Quassy Race Report- Progress!

This is how we roll

After a great experience at Rev3 Knoxville, I was really looking forward to another Rev3 race at Quassy. I knew the course was hilly and hard, which suits me, and the half-ironman distance is more my style -- more running, less swimming! Even more than the race, I was looking forward to seeing my family and my coach and friends that were all coming in from Boston to do the race. 


We left right after work on Thursday and made it to my parent’s house in Rochester right around midnight, then got to Connecticut by Friday evening. After dropping my parents and Cody off at their hotel, Ryan and I made it to our amazing homestay. Todd and Marni were absolutely wonderful and made sure we had anything we could possibly need. We had a great time hanging out with them all weekend -- I wish we could’ve stayed even longer. I am loving the homestays almost as much (maybe more?) than racing!!

Saturday morning we woke up to pouring rain, and although I felt terrible for the Olympic racers, I was so so happy to not be racing! Ryan headed off for a 4 hour run in the woods (he is training for the Leadville trail 100 run) and I loaded my Mom, Dad, Cody and fellow E3 Athlete Jana into the car to drive the bike course. Despite having raced over a dozen half ironmans, 56 miles is still really far! Driving the course was helpful -- I got to see just how hilly the course was, and also got to enjoy the scenery with someone else behind the wheel :)

I know this will get old at some point, but I still had a blast at the pro meeting. This time, I actually knew people, and had a few people shout 'Hey Alaina!' when they say me- how awesome is that?! Oh man, it is easy to make me feel special :) My wonderful Saturday was topped off with an awesome dinner with the E3 crew.



Saturday night I didn’t sleep really well, so Sunday AM came extra early. My morning routine went smoothly, but I was not in a race mood. I have a hard time enjoying race morning, and this was no exception. However, once we arrived at the race site, and I was surrounded by the excitement of the event, I started to feel better. I did a quick 15 minute jog to warm up, then put on my Xterra Speed suit to get in the water. 

As much of a smile as I could muster. Man I was tired!

I LOOOVE Rev3 Transition Areas!! I feel like a RockStar!

My parents, Cody, and I

I seeded myself towards the back of the pack, and when the gun went off, I just worked hard at maintaining a steady rhythm- but more importantly, remained calm and kept my breathing steady. I was in contact with the girls for a bit, and they didn’t seem like they were going all that much faster than me. Every time I sighted, it seemed like they were just a bit ahead of me. I felt decent in the water -- I wasn’t pushing myself as hard as I could, but I just focused on being strong and smooth. After the first turn buoy, I finally was aware of just how far the lead girls were ahead of me. They were well past the next buoy, and no longer in sight. This was discouraging, and I had the feeling that I was last -- I even had a kayaker following me along to make sure I didn’t drown! *groan* I hate swimming. I really need to gain 10 pounds....

You can't see me because I'm cowering towards in the back!

I miss my wetsuit!!

So yeah.swim.swim.swim -- it felt like forever. That’s because it actually did take me FOREVER to finish the stupid swim. As I finally emerged, I tried so hard not to look at my watch. When I did, I nearly curled up in a ball in the sand and quit right there. Then I got into transition and saw my bike, just sitting there, all by itself. And THEN, I had a million people cheering for me (out of pity, I’m sure) and I couldn’t get my stupid speedsuit off. I ended up tearing it down the front, Hulk Hogan style (but not on purpose) that’s how stuck it was. 

It took every ounce of strength I had not to quit that stuid race right there. As I (slowly) mounted my bike, I heard someone yell, "GO GET THEM ON THOSE HILLS!", and I just had to smile. So much was in that statement (well, it’s obvious why you can’t swim -- you’re built like a toothpick -- so you must be good at climbing, or else why else would you be racing pro?!) So, I vowed to attack those hills and catch at least ONE girl on the bike!

Last out of the water :(

Once on the bike, my watts were reading way higher than they felt. Good sign! I focused solely on that powertap and tried to quash the negative emotions. Luckily I had no idea how far back I was, or else I probably would’ve quit. I rode and rode and rode, enjoying the scenery, my legs, my bike and the wonderful hills. 


I was by myself until mile 25, when the first age group guy caught me. I thought they would’ve come sooner, so this was actually a positive!! I was able to keep him in sight for quite some time, so I know my biking has improved. Finally, I found the first girl and was able to pass her up a hill. Within a few more miles, I had another target and reeled her in. I can’t even explain how crucial this was to my race. 


It was at the point where the bike is just starting to feel long, and I was entertaining thoughts of riding my bike into a ditch, but seeing just one other person to catch got my brain in gear and I felt like myself again. I was happy to be riding and racing, and could not WAIT to run. I may have caught one or two more girls, but I can’t remember.

That bike was fun!!

When I got back into T2, I was just focused on getting onto that run course. Ryan informed me that a few girls I knew were only a minute or so ahead of me. I figured he must be lying, since both of those girls are typically faster than me on the bike. Once I started running, I was just feeling great. My legs didn’t really seem to react to the bike ride, and I just started clicking away the miles as best I could. I passed a few girls within the first mile, but I believe they ended up DNFing. 


The first few miles of the run course were super easy (downhilll), then came the long hard climb for what seemed like forever. It was a dirt road, just like I always run in Michigan -- it was just steeper and longer than any I have around here. I had pace goals in mind, but those kind of went out the window on this run course. 

Starting the run! I was so happy to be running!

Once I got to an out and back section around mile 5, I could finally see 2 girls that were within my reach. My strength was starting to fade, but just like on the bike, as soon as I have someone in my sights, my brain kicks it up, and I can race harder than I thought I could. It still took me another 2 miles to reel them in, but my legs felt terrific, and I realized that I actually had a chance at a sub 1:30 half-marathon. On this course, that would be amazing! We had one final out and back, and I saw that the next girl ahead of me was about 2 miles up the road, no chance of catching her, but I still pushed myself to try and get a half-marathon PR. Too bad the last mile was all uphill and totally killed my splits. Oh well!

Mwauh! I love running!

Finally, the finish line was in sight and I was thrilled to be done. Ryan informed me that I was either 11th or 12th. I could hardly believe it!! After a heartbreaking swim, I got my self together and fought one of my toughest mental battles to get back into the race. I am terrified of finishing dead last, but I worked my butt of and went from 19th (who started) to 12th overall. 


This race was totally stacked, and is considered the 'June Championship Race', with 1st place earining $17,500. Mirinda Carfrae won, and the first 3 places were within 40 seconds of each other. Check out the race recap here. Even though those girls finished well ahead of me, I am making progress (well, we won't count the swim, mmmkk?), and feel like I do 'belong'. More importantly, I had fun while racing, and had an amazing weekend with my friends, husband and my parents!


Thank you to all of the amazing staff and volunteers at Rev3! They do an absolutely incredible job- for both pro's and age groupers. You just have to do this race. It is as hard as everyone says, but it is just awesome! Thank you to Coach Jorge for believing in me, and getting me here. Thank you to my wonderful family for making the trip to cheer me on at my first Half-Ironman as a Pro! And thank you, most of all, to my husband Ryan, for, well, everything!

Finished!

Me telling Kristin White I want her abs!

Jana, Coach Jorge and I post-race

Ryan, me and Jorge

This makes me smile :)

Cody was exhausted from the long
weekend of cheering! She was such a great spectator!