This past weekend I participated in my first triathlon of the 2015 season in Lawrence, Kansas, the Legend 100. I was feeling fit and ready.

This was the first time my husband and I planned a road/camping trip together to a race. He drove all Friday night arriving in Lawrence about 4am Saturday.  We slept a couple hours in the Walmart parking lot before making our way to the camp site. I was very ralaxed Saturday and enjoyed being outdoors with out much to do other then race check in. Our camp site was about a mile ride to the start.

Race morning.

I had my bike power and run pace dialed in and was looking forward to a strong race. My plan was to cruise the swim without expending too much energy and ride strong. Water temp was about 72 degrees and I made the right choice wearing my Blue Seventy Core Shorts vs my full body Helix.

I know from all my race and training experiences, anything is possible race day, and this time, my race day did not go as planned. The predicted overcast and storms did not roll in. Instead, temperature reached 90+ degrees and the wind was surprisingly strong. The bike course had more hills then I remember (rolling up and rolling descents) then when I raced Kansas 70.3 in 2011 (that year it was overcast and 60 degrees). Between wind, hills and heat, all participants were faced with a challenging day.

Despite swimming 2.2 vs 2 miles (2X 1 mile loop), the start of the Legend 70 athletes when I dove in for my second loop caused my confusion, losing power the last half of the 80 mile bike (maybe nutritional), and barely maintaining what felt like a jog pace on the 18 mile run, I finished 2nd overall female. I was happy to finish and not walk. I was disappointed in how I felt while riding and running. I judge my race results more on how I feel and personally perform, rather then overall race results.

.  

I love seeing my friends out on the course racing and cheering, IPA Team was the best! I am always relieved to finish the bike without any mishaps and I am grateful for my ability to run and cross the finish line. The best part was having my husband there to support me. The finish medals were huge!

Post race recovery

Thank you Timex, PowerBar, Blue Seventy, Beet Performer, TREK, for providing me the best product to help me succeed! Thank you friends and family for your ongoing support.