Saturday - Money in the bank

Gary, Trephina, Angela, Paula and I headed out on our bikes at 5:50 AM. The plan was for Gary and Trephina to do the course twice, but skip the out and back sections while the rest of us did the whole course twice.

Now, I have only ridden 94 miles on 6 hours once before, so this was going to be a huge day for me. We planned to ride conservatively. Heck, we'd put in some major the work the two days before, so we weren't all that fresh to begin with.

Other than being really cold after the long descent, the first loop was very uneventful. I stuck to HR and nutrition plan and was feeling okay. We finished the first loop in 3:45 (not fast, but okay). We refreshed our nutrition and then Angela made the call to skip the out and back section this second time through, because there was no reason to be on our bikes for 8 hours. We already knew the course by now. Part of me was disappointed, but mostly I was relieved.

We got a little split up on the rollers heading to the big descent. By this time, there were a ton of other triathletes (and car traffic) out on the course. I rode the descent like a champ though and ended up passing Angela on the way down. We headed out a little on the flat section at a slow pace, but when our champion descender/flat rider did not catch up to us, we turned around. On the way back, we finally ran into Paula. She was having a breathing problem and was wheezing quite a bit. We rode back to a nearby restaurant and paid a nice lady to take Paula back into town. I know she was very disappointed, but she had already put in a solid 70+ miles and there was part of me that was jealous that she could stop riding.

Angela and I then headed back onto the course. On the ascent into Wilmington, the wind was just brutal. Angela was getting farther and farther away and I had nothing left to catch up to her. We regrouped at the convenience store. Hodska was there too waiting for his guys. I started crying, but I don't know why. I guess I was just so tired. I swear there was only head or cross wind that day and absolutely no tail wind. The guys all concurred and Gus said it was the worst conditions he'd ever experienced on that course. I guess that is good to know and I can hope for better conditions come race day. If they are the same though, at least I know I can do it.

The plan was for Angela just to ride her own pace from there, but luckily I was able to keep up with her for the most part. My stomach was killing me in the last 5 or so miles, so I just slowed down and drank only water. It helped tremendously. By the time, we rolled into the hotel parking lot, I had covered 100 miles in 6:45 ride time. Now, I have a new distance/time PR until the race! Woo hoo!

We transitioned quickly into running stuff and headed out for a 30-minute run. Paula was thankfully feeling better, so she joined us. We checked out the house Matt's family, Matt and I are staying at during race week and it is very cute! It is on Mirror Lake drive, has a full front porch with swing and a full back porch with grill. We peered inside and the living room looks very cute. Unfortunately, the bedrooms were shuttered. Maggie and Jean, I think we picked a winner.

After a shower and a quick bite to eat, we drove out to a river and soaked our legs in the wonderfully cold water. Hodska suggested going for a swim, but no one took him up on it.

We had another nice meal, including a large, dark beer for me before heading to Ben and Jerry's for one last treat. When we got back to the room, Paula opened up some celebratory champagne for Trephina, her and me. I definitely had no trouble sleeping that night!