Reach for the stars...

I set a really lofty goal for myself at Oceanside. I posted last week that I wanted to run a 1:45 run split. To put this into perspective, my open half marathon PR is 1:36 which I set 2 years ago. This year I've run 2 half marathons in 1:40-1:43. My goal for each open half is to sub-1:45. So to shoot for that same time at the end of a challenging 56 mile bike course... well it was a stretch. But sometimes, you need to aim for the stars. And sometime, hard work pays off in a big way.

So let me recap my Oceanside experience... Race morning could not have been any more low key. I got up at about 4:30 am. Took my time getting ready. At 5 am, my husband and I walked our bikes down to transition and got body marked. Since we were staying in a condo at the transition area, we were able to go back to our room and relax for a while. By 6 am, we were back in transition getting everything set up and wetsuits on. He was in the first (non-pro) swim wave, I was in the 17th. The waiting is the hardest part at the start of the race. You stand in line for 45 minutes watching everyone else come in and take off on their bikes.

Finally it was my turn. I lead my wave into the water and lined up front and center. When the gun went off, we took off. From the minute we started, there was carnage everywhere. Each swim wave had a different color swim cap, and by 100 meters in I was already passing caps who had started 3 minutes ahead of me. Yikes. The good news is that when you pass a slower swimmer, you get by them quickly, but it's the dodging and weaving around the bodies that really slows me down. I was feeling really strong in the water and with every person that I passed I told myself how strong I was. Every time I thought to myself 'you are a strong swimmer' it made me stronger and faster. With the current at my feet on the way back into the harbor, I pulled hard and was thrilled to look down at my watch running into T1 and see 31 minutes. A strong start to a perfect day.

The bike course at Oceanside is fantastic. The first 25 miles are fast and then hills start. The day was overcast and windy. I tried my best to stay within myself on the bike, knowing that I was going to be laying it on the line for the run. I enjoyed every second of the bike ride. And this girl has learned how to bike downhill! In previous years at Oceanside, I would pass people on the uphill, and they would fly by me on the downhill because I was a bit of a chicken. Having learned how to bike downhill I no longer had people passing me and it made the next uphill that much easier!

I loved the uphills, I loved the downhills. I tucked into my aerobars and let the wind roll off my back. My goal for the bike course is always sub-3 hours at Oceanside because of the challenging course profile. So I was happy to hop off my bike in 2 hours 56 minutes, 2 minutes faster than last year.

Now... putting my body to the test. I tore out of transition and decided to only look down at my Garmin on the mile splits. I would just push as hard as I could and see what happened. After dealing with bloating during several Ironman events, I have backed way off on my nutrition intake during races. On the bike I took in about 250 calories so coming out of T2, I was already feeling hungry. But I have learned to handle the delicate balance of enough sugar to keep me going hard, and stave off the bonk. I started right away with a gel and some Cytomax and then started taking in a glass of soda at each aid station chased with a sip of water. The cola has a nice balance of salt and sugar. This seemed to do enough to get the job done.

As each mile clicked by and my times hovered just below 8 minute per mile pace I began to get more and more excited. Believing that I really could hit my goal time. I thought about my friend a lot, and how much I wanted to smash this course for her. Last year she ran the fastest non-pro run split, and the 4th fastest run overall for women. Every time my legs hurt or I thought about stopping, I thought about her and how I am here today, racing, doing what I love and I wanted to honor her by giving it my absolute best.

The run course is a two loop out and back, so at the halfway point you find yourself back at the transition area which is a nice boost because there are so many spectators. I actually laid down my fastest mile for mile 7 because I was so uplifted by everyone cheering. I willed my legs to keep moving hard. At mile 9 my pace faltered. I was giving it all I had, but suddenly I was running 8:30 instead of 8 minute miles. I thought about giving up at that point. If I couldn't go 1:45 then it didn't really matter right? Wrong. I got back inside my head and told myself that I promised to go hard until I reached the finish line. And that's exactly what I did.

I crossed the finish line with a 1:46 run split. A half IM run PR by over 8 minutes. I crossed the line with my friend's initials in sign language on my hands which I held up over my head. My total time, 5:21. I took 11 minutes off my time from last year and missed my half IM PR by only 5 minutes. I am strong. I prepared. I was ready. And I did what I went there to do. I could not be more thrilled or proud of my run and my overall finish. I ended up 9th in my age group out of more than 100 women. I've never placed that high at a major event like this.

On the side: A friend of mine and I placed a bet months ago. We are racing 3 events together this year and we have a friendly little rivalry going on which keeps us both on our toes. I told him that at Oceanside I would beat him by 30 minutes. His swim wave started 22 minutes ahead of mine so he was running scared all day waiting for me to pass him. Since we saw each other 3 times on the run course we could yell at each other and high five as we passed. The terms of the bet require that the loser donate $30 to my fundraising efforts for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.

Well, as it turns out, he won the bet. I only beat him by 20 minutes. I swam 10 minutes faster and ran 5 minutes faster. But in the process he took about 25 minutes off his half IM PR. And he had an amazing run split of 1:51. I could not be more proud of him for pushing outside his comfort zone. Even if it was only to win the bet. Next up is Deuceman Half IM in June. He has a 15 minute spread to cover. Loser pays $15 to the cause. I better get back to training...