Liberty 70.3 Race Report

2015 Liberty Long Course
Race Report

June 13, 2015

We had some great results (and great representation) at Liberty this year! Congrats to all those who competed!  This year I am flying the OutKast Triathlon Team colors, so I was able to make some new friends from Iowa prior to the race.

My race was a failure to meet my goals, but a success at the same time.

It was the roughest swim start that I can remember! Everything I had expected, but didn't find in WI last fall, I found this morning. I was punched, kicked, pulled, elbowed, swam over, & checked! After the initial battle, I pulled out of the crowd and spent most of the swim picking off light blue swim caps. I had a great swim time and was ahead of last year by about :01/100.

I transitioned side by side with Sara, but she blew me away as we hit the road.

It was raining for the first part of the bike. I held to my race plan. The bike felt great. Mike & Matt D. both passed me as we were starting loop 2. They were only about 400 yds apart as each went by. I had 2 issues on loop 2. Both were at intersections controlled by law enforcement. Both cases were driver's being impatient & not listening/watching the traffic control. No contact, but close calls. Lesson learned: always pay attention! I came off the bike with a PR time, but feeling strong at the same time.

T2 was uneventful.

I started the run pulling back hard on the reigns. My plan was to hold steady through mile 8/9, then start letting it all go. Matt R went sailing by on his way into his last couple miles. It was fun to cheer everyone on as we crossed paths during the run. Pushing mile 8, my legs screamed at me and my quads cramped up. The last 5 miles were a battle to keep pushing forward. Around a half a mile from the finish, my PR time slid by. I crossed the finish line about 5 minutes behind my previous best time. I was happy that I had finished, happy with everything up to mile 8 on the run, but disappointed I was so close, but couldn't pull off the PR. Maybe next time!

It was great to see so many accomplishments from all of the LAMS racing! From Matt's amazing 4:30 to Paul finishing his first half, it was a great day at Lake Rebecca Park Reserve!