BSLT 70.3

What a race! That was the most I've hurt in my life. I was hoping on the drive there that the clear skies would hold and the rain would blow in quickly overnight leaving a hot and humid Sunday morning. Not so. It was 60s and cloudy at the swim start and by the time we were out of the park on the bike, the rain began and didn't ease up until the run. Although the rain and wind prevented me from thoroughly taking in the environment on the bike course, I loved it nonetheless as the weather made it extra brutal- mentally more than anything. Nasty wind gusts and stinging rain resulted in quite a few accidents down hills and on turns. I actually love the adrenaline when descending in slippery roads. Once again, my feet were numb, something I never thought I'd experience in Lubbock...I should have packed my toe warmers! The run had what most would call "perfect running weather"- overcast, not too humid, and low 70s (high 60s with wind chill). For me it was far from ideal. The challenge is definitely one to return for as those hills on the run are killer and the energy lab stretch is on my list of favorites. But my edge in the heat might have yielded a big enough run gap to seal 2nd in my AG and a Clearwater slot had it been the usual 90s under the sun so that was a bummer. I had a faster swim and run than 2nd place but couldn't close the bike gap on the run :(
Aside from the Clearwater slot though, I am super happy with my performance in those conditions (they seem to be inescapable this season haha). I wasn't expecting to have the bike strength/endurance in 70.3 so to have a solid swim and run was priority achieved. I was first out of the water in my AG which is awesome for me...granted we were able to run a good portion of the swim start which helped a lot if you lined up right ;)Props to Lauren Swigart the 18-24 winner, and overall female amateur. She'll be back in Kona and hope she'll have a great race!
It was a cool family trip. My mom enjoyed watching both my brother and I race and we had some pretty funny moments in the car. My brother rocked the sprint coming in first in 15-19 and 12th overall!!
Now we're back in Dallas and time for some much needed rest. 4 days off on the schedule, ez 1hr rides Fri & Sat, and open water swim and run with the group Sunday. July will be a break from racing, aside from the local Irongirl sprint in Irving on the 20smtn, and focus on my second big race of the yr, Chicago. I might head to Austin for a few weeks before school starts and get some training there with friends.
Hopefully Cancun will be rain-free/humid and scorching and I can snatch Clearwater last-minute!!!