Rev 3 Quassy Half

June 5, 2011; Middlebury, CT – Rev 3 Quassy

We arrived in Middlebury, CT for the Rev 3 Quassy Half on Friday afternoon for my second race of the season in as many weeks.  In the 2 weeks between Ironman Texas and Rev 3, I tried to focus on proper recovery.  However, without really knowing how my “racing legs” would respond, my expectations weren’t set on a finishing-time goal but rather to race as hard as I could and enjoy what I’d been told was a well organized and challenging race.  It was great to arrive two days early; it gave me the opportunity to get in a practice swim, drive the courses, and listen to the 5-person pro-panel Q&A on Saturday afternoon (although none of the pros gave away any good secrets).  During my practice swim, I remember hoping that the conditions I was experiencing were the worst they might be; except for the lack of saltwater, the lake could have easily been confused for an ocean with strong winds and white capped waves.  Following the swim, we took a drive to scope out the bike and run courses.  I’ve come to realize how much I appreciate being able to pre-drive the course.  Even when it totally psyches me out, I feel better knowing the general lay-out and having landmarks to look for. 

By race morning, the winds had died down but temperatures had dropped.  The air temperature was in the 50’s and racers arrived dressed in layers.  Warmer than the air, the water temperature was 69 degrees; just warm enough to make it a non-wetsuit race for the pros.  Although the water did not feel terribly cold initially, my limbs, and especially my feet, were cold by the time I finished swimming 1.2 miles.  But other than the cold, and the sun directly in our eyes for a portion of the swim, the lake was very nice for swimming.  I felt like the swim generally went well and I stayed just ahead of and just behind other women through the majority of the swim, which definitely helped with sighting and drafting.  I guess a lot of us had the same idea because after the race someone commented that the women started in a tangled bunch and then broke apart and stayed in smaller bunches throughout the swim. 

I bumbled a little in my transition struggling to get out of my speed suit and then my feet slipping off my shoes as I got onto my bike.  Maybe this was a sign of how cold and numb my feet really were from the swim.  Distance for the bike course: 56 miles.  The first half of the bike course had some nice rolling hills but I definitely think in general, we descended more in the first half because there was a lot of climbing in the second half.  Descending can sometimes be a lot of fun but with my teeth chattering and feet numb, I was actually looking forward to some of the climbs to try to generate body heat.  Not to be disappointed though…the climbing finally arrived sometime around mile 20 and by the time we finished biking, I felt like we had somehow climbed more than we had descended.  Christian wasn’t able to get out on the whole course but I was able to see him several times mid-course during all of the climbing; it was nice being able to look forward to seeing him!  With all of the climbing and descending, I tried to focus on using good form and technique so that I would not burn out my legs before I started running.  

T2 of less than 1 minute was quick and I was soon out on the 13.1 mile run course.  My legs were still feeling decent so I decided that attacking the run was the best strategy since I had no idea how long until my legs might start to rebel against racing.  Heading out onto the road, there were no other women in sight but I knew there was one behind me.  She and I had entered T2 together but I left before she did and I was hoping to keep it that way.  I used her as motivation to push hard and try to catch runners ahead of me.  I knew the first of several hard climbs started somewhere around mile 3 ½ so I kept a nice steady pace until then, even passing a few age group men along the way.  Once the hills started, I focused on keeping good form and controlled breathing and again managed to pass a couple men.  With the hills coming fast and furious and the sun warming the air up, I also focused on taking in proper fluids and a few calories to avoid a bonk.  Through the halfway point I was still feeling strong and tried to take advantage of flatter or downhill stretches to pick the pace back up.  But a hill just before mile 8 physically and mentally beat me down a little.  After reaching the top of that hill, I didn’t have anything extra to give to get my speed back up on the flatter section.  Fatigue had finally set in.  Unfortunately, a female pro that I had previously passed on the run was able to overtake me at this point.  While I kept her within my sight, I was not able to keep her pace and had to just settle into my own rhythm.  Those final miles were more of just a run than a race but I was okay with that; I knew I had pushed myself hard and wasn’t leaving anything out on the road that day.  I finished the race with my second-best half ironman run split, which certainly had me smiling.