Leading up to the race, I was excited to be finally racing injury free. During my warm up, I knew I felt good - and my body was ready to rock and roll.
Walking down the swim start ramp, I got a huge surprise from my dad who had secretly flown in to watch me race!
The swim went really smooth, I spotted well and didn't feel like I lost contact with the fastest swimmer but I was not sure.
Going in to T1, I knew I had a great swim and was excited to get on the bike course. About 10 miles into the bike there was an out and back, and I didn't see any other amateurs in front of me. That was my first sense that I could be leading my Age Group.
Leading up to the race, I was excited to be finally racing injury free. During my warm up, I knew I felt good - and my body was ready to rock and roll.
Walking down the swim start ramp, I got a huge surprise from my dad who had secretly flown in to watch me race!
The swim went really smooth, I spotted well and didn't feel like I lost contact with the fastest swimmer but I was not sure.
Going in to T1, I knew I had a great swim and was excited to get on the bike course. About 10 miles into the bike there was an out and back, and I didn't see any other amateurs in front of me. That was my first sense that I could be leading my Age Group.
I came into T2, I was thinking "not only am I 3 minutes ahead of my goal, but my bike appears to be the only non-Pro bike in transition." My legs felt good going into the run, but I was unsure how my body would handle pushing myself this hard for the first time in a half Ironman.
I battled on the run the best I could just hoping that no one would catch me. As I came to the final mile, I realized that no one was around me and then I saw my dad and gave him a high-five. It was then that it sunk in that I was about to be the first amateur to cross the line.
After finishing, it was great to finally have all the hard work to get past my trials and tribulations, pay off.
