Pan American 70.3 Pro Championships, 4th place
Overall, this was a very solid race for me. While I was only 17 seconds from second place, I can walk away knowing all the hard work I put in over the winter has paid off and that I am set to have a great year in 2016.
The swim has always been my weakness. So I was quite happy when I came out of the water with Linsey Corbin, as the last time I raced her over a year ago at Timberman she out swam me by over 2 minutes! (29 vs 27min).
I actually passed Linsey in T1, but then she re-passed me right away on the bike. In retrospect, I think I should've tried to have gone with her when she passed me, but I was putting out 230 watts and she was not coming back to me. At that point I made the decision to just focus on my own metrics and race smart.
I ended up only averaging 202 watts, which was a bit lower than the plan of 210 watts. My HR was just so high from the heat and humidity, that I wasn't able to sustain the power my workouts had indicated were achievable. In spite of the lower watts, I held my own on the bike and only lost about a minute to the tops girls. I came off the bike in 8th place and knew I had work to do on the run.
On the run I started off feeling pretty good, running my first two miles in under 6:10 pace. I quickly passed Dede, and then Linsey and could see more girls not that far ahead. However, around mile 3 my HR really spiked from the heat and humidity. As a result, I slowed my pace slightly and really began focusing on removing heat from my body at aid stations.
I eventually was able to real in 5th, 4th, and moved into third place....However, Lisa Roberts came flying passed me and 15km. I tried to go with her for about a mile, but that was all I could handle. Lisa would go on to finish second 17 seconds ahead of me, and remained in 4th just 10 seconds down from third. On to the next!
