Lake Stevens 70.3

After a relatively uneventful - but not too successful - Rev3 Portland, I was happy to head up to Lake Stevens for another whack at the 70.3 distance, my 3rd attempt in 4 weeks. It was a really good race, and an even better indicator of my fitness, and here's how it played out.

Swim (28:49)
Great swim for me. Good lake, buoy line to follow, and (finally) proof that Chris Bagg's master's swim class is working. Check.

Bike (2:29:48)
Imagine a roller coaster which lasts 2 1/2 hours, and you get the picture. Hands down the most fun I've had on a bike during a race. Period. Hilly, twisty, technical, wet and warm. For a majority of the ride I felt like putting my arms in the air and screaming like a kid on a coaster. It was that much fun.

My normalized power was 275, so it was only about 15 watts off goal pace, but I wanted to make sure I was running the 13.1 at the end. I also upped my PowerBar Gel consumption up to a gel every 25 minutes, which felt a lot better than every 45. Since I was drinking only water I wanted to try getting more calories. I'm going to go up to 300/hour next race.

Run (1:27:56)
Felt good for a bit and then tired for a bit. I need to work on my run, but I knew that coming in. At least I avoided walking, which was a big goal of mine after my Rev3 shuffle.

All in all, a great race, and I'll definitely come back. I'd highly recommend this race to just about anyone. Unless you just want a flat, fast course, this has something for everyone. I'm not signed up for anything besides IMWI & Hawaii, so not sure if I'll do something in August. I have a lot of work to do between now and WI, mainly with endurance, so I need to get crackin'.