Gold Coast 1/2 IM

Yep... that's right. I raced a 1/2 IM today. It was my coach's brilliant scheme to make money. Ha. So, I had 3 days notice.

Yes, I have been training and am in relatively good shape, but 1/2 fitness is way different than ITU Olympic distance fitness.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect, so I kind of just went for it. It was a wetty swim, but I didn't have one, so I wore my Blue 70 long leg speedsuit. I won the swim, and the prime. Woohoo - race entry covered! I got on the bike and was leading my first 1/2 IM. Mind you, I still have 50 miles to ride. I tried to just settle into a rhythm, focused on my hydration and was going great until the "packs" started passing me, women in tow. I don't ever want to hear an IM athlete rag on the ITU about drafting because I was pretty much the only person on the course who wasn't drafting (that is until about 35 miles in when I realized if they were all doing it then I was going to do it too). I got off my bike about 1:40 down from 2nd place and started to pass people on the run. The 3 lap course was windy and full of out and backs. By the end of lap 2 I was in 3rd and within 50 seconds of 2nd place. The, I bonked. I full on hit the wall. I started to get delerious, was wobbling around and people watching were telling me to sit down. I grabbed the gel I had carried with me "just in case" and ate it and then hoped I could make it to the aid station. Eventually, I started to come right, but in that time all the girls I had passed caught me and I ended up finishing in 6th. Bummer.

Not too much of the race was really that enjoyable, to be honest. I'm sure had I been training for it and had I known more than 3 days out that I was going to race it then it may have ended a little differently. But, it was a learning experience and it was certainly a chance to test my character and will power.