Augusta 70.3

[kacie tri-ing]

Hello! I thought I would share....I will be racing in the augusta 70.3 this weekend! My main goal is to finish healty and with my hip feeling good. My time for my last one was 6:24, but I am certain that I will be slower than that (mostly because I intend to take it really easy on the run). It should be fun though! It's exciting to have an m-dot event in our state for the first time, and there are 3,400 participants, so it will be an Event! Think good thoughts (and injury free thoughts!). My real name is Kacie Darden if you want to track me :-) www.ironmanaugsta.com I don't know my race number yet, so I couldn't give that to you!

Have great training/racing weekends!

[skibum]

Hi Kacie! I'll be one of the 3400 people out there with you on the Augusta 70.3 course. I have similar goals as you... a year ago, I was just coming off of 10 weeks of inactivity after being hit by a car while riding my bike. I decided to do this race as a way to keep me motivated to get back in shape. So, my main goal is to just finish and have the leg that sustained injuries in the accident feeling good. My last HIM was 6:35. I'd love to finish under 6:30. This course is easier than the last one I did so even though my running isn't as strong I might have a chance to beat my previous time.

Have a great race and, most importantly, have fun!

[kacie tri-ing]

Hey! Which swim wave are you in?? We could be near each other for some of this race!!

I am in atlanta, so I am not heading down until tomorrow, but I am pretty excited about it. I love the energy of a big race!

[Iris616]

3400 participants. Did I read that right? That is intense!
Good luck and have fun!

[Wahine]

With that many participants I'm glad to hear it's a wave start!! Good luck to both of you and have fun.

[skibum]

Hey! Which swim wave are you in?? We could be near each other for some of this race!!

I'm in wave 18. How about you? Other than the pros, most of the women's waves are fairly close together so we might see each other out on the course. The way the run loops around through downtown, we are fairly likely to be near each other at some point during that part of the race.

It's crazy to have so many people but that will just make it be an exciting atmosphere. I'm counting on the energy of the crowd to get me through the run.

[katluvr]

Good luck to you both.
There are a group of triathletes from the St. Pete/Tampa bay area going. Can't wait for the race report!
70.3...wow....maybe some day!

[Pedal Wench]

Good luck to BOTH of you!!! I'll be cheering from afar!!!

[spindizzy]

Cheers from Canada to both of you! I wish you both good, solid races. Yay- more RRs!

[Tri Girl]

Good luck, ladies!!! Here's to great racing this weekend! Cheers.

[colby]

Awesome!! Good luck to both of you, you've put in all the hard training and now you'll do GREAT! Take it easy and race smart!

[kacie tri-ing]

Quick race report!

All is well, and my hip survived! YIPPIE!!!!

Swim:
Amazing times! I did it in 32 minutes! It was downstream, and wetsuit legal. I was actually confused and wasted about a minute at the end looking for the part that I missed (because it was so fast!). I have really gained love for the open water swim. I know it is the most intimidating thing to start with, but I have really learned to love it!

Bike:

Nice bike course. It had a great tailwind at the beginning, hills for the whole middle, and downhill with headwinds at the end. Through it all, I was able to maintain a 17 mph average.

Run:

So this has been my issue for some time (as some of you know). I had not run more than 10 miles in training, and I was barely ready for this race. My entire goal was to cross the finish line without an injury, and I was prepared to do anything to acheive that! It was my slowest half marathon ever (2:33), but I am not injured

All in all my time was 6:30, which is 4 minutes slower than my last one (but I am FINE with that). My DH and friends were phenomenal cheerleaders with crazy signs and dancing and singing like crazy.

Everything hurts today, but nothing hurts in a way that is scary or will send me to a doctor (which has become my fear in the past 6 months). I am looking forward to recovering and going on with fall running season!

[Veronica]

Nice! I was waiting for your report! Glad the hip behaved itself!

Veronica

[katluvr]

Awesome!
I admire anyone that can do that distance! Good finishing time, too. You should be very pleased (proud)!

[skibum]

Adding my race report...

Swim:
I had psyched myself out a little before the swim. I'm not the fastest swimmer and was worried about the 5 waves of men coming behind me, envisioning them swimming over me. So, when I got in the water, the nervous energy got to me. My heartrate was a little high and I had troubles getting my breathing under control. I had to breaststroke for the first 100 yards or so. Finally settled in and swam well for the rest of the distance. The combination of wearing a wetsuit and having a strong current was a big help to me. Despite the slow start, I finished in 34:26.

Bike:
Nice course. My goal was to hold an 18 mph pace and I did it. Initially, it looked like I might be a little faster but the hills and headwind got to me. Still, on track there.

Run:
Came out of transition feeling good and thought I'd have a chance to finish in 6 hours. Given that my main goal was to finish in 6:30 and my stretch goal was to finish in 6:15, I was elated. Well, that didn't last long. After the first mile, I started to feel some nausea and had to switch from a run to a run-walk. I thought I had hydrated properly up to that point but was definitely feeling the effects of the heat. Just kept moving and made sure I got gatorade and/or water at each aid station. That helped and I continued with a solid run/walk pace. At the 2nd to last aid station, they were out of cups so I didn't take on any fluids there. I briefly considered picking up one of the used cups from the ground but decided to push on. By mile 12, I was wishing I had picked up one of those cups because I was hurting. My husband happended to be standing in that area cheering me on. That gave me a boost and helped keep me moving. As I approached the final aid station (maybe 1/4 mile to go), I looked at my watch and realized that if I kept pushing I might beat my stretch goal. So I dug deep, passed up the aid station, and kept moving to the finish. My final time was 6:13. I beat my stretch goal by 2 min and my last HIM time by 22 min.

Even though I had such a challenging run, I'm thrilled with how I finished. I've struggled quite a bit with my running after my accident last year so I didn't expect to do well there. My muscles are sore today from the exertion and I'm still trying to recover from the dehydration but I finished with no pain in the injured leg and that is huge.