There was little Viva Las Vegas action for me over the weekend.
I got to the start line at the 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas ready to roar. I really enjoy the course and it suits my strengths (key word = strength). It is hot, hilly, challenging, and can be windy.
The highlight of my race was a great swim. I exited with a lot of the main contenders: Rinny, Mel (defending World Champ), Heather Jackson, Angela. I gave myself an inside cheer and made my way through transition to my bike. This was a great position to be in.
Unfortunately, my race quickly ended 6 miles later with a flat tire. I opted out of carrying any repair stuff with me for the event. It was a risk I took that did not play out my favor. I waited on the side of the road for the neutral mechanical support to come and by the time they did I was 10 minutes behind the last place professional woman. At that point I made the professional decision to call it a day and get back to my Kona prep ASAP. I wrestled with the tough decision, but in the end I have no regrets and think it was the right call.
I turned my day around by busting down to town to watch the run portion of the event. I am a big fan of the sport, so spectating turned out to be a highlight as well. I yelled, cheered, jumped, ran up the hills, lost my voice and high-five’d as many people as I could. It was an incredibly tough day on a tough course - so congrats to all finishers!
The day after the race was the toughest to handle: not-finishing and being able to display my current fitness. I would have loved to mix it up with the top 70.3 ladies in our sport. A big congrats to Leanda for her win: she looked smooth and in-control all day long. Kelly ran her way up (as always) and will be one to watch in Kona. Heather had a great swim and gritted her teeth for a gutsy 3rd place finish.
A big thanks to my parents, who traveled to the race and are happy if I finish 3rd (last year) or DNF. I also want to thank all my sponsors and supporters, many of which traveled to Vegas.
My focus is now onto Kona, where I look forward to getting after it.
Thanks for checking in, more soon.
LNC