Race Coverage

Sunscreen & Buckles...

Wednesday, 16 April 2014 06:10

By Julie Hull

RACE REPORT - Lifetime fitness did a fab job again with this Leadman Tempe race. For holding 3 distances they do a great job with individualizing the three distances but leveraging the shared course. We've done all of the Leadman 125k/250k distances (except the first yr in Vegas) and enjoyed this race as much as the others.

Erik and I had an "off" season last yr and found renewed energy for SBR as 2013 season came to close. I changed some things up in the off season to keep things fresh, but had this tri on the radar since the start of the yr.

Tempe was a balmy 85+ degrees and I knew hydration was a key factor. I planned on using UCAN during the race and in a new endurance fueling...

breakfast (chia and hemp seeds,buckwheat, protein powder, UCAN and coconut milk). I've not used any of this for racing but have for some key workouts and have liked the results. I'm a caffeine junkie so I had part of a 5-hour energy mixed in with an elixir water as a chia chaser.
There were over 1100 doing the 3 distances but under 300 doing the 125k distance with the Leadman start divided into 6 waves - Females being in the last two. That made for a pretty uneventful swim and was out of the water 6+ minutes ahead of last yr (consistent swimming pays off for a 2500m swim).

The bike got to be a different story as our race was 4 loops of 17 turny miles (4 x 180 degree turns). The oly racers were out there for pretty much loop 2&3 and the sprinters were mostly loop 3. Bike n bottle navigation was critical as was keeping a eye out for the many signs n cones dividing course n cars. Kerry Yndestad said he saw 3 people hit signs. Last yr I had a couple 'rabbit' friends that provoked more chase/surging and proved to be a dumb move come time to run. So this yr I held back some to not burn the matches. Each loop was a steady 48 minutes. I saw CY and Erik on every loop at just about the same places - fun and we were all consistent. Nutrition wise I took in 3 servings of UCAN (120 cal), half a cliff bar and a couple salt tabs. Off the bike within a minute of last yrs time with hotter and windier conditions.

Normally my transitions are methodical & lickity-split but I took a moment for some self care with sunscreen and lip balm that would hopefully payoff thru the epic 8 mile desert run. This year I also made the decision to wear a fuel belt on the run & carry a flask of UCAN and elixored water. Things started off pretty well despite being passed by 2 females within mile 1, unfortunatly both in my AG.  Then once the desert rock climbing started at mile 2, my adductors seized up and I hobbled with peg legs – a subtle reminder that I needed a salt tab, then things shook themselves out.  Miles 3-6 were solid n steady, then mile 7 started with an on-ramp pavement climb that cramped things up again. My goal was to just shake out the legs while running by recovering on the downward slope n across the bridge near the finish (well at least it was last yr). This year finish was an unexpected winding thru the park (longer than chisago's finish) I could hear it but couldn't see it anywhere. Finally crossed with 3-4 min faster run over 8.2 miles - slightly longer???  Finish time of 5:14:47 - improved by 8:14 in tougher conditions and tougher course.  happy with that.  Then  - bonus:  It was announced at the awards ceremony that they were going to be awarding the trademark LEADMAN belt buckles for sub 5:15 finish. Whew- squeaked that one out. ;)

See you at the races - Julie