2nd 4:18:36
Swim 11th 27:29
Bike 1st 2:20:27
Run 2nd 1:27:57
Cozumel is a beautiful little Island off mainland Mexico. Definitely a race to do and place to go. The swim is in the crystal clear ocean. 100% visibility - that's clearer than most swimming pools. The local Mexicans are all friendly and excited about all the commotion. The event itself is not quite the well-oiled, smooth-running Ironman production that rolls in and out of each host city in America, but what the Mexicans lack in polish, they make up for ten-fold with flair, excitement and genuine good intentions. The weather was warm but not crazy hot and there was some humidity in the air. Perfect for racing!
As the athletes line-up around the starting pier on race morning, the locals wake up the dolphins for a quick dolphin show to get the festivities started. What a way to get things started before the race hey! 15minutes before the scheduled pro start the organizers send off 1 lone competitor, he's got the tough task of completing the days 70.3 with his disabled daughter in tow. For swim leg, he's dragging a large green raft with his daughter in it. As we see him start out we get a little concerned that he's going to get trampled by the 2000 competitors starting soon behind...or that he'll maybe end up being a large road-block in the middle of the swim course.
I position myself on the start line sandwiched between the two fastest swimmers in the field, actually two of the fastest swimmers on the circuit. Maybe I can hold on for a few minutes... Ok, a few seconds! As we take off, almost immediately I lose sight of Liz and Jodie. But I find myself swimming in the pack. The water is amazing. We reach the first turn bouy at the far end and head for the second. As we approach I see the bright yellow turn bouy to the left and the big green raft of the man with his disabled daughter to the right. Ok, I think to myself, he's waiting for us to pass...safe...sensible. The pack, including myself head straight for the yellow buoy trying to find the shortest route. A few get through but then the gap begins to close. The green raft is getting closer to the yellow buoy and the opening is disappearing. By the time I get to it I see a rope linking the raft to the buoy. The man is pulling himself into the bouy. The girls ahead are madly rushing to climb over and under the rope before it completely closes. Most got through... I did not! I'm bashing at the raft but it wouldn't budge. I had no choice but to head far right and swim around the raft. I've completely lost contact with the pack. I put on a massive surge and luckily get back on. From there on I just sit and follow them back to the exit.
Not a great start, it definitely got my heart racing as it caused some panic. But I emerge with the pack, run past them all and mount my bike first (fourth overall with Emma-Kate 2mins up the road and Jodie & Liz 4mins up). As I begin cycling I hear this constant - bang, bang, bang! Oh no, my wheel is gonna come off. I pull on my handlebars to lift my bike slightly to see if my front wheel is loose. It doesn't seem to be but the bang! Bang! Bang! just won't stop. What is going on? Soon I see my front drink bottle positioned between my aero bars is slipping back and almost hitting my knees... My drink bottle cage is slipping off! I try madly to tighten it but fail. I try not to let it get to me... bang, bang, bang... I push the bottle forward so it doesn't fall right off... bang, bang, bang... Another push, no difference. I cannot get into a rhythm. I feel like I'm stuck in first gear. That's when my mind wonders for a little as I start singing "...you're stuck in second gear, when it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year...". The mount cage is not helping things as I'm thinking "How much damage is this doing to my bike?", "Should I just stop and fix it?" but moreso, the road is so rippled that I'm bouncing all over the place. "Maybe I can stop and let some air out of my tyres and at the same time fix my bottle?". My mind was going a million miles an hour but then just up ahead I see Emma-Kate. I put my head down, power past her and think, maybe Jodie and Liz are not too far ahead. After about 20k through the trees, we turn a slight corner to see the ocean again, we've made it across the other side of the Island already. I feel this massive sting in my thigh. Weird. It's pretty damn windy on this side of the Island so I think it must be the sand being blown up across the road whipping me in the legs. But then I realize the sting is confined to one small point. I look down and see the stinger from a bee is still stuck in my thigh. I wobble over the road as I frantically try to pull it out. The sting soon goes away but it remains itchy for the rest of the ride.
50km in and I see what looks like two more cyclists up ahead. I slide my sunnies down to the end of my nose like a granny looking out the top of her reading glasses. The sea salt has made my sunnies impossible to see clearly. But yep, there's Liz and Jodie just up ahead. At 55km I pass them both, still bang, bang, banging my way along. I get to 75km where we u-turn and head back the final 15k back to T2. As I turn around I see Emma-Kate, Jodie & Liz all sitting in. Damn! I slow down, move over and let Emma-Kate lead the way back into T2.
The four of us dismount together. We all throw our bikes towards the bike catchers and start yelling our race number. For those who don't know, when there are bike catchers 'usually' after you hand over your bike another volunteer will hand you your T2 bag (with your running shoes in it) then you will run to the change tent (separate male and female tents) before up ending it. Only when you are in the change tent can you begin to get changed. Several volunteers are standing there, some point straight ahead so Liz and I, first to dismount run straight ahead frantically looking for our bag. Meanwhile another volunteer points to his right so Emma-Kate and Jodie begin running to their right also frantically yelling out their race number. After what seems like minutes (probably only a few seconds) the four of us are doing a dance on the spot not sure where to go or what they want us to do! We didn't speak spanish and they didn't speak english. It would've made for some amusing footage if anyone got it. We all laughed about it after the race. After this little episode was all sorted I had to get a volunteer to help untangle my necklace from my helmet strap (probably due to the constant bouncing). Finally...I was all set for the run.
The four of us dismount together. We all throw our bikes towards the bike catchers and start yelling our race number. For those who don't know, when there are bike catchers 'usually' after you hand over your bike another volunteer will hand you your T2 bag (with your running shoes in it) then you will run to the change tent (separate male and female tents) before up ending it. Only when you are in the change tent can you begin to get changed. Several volunteers are standing there, some point straight ahead so Liz and I, first to dismount run straight ahead frantically looking for our bag. Meanwhile another volunteer points to his right so Emma-Kate and Jodie begin running to their right also frantically yelling out their race number. After what seems like minutes (probably only a few seconds) the four of us are doing a dance on the spot not sure where to go or what they want us to do! We didn't speak spanish and they didn't speak english. It would've made for some amusing footage if anyone got it. We all laughed about it after the race. After this little episode was all sorted I had to get a volunteer to help untangle my necklace from my helmet strap (probably due to the constant bouncing). Finally...I was all set for the run.
On to the run... I told my legs to go but they wouldn't budge. I shuffled on. Out and back and then again for another lap. It wasn't until 15km that my legs started to feel ok. It's coming to the end of my US season and I'm finally able to start putting some decent run training in now, so instead of backing off through this week I've been keen to continue building up for the future now that I can. Maybe this had something to do with the run leg here. And maybe also the long ride the Saturday before might've contributed too - where we rode a solid 204k from Boulder up to the highest continuous paved road in North American. An amazing ride that I'm glad we got to do before the cold weather set in to the Rockies.
It's been a tough year with a lingering injury and although it healed midway through the US season it was difficult to build enough mileage in the short period leading into key races while still tapering where needed. I managed a second place in Cozumel and although I really wanted the win I need to keep reminding myself that I was lucky to even make it to so many start lines this year.
It's been a tough year with a lingering injury and although it healed midway through the US season it was difficult to build enough mileage in the short period leading into key races while still tapering where needed. I managed a second place in Cozumel and although I really wanted the win I need to keep reminding myself that I was lucky to even make it to so many start lines this year.
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