a good flat course pace would be for me, so I just pushed. \u00a0I was aiming for around 17mph or more. \u00a0My plan was really to kill myself on the bike because I’m not a great runner, so this is where I can find the most improvement.<\/p>\n
The course itself was awesome. \u00a0Some of the roads were smoother than others, which makes for an interesting ride. \u00a0For the most part, the other racers were friendly – most people calling out as they passed and encouraging each other, calling out friendly words, etc. \u00a0This wasn’t a closed course (bike courses rarely are), and for the most part, cars were friendly, though there were definitely a few buzzing racers. \u00a0I found out later that one cyclist even got hit, though I heard he or she was going to be okay.<\/p>\n
I have my watch set to alert me at 5 mile intervals, and I kept ticking off the miles ahead of my goal pace, so I started to really think a PR was possible. \u00a0I wanted to leave myself at least 1:20 on the run if not 1:30.<\/p>\n
One thing I noticed on the bike was that my heart rate was pretty steady and I wasn’t pushing into too high of a zone. \u00a0This tells me that I have room for improvement in my legs – and this is an awesome thing to discover. \u00a0I know that when it comes to running, I might have a little bit of improvement left, but I’m near that sweet spot where my HR and my pace are pretty maxed, considering my HR issues. \u00a0But on the bike, there’s room for so much more.<\/p>\n
Bike: 1:34:16, 17.31mph (2016: 1:37:59, so I didn’t pick up as much time as I wanted, but still pretty darn good.)<\/p>\n
In to T2 to check out my foot. \u00a0It wasn’t too painful, and I hoped my sock wasn’t just completely bloody. \u00a0Shoes off and my sock just had a little bit of blood showing. \u00a0Of course, it’s important to note that I was wearing hot pink socks, so as I realized later, it might not show much at all. \u00a0I didn’t take off my sock to check out my awesome wound though and just kept going.<\/p>\n
T2: 1:52 (2016: 3:41. \u00a0Clearly I got lost or something)<\/p>\n
Time to run! \u00a0My first steps while running were not awesome. \u00a0The wound on my foot had been in my nice flat bike shoes and not forced to bend at all. \u00a0Now, it hand to bend with every step. \u00a0It didn’t feel great, but I hoped it would fade.<\/p>\n
My goal was just to hold a sub-13 pace and try to move as fast as I could while the day was still cool. \u00a0My first mile was comfortably 12:43, so I hoped things would hold. \u00a0This course is an out and back on a paved trail, and I love that sort of course when I know people racing because it’s awesome to get to see my friends and also to cheer for strangers. \u00a0I started leapfrogging with a couple of people and it was fun to chat with people.<\/p>\n
I managed to keep my heart rate down while still managing to really power walk the walk intervals. \u00a0I think that’s one huge reason my pace has improved so much – I’m really pushing my walk intervals. \u00a0I also kept dumping water on me and packing my top with ice. \u00a0It wasn’t terribly hot, but that sun does beat down on you.<\/p>\n
I hit the halfway point and knew that things were looking great for a PR. \u00a0As I ticked off the miles, I mentally calculated how much time I had left, and at one point, I had around a mile left and 20 minutes to do it in, and that was a great feeling.<\/p>\n
![\"Rev3](\"http:\/\/elbowglitter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_4218-e1499717264644-225x300.jpg\")