70.3 miles in NJ @ Bassman to get back in the saddle -
Race day at Bassman was exactly 8 weeks after breaking the collar bone - the day the crash happened I was told it would take 6-8 weeks to be back - not sure they meant back to racing but that's the way I took it.
Pre-Race: Bassman is a race in NJ just outside of Atlatic city - there were a couple of us racing which is always an added bonus to have the cheers out on the course. Unlike the big WTC races where you have to check in and rack your bike the day before this was race morning check-in which made it all feel more like a sprint race than a 70.3 of course the pancakes on Saturday before work was an indicator that there was some work to be done the next day. I drove down to NJ with my teammate Betsy where we meet up with our other teammate Stan just in time to pop across the street to the local italian for a last bland pre-race meal and then bed - very unlike the normal multi day prep I have put into the other 70.3 races so far. The object of this race to me was to test the wing, get confidence that it was actually healing and most of all to test my race nutrition. After training camp in Florida I finally made the switch to training and racing according to my QT2 plan and use PowerBar products. We all know that race day is always different to a training day I wanted to make sure to put to the test how the tummy would hold up with the added nerves. So far in training the switched had changed my life - I could not be happier with the way I was feeling and the energy I was able to sustain. Ok enough of that lets get down to business.
The Swim: 0:37:45
Bassman is a small local race and one of the first races in the Northeast and after the brutally cold went we have had I wasn't sure there would be a swim but there was. It was cold but it gave me a chance to test out the wing. I took it easy on the swim - as Tara had said to me before the race - I would just have to bike and run a little harder to make up for it. I was not willing to take any chances of getting kicked and doing any additional damage. My swim time was just over 37 mins which I was super happy with given the circumstances.
The Bike: 2:34:40
The bike course was a flat uneventful yet a beautiful ride - I put my head down stuck to the plan and got to work. It was nice that it was a almost 3 loop course which means you get to see your teammates and of course the competition - you never know who will show up an any given Sunday is always what I say - in this case one of the first people I ran into on race morning in transition is Darbi Roberts - so I knew I had my work cut out for me. Given my recovering wing and her stellar speed in the water I pretty much knew I was not going to see her again until the finish line. That said I was happy that I did see her a couple times out there and it gave me the extra push to try to catch her. I knew she could hardly breath because of a bad cold but she was my carrot non the less. Overall the bike was strong and solid and the fueling was going perfectly according to plan.
Run: 1:36:39
The run was interesting to say the least - it seemed like it was lots of loops up and down over sticks, stones and across the beach - more like and adventure or trail race - which was actually kinda nice. It would have been great to have some water on the course but you can not have it all right. I just happy that I had decided to carry my own hydration since I was testing how my tummy would feel about it on the run otherwise it would have been a very long 13.1 miles. In the first 2 miles of the run I saw Darbi walking towards me - she made the wise choice to but push her lungs to hard for a race that was not that important in the bigger picture - Darbi will be racing as a WTC pro this year so she is chasing points to try to get back to Kona - there were no points to be had at Bassman and no worth the risk of making her lungs worse than the cold already was. The run started down a dirt path on an out and back - quickly I saw that it was going to take a very fast runner for another girl to catch me - but I was not there to race anyone but myself and make sure I executed my race plan and hit my HR targets.
All in all it was great race - always made better racing with great friends and some solid hay in the barn. Now it's time to put my head back down and put in the final stretch for IM Frankfurt.