First realization of 2013, Ed is a way better blogger than I am. I will try to do a better job this year with posts, at the very least some race reports. 2013 was a big year for Team Crossman and a year beyond my expectations both professionally and in triathlon. I started the year with my sights set on my first 70.3, HITS Marble Falls. Training began a month after my first Olympic tri, so I was definitely pretty nervous about it.
Training for my first 70.3 was a lot of fun with an amazing group of Alamo 180 teammates including 7 others training for the same race. I learned A LOT of lessons from nutrition to recovery/injuries (we finally got a foam roller). I really should write a 70.3 for dummies because pretty much any mistake someone has made training for their first, I probably made it. There’s something to be said about taking time to learn and understand the sport before jumping to that distance, but I also wouldn’t change anything.
I had a pretty terrible race, slow swim, my derailleur locked up on my bike 7 miles in and I sat on the side of the road waiting for bike support for 20 min. 20 minutes where I almost thought about throwing in the towel but didn’t and went on to ride a really tough course, so being stuck in the small ring was NBD. The run was also tough and HOT. I was happy to have brought my fuel belt because they ran out of water on the course. By the run I realized I wasn’t breaking any records and I just took it easy, keeping HR below 180. All in it was still a fun experience, seeing my teammates and husband on the course and crossing that finish line FINALLY at 7:40.
Fast forward to end of July, the week Ed was racing Steelhead and I found out I got the promotion I had interviewed for in Atlanta. Fortunately I had procrastinated on registering for the fall 70.3 waiting for a discount code. I spent August flying back and forth to Atlanta, prepping for the move and not training very much at all. We still decided we wanted to finish the year with a 70.3 and Rev3 Venice in Mid November seemed to give enough time to prepare.
Training for Venice was a tough road being in a new job and new city, not sure when I’d have the time to train and sometimes where to go. Also missing my teammates terribly (turns out I’m not much for solo training). I was really fortunate to have a friend from work that’s a runner so at least my long runs were covered. Still I got a couple swims in and some quality bikes and felt at least ready to give it a better performance than Marble Falls.
Venice was a really pretty race and well managed. The swim was nice, although my swim endurance was pretty low. I had a terrific bike by my standards, breaking the 3 hour mark which I was so excited about. Then I fell apart around mile 3 on the run. I thought I had hydrated well on the bike and had been taking salt pills, but the heat proved to be too much for my stomach. There were several parts of the run that were very death march -like in the sun. Still despite one of my worst half marathon times ever, I shaved an hour off my first 70.3 and finished at 6:40. It was frustrating to lose so much time on the swim/run but I was proud of my bike split and confident that I still have a better 70.3 performance in me when I’m ready to train for one again.
All in the race count for 2013 was:
- Olympic – 4 (including breaking the 3 hour mark at Tri Waco in July)
- 70.3 – 2
- Century Ride – 1
- Half Marathon – 2
On the books for 2014, we will be racing the Miami Marathon this weekend (my first at this distance) and Ed will be racing his first IM in Louisville. We’ll also both be racing at Rev3 Age Group Championships in Knoxville (Ed qualified right away and I did later thanks to some rolling down – woohoo!). I’m also excited to report we have joined the Atlanta Tri Club and look forward to getting to know the team and the ATL tri community better this year. Looking forward to our second full year of triathlon training!!
The Three Amigos, the best ride buds a girl could ever ask for. This is from our last ride together before I moved to ATL.
