This place is awesome as the transition is right outside the Hotel Room Door and just steps away from the swim start on the beautiful black sand beach. I went for a warmup jog to get the juices flowing. We have been sleeping until 9:00am here as dinner is typically anywhere from 9:00pm to midnight. The race here begins at 9:00am which by Chilean standards is early (ha ha) do you know of any race that starts at 9:00 am in the States – we were lovin it !!!
It has been months since I have raced, last August to be exact and as such has been one of the longest off seasons I have had in years so I was a little more nervous than usual. I took a few deep breaths, said a little prayer and looked at the beautiful scenery around me and was thankful that I have the opportunity to go out and push myself to my limits (which us “A” type athletes love).
I had an average swim, the usual jostling around for position. It is a two loop swim, after the first loop you exit the water and run 200 meters on the beach (this is the tough part in the deep sand) and then re-enter the water for loop number two. Amanda Stevens of the U.S. a world class swimmer was out ahead of the pack by a few minutes.
I felt good on the two loop bike course. Last year Lindsey Corbin caught me after loop one and put another four minutes on me. I have been biking with an amazing cyclist at home, trying to pick my cycling up a level so when Lindsey caught me one quarter of the way through the bike I made it my mission to stay with her for as long as I could. We passed Amanda Stevens about three quarters of the way through the bike. I was pleased to come in to transition about 15 seconds behind Lindsey (glad I used my Zipp Disc wheel – it was perfect for this course).
The run here is tough – period!! It’s a three loop run, each loop has a super hilly section (think nonstop rollers) and a flat out and back. Lindsey took off and was 1 minute up on loop one, during loop two I would gain a little time on the flats but the mountain girl was strong on the hills (she is from Montana). The third loop I was 45 seconds back and thought to myself I better go now and gave it absolutely everything !! When the legs are screaming to ease up is when it’s time to PUSH HARDER, it was that time……
On the final hill section Lindsey’s lead was 10-15 seconds and I hit the last 1k and for 10-15 seconds I just had to DIG! We ran shoulder to shoulder for a few seconds, I re-called Lisa Bentley pulling away from me three years ago at the very end, I wasn’t going to let that happen. It was pushing past any and all mental barriers that helped secure my victory in the end. It was a thrilling and very exciting race.
I just wanted to thank my Sponsors as none of this is possible without their help. Charlie and Trakkers you are the best, I can’t wait until the world can enjoy your new technology. K-Swiss, I am proud to be a member of the team and trilled to bring home the first K-Swiss victory of the year. To Quintana Roo, First Endurance, Village Bikes, Ironman Helmets, Wigwam, GU, Fuel Belt, Zipp Wheels, Oakley, to William at the Center Four, and Chiro-Kinetics a major THANK YOU!!!
Congratulations Heather. You are an inspiration.
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