I had a really strong race at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Florida as I think all of you know. I've had so many congrats from all of you.. thank you. I guess I'll write my final thoughts on the race here.

I'm struggling to feel content with my race. I know I exceeded my time goal... that's in black and white, clear as mud on paper. I thought I could hit a 4:40 for s/b/r, plus 5 - 6 min for transitions making a 4:45 a realistic goal. I finished in 4:40:07 and 7th in my age group, far exceeding what I believed I was capable of. On paper, I should be ecstatic with the event. So... what am I struggling with.

The drafting in the race was a huge issue. I've beat that to death in my race report so I don't need to re-visit it. I guess the one thing I have gained clarity on since I wrote that report is that out of the 6 women in front of me, I know that none of them could have rode any cleaner than I did. It would be easy for them to draft more than I did, but not to ride cleaner. That gives me my 7th place finish in very good conscious. I believe I earned that spot:)

The run is another issue though. If I had ran the 1:45 time and ran it solidly... meaning I committed to "running" and ran as hard as I could on the given day, I would have been satisfied with that result and run split. Where my disappointment comes is that I let the pain of racing get to me, and I broke down and walked 11 times during the half marathon. (I know it was 11 because I counted the walks on my Suunto download. It's easy to see them there as speed drops.) These walk breaks were simply because I was tired, and couldn't force myself to keep running. For me, that was a lapse in focus and commitment to race regardless of finishing time and place.

A lot of folks think that I'm 100% result and time focused... and I do work hard to do well and enjoy strong results at the end of the day. The thing that I think people miss though is that for me, finishing time is always second to execution.

For example, my best Ironman race was when I finished in 11:07 in 2007 at Ironman Canada. That is my "zen" Ironman. I can't find one minute in the day where I let myself down. I raced to my potential from start to finish. In 2008 I went faster... 11:04, but can think of several times I lost focus and my desire to race. I value the 11:07 more than the 11:04 because of how I raced. At Great White North 2009, I executed brilliantly from start to finish. My only "time loser" that day was that I couldn't get my wetsuit off... but that had nothing to do with execution. That day is my "zen" 70.3 race! It's not my fastest, but it's where I raced the best.

So, I guess I'll wrap this one up by saying that Clearwater was an amazing race on so many levels. It felt like a world championship once race day arrived... not much before. Still, I hope to go back next year as I'd like to give it a go again and take what I've learned this year to the start line. Hopefully I can find a way to get that "zen" day next year... I guess we'll find out if I make my way back.

Thanks for reading. Angie

Clearwater #2

This should technically be Clearwater #3 since this is day 3 in the Sunshine State. I figured that since I missed yesterday though I would stick with chronological order and call this "#2".

From my most basic observations Florida is not the "Sunshine State". The 3 days I've spent here it could be the "Cloudy State", or the "Windy State", or the "State where Angie is always cold" state... but definitely not anything with the word "sunshine" in it. Luckily today there is blue sky, however the wind is still howling and the I need a sweatshirt to stop shivering.

Yesterday was a very low key day. Ken, Jaimie and I went to the Clearwater Aquarium. It's really small and quaint... not at all fancy, but you get up close and personal to the few marine animals they have. It's a rescue facility committed to re-integrating sea critters to the ocean. I found it interesting however that every sea critter they talked about had a reason to not go back their natural habitat so were lifers in the aquarium. Still, it was a good outing.

Last night Ken helped me google every woman in my age group. (Pathetic... I know!) There are a few websites that make searching results really easy. One is www.triresults.com. The other is Bay Area something or other. What I learned was that there are a lot of really really smoking fast women registered in this race. Peggy Yetman was second in Kona in our AG this year. (I'm hoping she's tired!) Cassie McWilliams should be a pro, and there are a few others who are in a league of their own so to speak! There's a good group of women at similar speed to me from what I can tell, and I'm very much looking forward to a good race with these athletes. (Of course my biggest hope is that they all decide to ride clean and not cheat by drafting. From what I understand the chances of this happening are pretty slim!) I also read today that there wasn't any body marking in Kona, making me think there won't be any ages written on the calf of competitors to tell us how we're doing in our AG. So.. it could be a true time trial assuming a few riders stay out of the draft packs:)

