I just got back from St Croix and wanted to update you right away. This island is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands and it’s beautiful. Ironman did a fantastic job, as usual, organizing the race.
The flight down was very easy and what’s more I used the services of Tribike Transport. Wow! What luxury. No more lugging my bike through the airport. My bike was waiting for me in their tent on Thursday so I was able to get in quick ride the same day. It arrived in perfect condition too. I am sold on their service.
Race day was framed by those beautiful trade winds which are always felt along the coast in St. Croix. The swim was in warm water so no wetsuit was allowed. The start was rough for me as I somehow got caught in the group and for a few minutes it seemed like we were swimming on top of one another. This was an unusual experience for me and I was glad to finally find open water. I did okay, coming in at about 28 minutes.
This was only my second time racing on my new Cannondale Slice with Zipp wheels and their new Aero Bar! I love the fit of this bike; well, really I love everything about it. As most of you know, biking is my personal challenge and I am working hard to improve my performance on this leg. Though I am not at the top of my game yet, I did ride with the top pros for the first part of the race and finished with a decent time.
This leg of the race was a hilly challenge. The roads on the island are generally not good and these were no exception. A lot of athletes had flat tires. In the future, I am going to pack my Gatorskins just in case. I usually don’t race with them, but they rarely go flat in training. Better a bit slower than a lot slower. In this case there had also been a fair amount of rain the week before which exposed a lot of rocks. I did learn from this experience that I need to be better prepared in the future for different types conditions.
Coming off the bike I felt strong. It was a beautiful run through a golf course and along the beach. This was the first time I ran in Ecco’s new running shoe and I had no complaints. I was pretty confident that they would perform wonderfully as I had started training with them a few months ago. Fifty years of making shoes does make for a high performance product. I am very picky about my shoes and these fit my needs perfectly.
I finished the run in 1:32, placing 5th overall as a pro women. While I had some lucky breaks, I am also seeing steady improvement from my new training regimen.
I am feeling very optimistic as I head to Texas in a few weeks. I hope to see you all there.
