There’s Going to Be a Rematch: My Eagleman 70.3 Race Recap

Mark your calendars! October 8th, 2011 is the official date of the 2011 Kona Swim Rematch! I’ve lived the past eight months as “the girl who lost the swim,” but 2011 is going to be a whole different story.

Thanks to solid performances at the Eagleman 70.3 Half Ironman Race this past weekend both Coach Diablo and I nabbed our Kona Slots! And now I am lazer focused on being the fastest stairclimber the Big Island has ever seen!

I think the 2011 picture is going to look something like this:

Going into Eagleman I had one goal: RACE. I wanted to push the pace and be agressive all 1.2 miles in the water, 56 miles on the bike, and 13.1 miles of the run. The Cambridge, Maryland race is known for being a fast course with fast competition, and that was exactly what I was looking for.

Racing with my Dynamo teammates Kathryn, EJ, and Alberto meant lots of pre-race laughs.  And Garth Brooks playing on the loudspeaker as I got in the water meant I was already having a GREAT day!

The Eagleman race course is FLAT. I think the biggest bumps may have been the waves in the Choptank River, but even those were pretty whimpy. This was a bit of a change for a girl who loves riding uphill, but I did not learn to pack my bike and travel all the way to Maryland to race within my comfort zone! I just tried to keep the pressure on and keep racing mile after flat mile.

Luckily, I love flat running courses. But a flat run does not mean an easy run. What the Eagleman run course lacks in hills, it makes up for with HEAT: 

Thank goodness for amazing volunteers handing out plenty of ice and cold beverages along the course. I managed to survive the run, win my age group, and claim a Kona slot.

HUGE thanks to my Coach and teammates, who inspired me throughout the race, with a special thanks to Alberto’s fiance Jill, who logged the fastest run split of the day en route to getting my wallet so I could pay my Kona entry fee (which was nearly $300 cheaper than the IM NYC entry fee – no racing in the Big Apple for me anytime soon!)

Now I’m more excited than ever for summer training and fast racing in Louisville and Hawaii!