It's been almost 2 years since I last jumped into open water, and it had been about 18 months since I had knee surgery. So to say I was rusty would have to be an understatement. In addition to the layoff from racing, I was also dealing with a new knee injury which had severely curtailed my running. My training strategy therefore was to maximize my swim and bike training and do just enough running to be sure I could complete the distance. I set some modest goals for myself and showed up in Williamsburg the day before the race, fit but apprehensive.
Goals:
I set some peformance goals for myself based on my training and to keep myself accountable. Here were my pre race goals :
Swim split : 19 minutes
Bike split : 38 minutes
Run split : 27 minutes
I didn't have any goals for transition since I hadn't seen the course and I had no idea the distance from swim exit to the transition area. I just figured I'd wing it.
The swim and run goals were modest, during covid it was hard to find an open pool, and as I mentioned my knees had curtailed my run training. My bike was a totally different story however. I had practically lived on my bike, both on the trainier and outdoors, so bike fitness was not an issue. I was really hoping to have a solid bike split.
How the race unfolded:
I awoke race morning to drizzle and humidity, not exactly ideal conditions, but the rain had stopped by the time the race started, so I was not worried.
The water temperature was 81 degrees so this was a no wetsuit affair. I wasn't really concerned since I train without one and would have been too warm in one with the water temperature that high anyway. The swim start was from a small dock where you had to sit down and drop into the water. The race director had informed us that to the right of the bouys the current was strongest, so as soon as I got in the water I headed straight for it. I had a bit of swim anxiety after about 200 yards, most likely due to the fact that I started swimming too fast. I had to talk myself down while continuing to sight, which was challenging as the bouys did not appear to be well placed. After about 10 minutes I settled in and got on with it. Swimming in open water always seems like an eternity to me, perhaps because there is no visual component to distract you from your thoughts. Its just breath, breath, breath, check if you are headed in the right direction, breath some more, repeat. I was overjoyed when I saw the swim exit and picked up the pace to finish in 16:49. Not a stellar time but much better than my goal so I was happy.
(Grade : A)
It was a LONNNGGG run from the swim exit to transition and running on rocks in bare feet did not help. Note to self, next year, bring some old sneakers to leave by the swim exit.
I got into and out of transition reasonable fast once I got there and was out on the bike. My bike goals was reasonable based on my training, but secretly I thought I could go faster. I had a had taped down quite a bit and in the end this may have left me a tad short of condition. So while my bike split of 38:33 was pretty close to what I predicted, my power numbers from the ride were a good bit short of what I know I am capable of. I willl have to taper a little less for my next sprint race. I felt good on the bike and followed my race plan by not starting out too fast (for a change) and staying aero for almost the entire ride. I did notice some tightness in my left hip with a few minutes left on the bike, so hip stretches will be added to pre race ritual.
(Grade: B+)
I had a quick bike to run transition and was soon out on the run course. I was really unsure of how I would run, since I had been limited to, at MOST, 2 runs per week. A lot of weeks I had run only once and usually for short distances at a relatively easy pace. This run was more mental than physical, I was paying close attention to how I felt and determined to run a negative split by easing into the pace to starting and picking it up as I got closer to the finish. I knew the only real obstacle for the run, other than my lack of training, would be the bridge. Right out of transition, is the steepest hardest part of the run, so I made sure to just keep calm, maintain my pace and just get over it, knowing once that was over the hardest part was behind me. My run splits were exactly what I wanted Mile 1 : 9:00, Mile 2 : 8:59,
Mile 3 : 8:48. Now these times are nowhere near what I am capable running when I have been training consistently, but given all the injury issues. I will take it! Final run split 27:49
(Grade: A)
Nutrition:
I typically don't eat before a sprint. I rely on a good dinner the night before and my race nutrition to get me through. During the pandemic I tried out a few different brands of race nutrtion and finally settled on Maurten. This is a relatively new product and I am extremely happy with it! Due to its formulation you can get up to 80 grams of carbs in one water bottle. I used this formulation on long rides, with no stomach upset and no loss of energy. It is also available in 100 calorie / 25 grams of carbs gels. Their products are mostly tasteless (the 80 grams drink mix is slightly sweet), the gels are the consistency of Jello and very easy to digest. Starting 90 prior to the race I downed a bottle of the 80 grams carb solutions and felt strong for the duration of the race (I did supplement about an hour into the race just to keep my levels up). I highly recommend this product, although I should note compared to other products it is expensive.
Everything else:
Shout out to my friend and amazing leader Col. Von Spencer for making this one of the most entertaining events I have ever been to! Her FastChix nation made the weekend a huge success! They even scared the heck out of me when I came into transtion from the bike course! I think their cheering was the reason I managed to snag 3rd place on the podium. I'm looking forward to returning next year and moving up a few places on the podium!
