Dancin with the Devil.

HEY HEY! So this past weekend, I ran my first half ironman since Clearwater.....it was Devilman in NJ. I did this race mainly as a measure of my current fitness. My important races are Eagleman and Lake Placid. The race was tough....like really tough for me. They dont call it DEVILman for nothing. I never really felt like I could get in my groove. I never felt fluid or smooth. I felt flat. In fact I dont think I ever really felt good on the bike--my hip flexors and my arse and the rest of the one million muscle groups ached right off the bat. The winds were hellacial. They were relentless and never let up. It was great training-but certainly played with my head. Furthermore--this race was the poorest run event i think ive ever done. There was 1 bottle drop on the run...and if you missed it you were screwed!!!! You hit it 2x--mile 20 and 40. I just dont think that was fair. The run was the longest half ever!!! Probably because of the lack of mile markers...they were totally sporatic-mile 2 marked...mile 6...mile 8...very frustrating as you couldn't click off your splits. The aid stations were also pretty poor--only gel at a few and then just water and gatorade--No frills is one thing-but it was very hot out there and this was bad. I prepared to be able to hit an aid station at every mile and have a gel. Therefore--my lack of calories hurt me. Heres a little recap-

swim--well this has always been a real struggle. I have spent a lot of time in the endless pool and working with my coach on stroke imporovement. I felt pretty good in the water...other than the fact that it was like swimming in an oil tank. Gross is an understatement. I came out and clicked my watch--just over 31 min!!!!!!!!!!! wow i was pumped. My time on the books is 33 but thats because we had to run across a field before crossing the timing mat. As it turns out--i dont really believe that i swam that fast. The swim times for everyone were really fast--so either the course was short....or there were a lot of really great swimmers. Id like to think the latter is true.

t1--apparently i was blowdrying my hair and enjoying a mani/pedi. the longest t1 ever. im usually pretty quick....dont know what i was doing

bike--just sucked. achy. flat. WINDY. miserable. i wanted out of that saddle. i kept thinking i must have flat tires or something...i just couldn't get up to speed!! going out for the second loop i became a bit more focused on the task at hand--i passed a girl that has beaten me numerous times before which helped me keep my eye on the prize...as it turns out-i had the second fastest bike split (only a few seconds from 1st). ...so i can't be pissed at the time especially with the air force winds. clocked 2:31 but then again had to run a ways to the timing mat--so 2:33--still felt terrible and i know i can rip a MUCH faster split.

t2--i dont even know...i was just thrilled to be off the bike...

Run--i wanted to be done after the first mile. i was pissed the miles werent marked. i couldnt clock my splits and i stopped trying. it was hot and i was exhausted. I wanted more gel. i wanted cold water. i wanted a buffet and a good nights sleep. my mind was everywhere. i would be focused...then id lose it and start to think about how LONG the run was....how far i was from the finishline.i kept telling myself to just keep going. KEEP GOING>>>keep your eye on the prize.. it was hard. so hard. i was counting down the miles...counting down the minutes. I could see a woman in front of me but i just couldn't reel her in. To be honest--i couldn't even think about trying to reel her in...i was just too spent and the only thing that mattered was finishing.
time 1:39--i am really upset with this time...i am much faster than this...i just didn't have it.

Overall time 4:49:30 5th woman overall. (1st and 2nd place were Pros) i looked at my watch with a little less than 1 mile to go....i wanted to just get in under 4:50. It took everything in me to get there. I am proud of myself for sticking it through and not leaving anything on the course. There are no excuses or wandering thoughts of whether i could have gone harder here or there....i did what i could and i have to be pleased with that.

I met some great folks after the event--BIG shout outs to Tara, Jay, and Stephanie They were totally great and its soo cool to be recognized at an event for being a part of the CKC. I hope we can all keep in touch and see each other at future events. They crushed it out there and should be very proud of their performances.

Next up--Eagleman. Time to get focused and dial in on my training. Eagleman is a Kona qualifier. Game on...i gotta get sharp and i gotta get fast. Lets see how the next few weeks play out. Right now...i gotta recover. my body feels like crap. i need more sleep and a years worth of massage. Stay tuned! Keep reading...and keep your comments coming! i love to hear from you!!!

and remember to keep your eye on your prize!! Keep training hard! Keep focused! Keep up the good work! I can remember when i DREAMED of going sub 5 in a half. I remember when i went 4:45 and felt great. I can't believe that i can now go 4:49--and have a super crappy sluggish race. Its a testament to hard work. it means that if i have an amazing day-i can go 4:35-- just keep going -just keep dreaming--never quit and put one foot in front of the other.