The other big news for today is that the swim course has been moved from the ocean side of Clearwater to the Harbor. It will be a deep water mass start for pro men and women, and the age groupers will be a time trial start. I think this means we'll go at 3 second intervals on our own. It means you can't tell where you're at in your age group because everyone starts at different times. On the plus side maybe it will help a bit with drafting. I guess we'll see. This is the first time this has happened at the race so tomorrow could be a bit of an experiment. The website describing the changes is here: http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/worldchampionship70.3/clearwater2009/relocation-of-swim-for-foster-grant-ironman-world-championship-70.3

Finally I guess I should tell you I'm a bundle of nerves today. I don't remember the last time I felt like this pre-race, but I'm settling down finally at almost 2:00 in the afternoon. This morning I honestly was a nervous jittery puddle of goo! I know that when the gun goes though I'll get my brain in the game and do everything I can to race smart, to race hard, and to race clean. The results will take care of themselves when I get to the finish line!

As I finish writing this the wind is HOWLING outside our door, but at least the sun is shining. I'll take it as a positive sign.

Bye for now... Angie

Clearwater 70.3 World Championships Update #1

I've decided I should blog about my experience in Clearwater. As you may know, blogging is not something I'm good at getting to, but this experience seems worthy of a little typing time. So... what's it like in Florida?

The trip here was uneventful and pretty easy from a travel perspective. We flew direct on West Jet from Calgary to Orlando, and then it was about an hour and a half drive from Orlando to the condo in Clearwater. Ken and I had outstanding sushi on the way which really made the trip!

The condo we're staying in is right on the beach. I am sitting in the living room typing this with a very strong wind blowing in our patio door off the ocean. If it was hot it would be a perfect day! Unfortunately it's cloudy, and windy and cold but the weather is supposed to improve between now and Saturday which is race day.

This morning we went for coffee at a quaint little coffee shop a few k away. It was a very yummy latte... 1/4 pump caramel as always. A great way to start the day. Some groceries then off to the expo to get our race packages. It was FREEZING in the gazebo where package pick up is located with rain blowing sideways off the water into where the tables are. As always the volunteers were amazing, and it was a quick trip around to sign the waivers, get my cap and a run down on what to do with ALL the numbers in my bag, sign in my timing chip and of course, get the goody bag. If always amazes me how every Ironman expo feels the same, no matter where you are. This one was no exception. On the plus side there is a pair of Foster Grant sunglasses in our packages! A nice little bonus!

We then went to the merchanise tent and once again I left buying nothing. I did have a great chat though with a lady I met in Oceanside in April. She's in my age group and very fit and fast. We talked about the course and what we both hope to do. She outran me at Oceanside by 3 - 4 minutes. I'm hoping to catch her on Saturday! We both agree though that how we race is more important than results which we can't control. It was nice to talk to a competitive woman who has a similar approach to racing as I do. We talked about drafting too and how to manage "not" giving it energy on race day. I know that will be my biggest challenge.

We had lunch and Jaimie Roth and I went for a 20 min ride. Wow... riding flat is a really novel experience! I can't say I felt all that safe on the roads. There is a bike lane but it's such a busy street that cars are pulling in and out from the side all over the place, so I was a bit nervous.

From a "race" feel... my bike felt amazing! Ken put it together for me... thanks Ken!... and adjusted the placement of my pads for my aerobars and it's a good change. I also have new pedals that feel great and for the first time in a long time I can clip in and out without effort! For the few minutes I was on my bike I felt "one" with my bike! That's a GOOD thing!

I came home, spent about 30 min fiddling with new speed laces in my runners, then went for a 12 min run. I alternated 1 min fast / 1 min easy and it felt SO good! I'm hoping this is a sign that my cold is done and my chest is clear. I do feel a pretty big need to swim... I'm missing the water. That will be on the agenda tomorrow after our fishing trip! (I'm SO excited about the fishing trip. I think it will be cold, but I REALLY want to catch a BIG fish. A bizarre thing coming from me I know... it's just something I want to do!)

So... that's day 1 in Clearwater. No big pro sightings yet. The expo was pretty quiet today but I expect it to be a busy place tomorrow. We are going to go to Jaimie's favorite restaurant tonight even though we have lots of food for dinner:)

So... that's a wrap for day 1!! Hope all is well in Canada. Angie