I added this race to my schedule a bit late because I really wanted to do a race where I pushed myself on the bike to see how my run would respond. I have a tendency to under-bike but then have a great run. This was the perfect local race to see what happens when I focus on the bike. I am not gonna lie, I had high hopes of winning my AG, but I knew there was at least on really speedy woman showing up in my AG.

The morning started smoothly and I got to rack next to my twin sister from another mister (an mom), Sara. She and I are friends from online and we share the SAME birthday, exactly! It was very cool to get to race with her!

Swim was pretty good. Easy out, a bit chilly, and nice conditions. For once there was a good pack of about 8 of us that swam together for the whole swim. This swim is pretty tough because when you turn to come back you are swimming straight into the sun. It is completely blinding! I was out of the water around 10 for my wave and did my best to get on the bike quickly. Putting on socks is such a pain!

The goal for the bike was to push it. For once, I think I may have only been passed by one other female (and she was on a relay), and I passed one female in my AG. THIS IS AMAZING!!! I started the ride a bit easy but once I got around some people who were not riding very safely I was able to crank it up and not back down. I really made an effort to pass people much sooner than I usually do.

You can see by my time in power zones I was really putting out the effort. Here is a link to the full data for the bike. I am thrilled with this bike!

Off the bike and onto the run. I had Stuart at the run out counting women for me so I knew where I was at. Red Bull in hand I was off to see if I could chase down the current 4th place woman who was up on my by just over a minute.

I started off a bit hard but managed to hold the effort and keep pushing harder as the run went on. It is a great run because almost half of it is on some coastal trails. Highlight of the run was seeing a Channel Islands Fox cross the run course! I managed to catch the girl in front of me and hold her off for the rest of the run. You can tell by my HR data that I was giving it all I had.

Stuart met me at the finish (after snapping awesome pics all day for me) and we waited for the results.

So 3rd in my AG and 4th overall! I am 100% proud and happy with the race. Except for maybe getting my socks on faster in T1, I don’t think I could have done any better. I am super proud of the run. I am pretty sure that is my second fastest recorded 10K.

Thanks to Coeur Sports for the support and amazing Zele kit! As well as SBR sports for setting me up with a bunch of great Tri Swim samples to pass out before the race! And of course thanks to Stuart for cheering and being my race reporter all day. It is so much fun to execute a good race to show your supporters how much you appreciate what they do for you! It is the best way to say thank you!