Cozumel was everything I had wanted and more. One word to describe my training leading up to the event, TOUGH! For more than 6 weeks, every long bike ride, every long run, I was attacking all of nature’s elements (rain, hail, wind, and snow) and sometimes all four in one day. This was a very humbling experience as the wind on the bike was so much that 15kph was a huge effort. But, I’m sure it was the heavy winds and hilly terrain that I was tackling here in Nova Scotia that made the bike course feel easy and the wind in Cozumel non-existent (some might say otherwise about the wind on south side). I think I can also accredit my performance on the bike to the bike itself. In September, I finally broke down and bought a TT bike with 404 race wheels, prior to that I had been racing on a road bike. Man what a difference that makes!
Now the day of the race is bit of a blur for me, but I remember some key moments. Not having a swimming background, I positioned myself in the middle of the pack. I came out of the water feeling fresh. All things considered I was satisfied with my swim time (1:04) even though I knew I would have huge time to make up.
I raced out of transition as quick as possible and was relieved by how fresh my legs felt when I started out on the bike. I maintained the same pace throughout the three laps. The course was a bit frustrating, especially once I hit the second and third lap. There were large groups of cyclists mashed together. I tried to fight through the crowds. My thought was either I pull off; losing both time and speed, or I could hammer through and continue at my pace. So I hammered through…. About 20km into the 2nd lap, I was carded (for my first time). This was aggravating as I following passing protocol and making my way to the front of the large pack and beyond. I also felt a bit of gender discrimination was present in the official’s call. Out of over 30 people, myself and another female age-group winner, as well as 6 other men were penalized. After this experience, I was more than cautious riding anything that my cause any controversy. On the 3rd lap, I was still feeling pretty strong. I had made my way up to the front of my age-group. There were two other athletes in the near. At this point I let back on my speed to bring my heart rate down so that I could save my energies for the run (thinking at the point that I had it in me for an amazing run).
Off the bike, I was 3rd female. I transitioned quickly and made my way off on the run segment. Shortly thereafter, I knew that I was not going to be able to pull off my goal of 3:25-3:30… I was overheating. While the heat did not bother me so much on the bike, the afternoon sun and humidity killed me on the run. I bounced back and forth with the 3rd place woman from my category for 1st place during the first and second lap. Each lap I found myself stopping to find sunscreen, or to pull something out of my needs bag… losing time. On the last lap, I had some GI problems and had to use the washroom (I believe it was at this point that I was passed by the 1st place amateur) because I never saw her go by…she was definitely speedy on the run!! I finished with a run split of 3:43… 13 minutes more than anticipated.
All in all, I was super pleased with the day. I exceeded my expectations on the bike, racing a 5:12 (fastest female amateur split) and although I ran slower than anticipated my overall race time was 3 minutes faster than my goal time. My finishing time was 10:08. I was second amateur female, and second in my age group… What a great feeling!
