“Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that
is greater than any obstacle.” ~Christian D. Larson
“Your playing small does not serve the world…We were
born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.” ~Marianne Williamson
Many say it starts between the ears, but I believe it
goes deeper than that, from the very depths of our souls, when we shove aside
the doubts, fears, criticisms, and our own limitations we set on
ourselves. When we believe and our conviction
cannot be shaken, we set ourselves free.
Liberating us from the parameters that others, or even ourselves, set
upon us. When this happens, the
possibilities are truly endless.
I was afraid and in awe of Buffalo Springs 70.3 for as
long as I can remember. It was a race
described by others as challenging, epic, and hard as hell, but also you could
hear the reverence in the voices of those who had conquered it before as they gave you the play by play of their
adventures there. A race with a local
feel, a race loved by many, and a race that should never be
underestimated. My original plan after
getting my feet wet at Longhorn 70.3 in the fall was to do IM Texas 70.3 in
Galveston in early April. Waited too
late to register, and it ended up selling out.
I was sad at the time, but you know what they say about God’s
timing. Not long after it sold out, I
caught the flu, so training came at a pretty solid halt, which would have been
at the point I would have to have been ramping up the mileage, so it all worked
out. Instead, I took a deep breath, and
signed up for a race I had been wanting to do forever, but approached with a
bit of trepidation. The moment I hit
that enter key and received my confirmation email, I knew I was all in, and
there was no turning back. Fast forward
four months later, and I was on the road to Lubbock to a race that I absolutely
could not wait to do. I was eerily calm,
which was strange for me, but I took it as a good sign. I was ready. I would hold nothing back and go for it. I was told beforehand that the Buffalo
Springs course was unique and I should throw time goals out the window, and I
was well aware this would be a much different 70.3 than I had ever raced. There was no doubt, I not only was ready to do this, but I would go into it with an open mind, and ”no
limits” would be my mantra for this race.
Race Day
- SWIM
I loved being able to set everything out in transition
area like the days of old triathlon, instead of everything in baggies. This still didn’t seem to help me much,
seeing that I am slow as molasses in transition, but I am planning to work on
that! I was still extremely calm race
morning, and had to use the port-o-potty line twice because I could not go the
first time, which was again, strange for me.
I had my transition set up with plenty of time to spare, so I spent the
extra time visualizing the day. Soon it
was time to head down to the beach where we would start the swim. On the way, I ran into my amazing friendy Kris, and her Big Sexy teammates, which was a great way to
start the day! We took a quick pic, then
her group was up first. Told her I was
coming for her and to have a great race!
My group was only three minutes behind, so soon it was our turn to run
off of the beach and dive in the lake to begin our 1.2 mile swim. I have to be honest, usually the swim is my
favorite part, but for this race, I felt like the swim was the portion I just
had to get through, and I could not wait to get to the bike and run. I had been hitting some solid splits on my
100, 200, 300, and 400m pace sets leading up to Buffalo Springs so I felt
confident that I could post a fast swim split, and actually wanted the fastest
split in the field. I could never seem
to find a good rhythm though, especially at the beginning. I was swimming over people, people were
swimming over me…this didn’t bother me really, playing water polo in high
school helped me become immune to being dunked, pulled, swum over, etc. Mainly I just felt like as soon I got going I
was running into more bodies, and at a couple of the turn buoys I got all
caught up in traffic as well. By the
last 800 m or so, I finally felt like I was finding my stroke, and I could see
the swim exit just ahead. As the
volunteers grabbed my hands and helped me out, I could see another pink cap out
of the corner of my eye…and kudos to my competitor for hustling across that
timing mat. Note to self…next time move
faster! As I ran into transition, I felt
like I hustled, but apparently I did not.
According to my super slow transition times you’d think I was having
donuts and coffee back there! Holy geez I need to work on those!
SWIM: 28:27 T1: 4:22 (yuck!)
BIKE
The hill out of T1 was no joke, and everyone had told me
beforehand to make sure I was in my small ring, and they were not kidding. This course hits you with it right from the
start coming out of the gate. No
mercy. As I started the climb it was not
fear that I felt, but rather, exhilaration to be out there on this amazing
course. I spun up the hill, then we went
down, over the bridge, and were climbing again.
