Last weekend I participated in the first Clash Endurance race held in Gulfport, Mississippi and it was a glorious weekend of racing! I love the Clash Endurance events having raced in Miami several times and so many epic memories in Daytona. This race hosted a Pro Sprint Race (Americas Triathlon Cup Gulfport), the collegiate National Championships, and Age Group Sprint and Daytona Distances closing it out. I raced the Daytona Distance Duathlon.
Friday morning I ventured out to the race site early on the Gulf to watch the Pro Women’s race with Team USA Olympic Gold Medalist Gwen Jorgensen racing. There were 75 women racing and heading out on the 5k run to finish the race she was down by 50 seconds. She worked her way outside of the top 10 to finish 2nd behind last year’s collegiate National Champion…at 40 years old. She can still do it at the highest level!
Saturday morning I went back to the race site to watch some of the Collegiate Olympic Distance National Championship while completing my day before pre-race run. It was an incredible energy with so many top athletes from around the country. Later in the day I returned to pick up my race packet and watched the college kids compete in the team relays. That energy level was through the roof as their teammates were yelling and screaming throughout the race.
Then came Sunday morning. After two beautiful days of weather, Sunday brought very high winds with no sun. The temperatures were great however…in the low 60s to start and topping out around 70 by the end of the race. The winds were so fierce, they canceled the swim due to the dangerous conditions resulting in the triathlon racers joining us. This was going to be challenging on the bike and I am used to winds riding across the Courtney Campbell Causeway back home so I was looking forward to the challenge.
The Daytona Distance consisted of a 1.5 mile run – 60k (36+ mile) bike – 15k (9.3 mile) run. I was ready to go after dealing with a bit of a food error from the night before….needless to say I had quite the experience pre-race…
The first run was made up of 3-1/2 mile loops with several turns. I felt ok, not great, but not fast. This was the second race in a row where I just didn’t have the pop on the first run. I was right at my target pace but somewhat worked for it. That placed me 6th overall and 2nd in my age group.
After a terrible transition, I headed out on the bike. This would entail three out-and-backs of six miles in each direction, first heading east hugging the Gulf and then U-turning back and then doing that again and again. It was such a cool view as we were on the road looking out to the Gulf with only beach separating us…not a single building the entire way. The bad part was we had an East/South East wind hitting us 25+ mph sustained. We WORKED like hell going into the headwind and again worked like hell with the tailwind coming back. My difference was about 15 mph depending on the direction I was headed.
This is where my race really began. During the first six miles out I worked my way into 3rd overall and at the U-turn noticed someone on my butt. As we sped back to the start and completed our first full loop he was still there. At the next U-turn (18 miles), he was there still. At this point I was considering he may be picking his spot to make his move. We got back to the start to begin our third loop and he was there again. Then again at mile 30, he was still there! I worked my tail off to get back to transition and was still holding on to the 3rd overall spot.
I had a better transition this time but not great, and headed out on the run. At this point when we left transition, I was leading the gentleman behind me by 15 seconds. I was well behind 1st and 2nd. The final run was a 3 lap, 5k out-and-back, where at miles 1.5, 4.5, and 7.5 we had a hard U-turn where you could see who was behind you. We did not have that benefit from the start of each loop as we went around a few things and up and over a pedestrian bridge. One benefit on the run was the pedestrian bridge took us into a neighborhood where we were protected from the winds and the temperatures were great!
At the end of the bike my lower back and quads were pretty worked. As I started the run my back was completely fine and at my typical .6/.7. miles the quads felt better. My concern at this point was my right hamstring as it felt a bit compromised. Otherwise I felt endurance strong and had a good pace going out. At the first U-turn (mile 1.5), my lead didn’t seem like much as he was STILL on my butt. It seemed tighter but it was 18 seconds. Again I was thinking, is he still sitting on me waiting to make a move and at this point I could tell he was much younger than me.
In my typical fashion, I just focused on me, maintaining a pace I thought I could hold for 15k. I did a good job with nutrition on the bike and run and that helped my confidence to continue to press. By the time we got to the next U-turn at mile 4.5, I noticed my lead grew a tad (from 18-40 seconds looking at the stats) and that was a burst of confidence. I was still feeling strong and just stretched the lead… I then decided to pick up the pace for a bit to see if that may do a break and I just ran with that head space until we got back to the next U-turn at mile 7.5 and when I made that turn, I did not see him. Woah…
At about a minute we crossed our paths and doing some quick fuzzy math in my head, determined he would have to run a pace that would be out of this world to catch me but I have certainly cramped (charley horsed) in races where this lead was not safe. I kept pressing through the finish, holding on for a very proud 3rd Place Overall by 3 minutes and 13 seconds and won my Age Group.
I waited for the guy on my butt and now found his name was, Ignacio, to finish and we gave the look to each other knowing we just pressed each other to the limit. We had a great quick chat before we headed out of the finishing area.
This was my second race of the season and this distance was an extension to the Olympic distance I raced three weeks prior. I was pretty pleased with the output and grade myself this way:
- Run 1 = B – My pace was on target but I had to work for it. I didn’t feel hoppy…didn’t expect to but always hold out hope for that feel…not on this day and was 6th overall.
- Bike = A – I embraced the crazy winds not letting up mentally the entire 36+ miles. Ignacio was on my butt the entire time and I had a mini breakaway during the final 6 miles to go into transition with a better buffer than I had to that point. I had the 3rd best bike of the day enabling me to head out on the run in 3rd place.
- Run 2 = A- – I was in control pressing the entire way, my pace was extremely consistent, and for a 15k I was very happy with the pace.. I was able to breakaway when I strategized to and that was good enough for 5th best on the day.
- Mental = A – I executed my game plan from the start to the finish and with Ignacio on me the entire race I was engaged and racing…that was extremely satisfying.
This was an incredible experience. It was a new venue and I loved it. Watching the professionals and collegiates race in a great energy environment was fun and then to have a solid performance myself made the trip. I have another tune up coming along with a fun relay before heading to the Olympic Distance Nationals in May and Long Course Nationals in June. More work ahead…
– Add Health to Your Life
The Healthy Giraffe 
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