My First Half

Sunday I will be competing in Benton Harbor, Michigan in my first Half Ironman. I'm pretty stoked to race since it's going to be so foreign to me. I've never done a race this long yet in my life so it should be exciting to see how I do.

This will be the longest swim I've ever raced, I used to be a sprinter in college at the University at Buffalo and had my first 1650 race this past spring at USMS nationals in Indy, then my first unofficial timed 1500 this summer out at the long course Nat here at Penn state. I'm not worried at all about the swim, I've been using my Finis equipment at all of my practices, working on technique, doing fast paced sets, focusing on body position and my breathing. I've been using my pink Finis snorkel almost every day and have been getting so much better at it. I can finally swim 300s+ with it, and swim it fast and acurate. I've been going to a local quarry a few times recently to get open water swimming in. I'm ready to go fast at this 1.2 mi swim on Sunday, maybe even getting a top overall female spot in that leg of the race.

I've been going on longer and longer rides this summer, training with other top notch triathletes and ex-duathletes, attending the State College Cycling group rides when I can. The long rides are awesome, definitely one of my favorite things to do on a sunny afternoon or after a long day of work. The scenery, the sounds, talking to whomever I'm training with about life, all of it, makes me take a step back to slow my busy life down a bit and think about how much I enjoy what I do professionally and athletically. The 56 miles will be a breeze, I just need to remember to race smart for the last part of the race.

The run, that's going to be where I need to focus on not going out too hard but keeping a good pace so I can finish well. I'm ready to see what I have in the tank to finish strong, keeping my form, and beating my friendly competition, the boys on the Penn State Tri club! I'll be using some of Dox-shots products throughout the race, taking my ASEA in the mornong before to race to help me start and finish strong, having a bottle of Ucan on my bike to help me sustain my energy for the race, and taking a few FRS chews before the run for some more healthy energy to help me finish the race strong. I'm hoping to win the female 20-24 age group, I'm ready to go fast, I'm ready to win, I'm ready to race.

Follow stats from the race online and look out for bib #363 on the course, one of your Dox-shots competitor team athletes, wave #5 starting at 7:16am in the purple cap, yours truly!