Things flattened out as we headed out of the park. We had a bit of tailwind for a bit then
headwind as we were on a stretch headed towards the canyon. As we approached it looked
amazeeeeee!!!! Down we went, then a
short flat section, then it was time to climb out. I knew climbing was my strength, so I worked
those sections, passing as many people as I could, then back to a harder gear
to take off on the flats. As we finished
the first climb I saw my Smash/Tri-Belief teammate Julia and we both exchanged “great job!” and
would leap frog each other again on the run.
We went down the road a bit, then turned around and came at the canyon
from the other direction. I was super
stoked to see Kris as I was heading for the turn-around section and she was
coming from it! We yelled at each other and it gave me a boost! I was not crazy about the turn-around
sections on this course, always felt like I was going to wipe out, but it is
what it is. Another skill I would need
to work on! As we headed back for our
return trip down the canyon I felt strong on my descent, I had been trying to
work on them more since I knew descending was one of my biggest weaknesses on a hilly
course. They were still not as fast as I
would like them to be, and I knew I would have to make up time on the hills and
flats. As I hit the flat section of the
canyon for our return trip, I felt a little sluggish, and my cadence had slowed
as well. I knew if I kept pedaling it
would pass, because how you feel one moment seems to change like the winds in
these events. As we climbed out and were
back on the flats headed towards the switchbacks, I was in awe of the sky and
the dark storm clouds in the distance…I thanked God for this beautiful day and
couldn’t wait to see what else He had in store for us. We rode out on the farm roads, and turned
onto a chip seal like section for a few, which was my least favorite
section. I kept checking my bottles to
make sure they were not being launched out of their cages. Somewhere in here my friend Lexa had caught
me, and I while still holding steady, I tried to not let her get too far
ahead. Finally we made it to this forest
section that encompassed the road, a section I had been told to watch for by
several people, and when it came into view it literally took my breath away and
gave me wings! I bounded through wishing I could stop and take pictures of all
of this! I mentally took snap shots throughout this ride! After the forest we headed up the first switchback,
and it was so much fun!!! As I bounded
up and passed some riders, I made sure to hug my side, because others were
screaming down the other side and it’s a pretty narrow road. After cresting I rode down a little ways
towards the turn around, and I saw Kris again! Two for two! I looped around and headed back to descend
the switchback, then rode over to switchback #2! Again, so much fun, reminded me of a very
miniature Mt. Lemmon, which happens to be one of my all-time favorite rides, so
I was in the happiest of places climbing these switchbacks!!! Rode out to turn around again and three for
three for seeing Kris! As we descended the switchback we headed back to the
forest section and climbed out of that as well to get to the flat roads that
would take us back to the park. At this
point, I settled into aero, played Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart” on loop
in my head, and hit it. The last 15
miles flew by! Before I knew it, we were
turning into the park and heading for transition. Then it was down the hill, across the bridge,
and up one last big hill before descending into T2. That very last hill climb seemed the toughest
out of all of them since it was right at the end when our legs were already
trashed. There was some cramping that
took place as I climbed that hill, and at one point I just hoped I wouldn’t
fall over because of it. The struggle
was definitely real on that hill. After
cresting, it was smooth sailing downhill into transition. I hopped off and checked the watch, and OMG I
just PRed the bike!!!! Was all smiles
as I racked my bike and put on the run gear.
Again, not sure if I stopped for lunch or what in transition because
holy smokes how long can it take a person to put on some shoes?!!!! Seriously, some transition work is absolutely
in order!
BIKE: 3:08:55! T2:
5:11 :(
RUN
I was absolutely beside myself to get to the run portion of
the race. I wanted to see what my body
could do on trashed legs. Although I had
some strong long run sessions leading up to this race, I knew that I couldn’t
really simulate how the legs would feel on race day, and it would be
interesting to see how it would all play out.
