Holy damsites! a DamitMan race report

after competing in this race last year and having an absolute BLAST at a new race on a new racecourse, and turning around too soon on the run and getting a final DQ- I vowed to do it again and do it RIGHT! I was hoping they had gotten the volunteers squared away with directions and spot positions on the course as per my requests from last year and yes, they had a much better communication standard met this year!

Laura Bernal and i decided NOT to drive up a.m. of the race even though its a quick drive up (2hrs max) it's hard to find at dark thirty and plus, you have to leave El Paso at 3:30-4 AM to make it safely, transition set up and race starts at 7am! We got a room at the Historic Lodge site right at the race start; room was rustic but fantastic (except for the evil eye'd chicken staring at Laura) no TV, no phone... just us and the giant chicken! well, heck, time to have some fun! lets dress that chicken up with a helmet and some hammer gel and Laura felt more comfy then.

Slept badly- back and sciatica were a real hindrance but oh well, bright and early 5:;30 the cars rolled in and it was a natural wake up call. Trotted 2 mins down to transition, set it up, back to room, chill and prepare, out the door-warmup, down to the lake and boom! We are in a severe drought situation and the water level at the lake was maybe 30 feet down? we had to swim on the "other" side of the marina to accommodate the low water effect but it was all good. I had warned friends: "the run to transition is like none you've even done!" and boy was I right!

up up and up the switchbacked rocky course we ran- into transition... and focus because there is a hill right at the mount line similar to Buffalo Springs,Lubbock! get clipped in quickly and have the bike pre-set gearing wise for that climb- and time to wake up! I sprang around the bike course, watching my competition and keeping legal distance behind her- Miz Sarah Crewe, a 50 yr old RACEHORSE- we played cat and mouse multiple times on the course- before you know it you are finishing the last climb to transition, descending and starting your run. All I can say is preview the course in person, day before if you're a first timer- you will be running straight up a switchback road, up up and up! it feels like you are climbing forever but with Sarah and I starting the climb together I knew i had her, passed and gassed in the first 200 yds, I continued to put time into her on the run. I felt great! amazing! through-out this race I had achieved 'FLOW'. And then someone yelled "first woman!" and i was shocked. I'm 47, Sarah is 50 and we have realized we can't beat the younger girls much, if any anymore, for the overall title- but Today was my day! I was sizing people up that morning and it goes to show you that you can't tell how fast someone is by looks alone-just relax! and do you're own best race! and that strategy got me the win because I relaxed and stayed well within myself.

At the top of the massive hill climb it was rolling hills- the men had a 3 min head start on my wave and i quickly found "my guys" on the course; Art S. was climbing, BrooksV was passing me on the out and back stretch, vet Mark Lennox in his first open water tri was hammering away, I saw Fernie gettin crazy on the approach to the watertower- WOW! I hit Kori Mannon's hand 2x- her BF Scott is the RD for this race and she was "just doin it" to a 3rd place overall. At the race start they announced that one of my long time race friends and an elite male, Master Mike Montoya had had a heart attack that took him to ICU; Kori was racing for him, I was racing for him, Laura Bernal was racing for him that day. What a blow- fit, fast as heck, barely 40+ and laid down with a H.A. He's recovering after 3 stints and we were in our power and giving it back toward him on Sunday am!

I pretty much flew over this course, finishing 2 mins ahead of Sarah, had my best swim ever!!!!! and felt great afterward-wow. I will be prepping for ElephantMan which is approx. the same area but not the same course- I have had to make a hard decision about Duathlon Worlds in Spain this year. I was going until my kid's private school just closed with no notice; we have scrammbled for new schools and my purpose is to see that they assimilate smoothly into the new schools and way new curriculums. That leaves me open to doing the next race at ElephantButte lake Sept 24/25!

Buffalo Springs 70.3, Lubbock TX 2011 tried to to put me under!

I wanted to DNF 2 miles into the run... but Cherie came running by me and said "you can't quit!" so for her I finished

worst drought conditions in West Tx in recent history, combined with28-30mph sustained winds that began before day break, combined with record heat for the region all came together to make this years BSLT 1/2 Iron the hardest yet.

I was ready for heat, I was ready for wind or so I thought... Race morning started 30 mins earlier than planned due to extreme conditions-NOT a good sign. Laura Bernal and i rolled into town on Friday, played at the lake Saturday a.m. while we watched friends BobbyG., BrooksV, and TommyT compete in the sprint race. Cherie joined us for a pre-swim on the course and we were all being swamped by wind driven waves straight to the lungs on the long backstretch return of the course... we all prayed for calm water race morning

9th wave: 6:40 am start- I started well, was 5th to the first buoy, felt fast and strong, swam straight but they had jammed all the swim waves so close together and put us next to last so I immediately swam into all 8 waves of slower swimmers-ugh-didn't get clear water till the backside of the course and the water was pretty calm, not flat but not like yesterday! Came out of the water as last year-30 mins and then proceeded to fight with my wetsuit and the wetsuit stripper! DANG IT! that took a huge chunk of time before I crossed the timing mat as I had a virgin wetsuit stripper who got all stuck in my suit! brush that off... jammed on the bike, perfect gear selection for the 6% grade climb immediately out of transition but then full force wind in the face on top! I worked my way through the course despite the winds, being careful of my hydration and electrolytes but I didn't account for the extra calories spent fighting the mostly cross winds! yes, I got out my course map and plotted the wind to prove to myself that yes it was THAT bad! mostly 40+ miles of the course was crosswinds with the remaining 16 head/tail-JIMMINY! but this meant that I hit the run with nothing in the tank, I felt like nothing could save me; it was HOT, I was HUNGRY and I was facing 13.1 miles of more hills, wind and heat. I was passing people but was running aid station to aid station getting as much drink and gels as I could-once on top of the lake well into the "heat stroke" energy lab section I began putting ice EVERYWHERE! jog bra, down the shorts, down the coolsleeves, under the hat. At 6 miles I began to feel some part of myself coming back into proper pace and form but I still stopped at every aid station. Coming down the hills into the lake area again I felt like I was flying; I ran up on a girl that had really out run me in the beginning, although now, as we both stopped for COKE, and commiseration we decided to take the last 3 miles back in company, encouraging the other to get back on pace and that yes, we ideed were gonna FINISH! we picked up 2 more runners and the vibe was powerful- I began to flow as we ran and talked and suffered... 1 mile to go, my new friend from Colorado, a mom of 3 boys, 36 yrs old fell off the pace, she yelled at me to GO and I yelled at her to stick to my back. I flew that last mile, feet never touched the ground. I have never been so happy to finish a race in order to get right back in that lake and cool off, eat, have a beer and CHILLAX! I avoided the medical tent thank you God and had no cramping but i have never seen so many people struggling, walking, in the med tent, so many ambulances. Later at the awards ceremony the RD did say dispite the conditions this yrs race had the most finishers-wow and, He said "hottest race on record". I felt completely puny when I saw my friend Jessica Jacobs, a pro who ROCKED the 70.3 with the fastest bike and 2nd fastest run!

Laura and I went straight to the hotel and legs up, room temp set to 62* until the awards ceremony that night. We decided that yes, next year, we will be back :)

the rest of the summer is sprint distance racing; it's redline and whole lota quick f un!