It’s 4:30am on a rainy race morning and I’m pouring myself my first cup of Peet’s coffee. Now as most of you know I’ve forgotten important items on race day, for example my wetsuit. Although I’ve gotten better about remembering to bring everything I need for race day, it wouldn’t be an “Alexis race” without forgetting something. This time it was breakfast. I could have eaten a Power Bar, but I wanted something a bit more. Luckily Beth had an extra bagel for me!
Jay and I got to the race site a little after 5am and as he walked Sprocket I put my transition area together. As it was still sprinkling I decided to put arm warmers and a vest down just in case I wanted to put them on after the swim. Beth, Jen and I decided to do a short warm up run and take a look at the swim course layout as well as make sure we knew where the entries and exits where. After that is was time to put the wetsuit on and get ready. The rain had died down a bit, but the wind was still blowing. The swim took place in the harbor with approximately 33 women lining the in water start. I placed myself between Beth and Nicole DeBoom and when the gun went off I moved in behind Nicole. I thought I’d stay with her for as long as possible; that turned out to be maybe 100-200 yards! My original goal was to stay with Beth, but I lost her in the flurry of swimmers. The first part of the swim seemed very comfortable to me, not like the hurried pace of an ITU swim start. I was able to draft behind someone for the duration of the swim. At the turn around point I thought I spotted Beth just ahead of me. I picked up my pace and was able to get along side of this person and come to find that it was indeed her! Beth and I swam side by side for the later half of the course and exited at the same time, 26:26; a time for me that is around 2 minutes faster than I have ever swam for 1.2 miles! The run to the transition area was on very slippery pavement and at one point I almost ate it. From the swim exit I ran along the outside of the transition area until I got to the last racks and then cut down the center to where my bike was racked.
After what I thought was a semi-quick transition, I was out with Lauren Jensen just behind me. Within a mile of the start she past me but I kept her in sight for at least the first 20 miles or so. The majority of the bike course was in Camp Pendleton with a couple of sections outside of the Camp along highway 101. It was mostly flat on the way out and on the return, while inside Pendleton was the rolling hills. I was feeling good on the bike despite the continued rain and nagging head wind. My hands were horribly numb which made it difficult to shift gears and hold a water bottle. I didn’t wear arm warmers or my vest but while I was out on the course I was thinking that it might have been a good idea to have put them on…hindsight is always better! I did get a bit chilly on some of the down hills but tried not to think about it. Shortly after mile 20 I decided that I was feeling pretty good and that it was time to pick it up. I eventually passed Lauren and continued to pass a couple of other women on some of the up hills. The course was a bit more rolling than I had anticipated but was glad for the challenge and it showed me what I need to work on for Wildflower. By mile 45 I was ready to get off the bike; I kept it strong though and was able to pass another woman a couple of miles from the transition area. My bike split was 2:44:??, good enough to have put me in 8th place after the bike.
I took the time in T2 to put on socks and start the run with Nicole and Jessi Stensland. Within 100 yards or so I had put a small gap between me and the two women (now in 7th place) and then continued to reel in as many women as I could. The run wasn’t as flat as I thought it would be either. There were three small inclines each loop (2 loops) which during the run seemed steeper than they probably were! About 200 meters ahead of me I saw the distinct running style of Joanna Zeiger. “I could catch her!” I said to myself as I kept my eye on her. I had already moved into 6th place at this point and 5th was looking even better. The spectators were just as enthusiastic as I was and they told me I could get her and that she was fading. Prior to finishing the first loop I was able to run by her and I never looked back. I knew that Kate Major and Lisa Bentley, two awesome runners were behind me, but I wasn’t going to let them catch me; I was on a mission. I made the turn around after completing the first run loop and Jay (my boyfriend) and Sprocket (our dog) were there cheering for me. He said that I was 2 minutes behind 4th place! So I kept telling myself, “4th or better.” It was close to mile 8 ½ when I ran by some spectators who said that I was now only 30 seconds down from 4th! I had just made up 1 ½ minutes in 2 ½ miles! I was definitely going to catch her and in less than a mile I did. With 1 ½ miles to go I too felt myself slowly starting to fade so I repeated to myself, “Run like you’re running for 3rd,” or “this is your race.” Any positive thing I could say to keep on pace I said it! When I saw the finish line I stole one glance behind me just to make sure and then kicked it in to place 4th in a time of 4:39:08.
To start off the season with a 4th place finish in a field of amazing women made me realize that the training I’ve been putting in since November has paid off. There are still certain things that I need to improve on, but as far as I’m concerned I’m headed in the right direction for a stellar season!
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