The run was two loops, with a big nasty “dream crusher” hill in the
middle of each loop. I was told to run
up that hill no matter what, DO NOT under any circumstances, walk it. So off I went on my first loop in my happy
place, clicking off the miles, and holding a steady pace. I figured if I could average between 9:30-10
min miles, then that would put me somewhere close to 2:10 or a little under,
which would put my total time at 5:56ish, and I would break 6 hours! So I had it all planned out, and my body did
fairly well the first loop, I even ran up the “dream crusher” hill, and saw my
friends on the out and backs which was awesome and really gave me a boost! After coming down the hill, the last part of
the loop winds you around for what seems like forever (especially feels like the
LONGEST LOOP EVER the second time through), and by the time you hit the
turn-around point, you can see the bridge in the distance and that’s what you
are running for. By the time you get to
the bridge, you either stay left to finish, or stay right to go for your second
loop. As I headed into my second loop,
my times started to slow down a bit, and it was a struggle to WANT to look at
the watch (to hopefully see I was on pace)/to NOT want to look at the watch (to
see that I was in fact, ACTUALLY falling off pace). This continued the first half of the loop
until I came upon “dream crusher” hill, and it was more of a slow shuffle up
this beast the second time around. A few
of us joked as we worked our way up the hill that it seemed so much longer the
second time! And steeper too! We all
laughed and continued our sufferfests. I
saw friends Holly, Lexa, and Kris coming down the hill at separate intervals,
and those high fives really did give me wings!
I saw Julia at the top, as well as another Smash teammie that I had seen
for most of the run, and we gave each other head nods, waves, and yelled "Go
Smash!!!" At about this time after I had crested
“dream crusher” hill for the second time, I looked at my watch and knew it was
going to be close, and I’d have to go like 9 min miles for the last 3.5. Challenge accepted. I pushed the pace on the flats at the top
then headed down the hill for the last section of the loop. While I would not consider this run course
super hilly (except for “dream crusher” of course), I wouldn’t necessarily say
it’s flat either. It has some good short
rollers that seem like doozies at the very end.
As I came down that hill and headed into the last section, the wheels
finally came off, and…IT. WAS. GLORIOUS.
To be here in this moment, fighting for the sub 6, fighting for a PR on
this course of all courses. Up until
this last September, I had not run for 2.5 years. During my pregnancy I couldn’t run (due to my
hip dysplasia although I did not know that at the time, I just knew it hurt),
so I stopped running at 9 weeks…fast forward when baby girl was born I squeaked
in a couple of 2-3 milers before the hip went…then it was hip replacement surgery
in March 2016, and 6 months later I could put feet to pavement. But even then, I did most of my runs on the
Alter G, pretty much most of my run training for Longhorn was done on that
machine. As I headed into a couple of
half marathons in early 2017, I hit the road more, and was amazed how well the
hip was doing. So here I was, with about
8 good months of run training under my belt after a 2.5 year hiatus, and I was
in the ballpark to go sub 6 and set a new PR?!
I was ecstatic. I was
grateful. I was euphoric. I thanked God and hoped that this would
continue to be part of my journey, part of my story. That He would use me through sport for His
glory. And I ran as hard as I
could. My legs were done, trashed,
toast, whatever you want to call it they were through. They were ready for a nap. But I pushed on. I saw my friends coming back the other way
after the last turn-around and I shouted “let’s finish this!” as we passed by
each other one last time. My legs were lead at this point but I was determined
to finish this race strong. As I rounded
that last turn-around, I ran for that bridge.
Just one foot in front of the other.
The bridge got closer. One foot
in front of the other. Still
closer. Not going to make the 6
hours. That’s ok, the PR is still up for
grabs! The bridge was right there! I was crossing the bridge! The volunteer was giving instructions as he
had before, left to the finish, right to head to the second loop. He asked if I was going left and I said “Heck
yes!!!!!” And as I turned left and
headed for the chute, there was nothing but a big smile on my face. I snagged that 10 min PR and I could not have
been happier. No tears for this
one. The tears for Longhorn was the
closing of a chapter. This finish at
Buffalo Springs was a beginning. And it
was pure joy.
RUN: 2:16:43 TOTAL: 6:03:36
Thank you as always for reading, and for all of your support
and cheers along the way! What a journey
it has been! Looking forward to all new
adventures ahead!
 |
| The new RFA Smash Kit gave me wings!!!!!! |
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| Such a treat to race with my friend Kris!!! She never ceases to inspire!!! |
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| Hahahaha! Forgot about that cap for a moment! |
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| I LOVED this bike course!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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| Digging deep on that second loop! |
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| Pure joy!!!!!!!!!!!! |
