On Saturday, August 15th, I completed my 26th long distance triathlon. Embrunman was everything I thought it would be. It was beautiful and challenging.
RESULTS
As I get older, I still want to feel competitive on race day. For most of my 30s I measured athletic success by how fast I could be. I feel grateful to my body that I can still race other women near the front of the field but I no longer race with outcome goals.
Over the past few years I’ve leaned more into my strengths as an endurance athlete. I’m choosing races that reward athletes who excel at performing under fatigue. Instead of training in a way of “how can I get faster” I ask myself, “how can I get even better at not slowing down.”
I felt incredibly prepared for Embrunman. It was one of those days when everything came together. I felt strong all day and even with some low moments they never spiraled into anything negative. I feel that this was one of my top three long distance performances in the past 20 years. I’m so proud of my 44 year old body.
I love challenging races because they allow me to train and race as the current version of myself instead of feeling like I’m losing the past version of myself.
Getting older doesn’t mean you can’t be competitive. You just have to find new ways to challenge yourself.
As I get older, I still want to feel competitive on race day. For most of my 30s I measured athletic success by how fast I could be. I feel grateful to my body that I can still race other women near the front of the field but I no longer race with outcome goals.
Over the past few years I’ve leaned more into my strengths as an endurance athlete. I’m choosing races that reward athletes who excel at performing under fatigue. Instead of training in a way of “how can I get faster” I ask myself, “how can I get even better at not slowing down.”
I felt incredibly prepared for Embrunman. It was one of those days when everything came together. I felt strong all day and even with some low moments they never spiraled into anything negative. I feel that this was one of my top three long distance performances in the past 20 years. I’m so proud of my 44 year old body.
I love challenging races because they allow me to train and race as the current version of myself instead of feeling like I’m losing the past version of myself.
Getting older doesn’t mean you can’t be competitive. You just have to find new ways to challenge yourself.
Swim gear: Roka wetsuit, Roka goggles, timing chip, swim cap.
Bike gear: Helmet, cycling shoes, sunglasses, race number on belt, computer, compression socks, nutrition (baggy of INFINIT + Gel). 3 bottles in special needs bag for top of Izoard.
Run gear: Bambu Werx run hat, New Balance Elite shoes, Perfect cooling towel, Naked run belt, sunglasses, reusable cup, Garmin watch.
We received a basket for all our gear. I put everything in the basket on the evening before the race which made for an easy transition set up on race morning.
RACE RECAP
2.4 mile swim: 58:02.
It’s been a long time since I’ve done a mass start with over 1000 athletes and it was crazy. Water felt great and I felt smooth for the two loops. My focus for the stay was to conserve energy and to hold a steady effort. I was able to stay in a small group with a few guys, which helped me draft throughout the two loops.
I should mention that I had a little scare on race morning as my bike was not shifting. We had to hang our bikes by the seat which meant my bike was upside down all night. It also poured in the afternoon. When I turned on my computer in the morning, it said Di2 battery critical. I texted Karel and we tried everything (via text). He was not allowed to enter transition area and I was not allowed to leave. Thankfully I had the Di2 charger and power bank (we learned from Karel’s issue at Lake Placid) and we plugged it into my charger and it showed fully charged. I must have not woken the battery up in the morning or hit a button on accident but thankfully all was ok. But this issue caused me to rush before the 6am swim start and I didn’t have my wetsuit on until 5:50am.
I should mention that I had a little scare on race morning as my bike was not shifting. We had to hang our bikes by the seat which meant my bike was upside down all night. It also poured in the afternoon. When I turned on my computer in the morning, it said Di2 battery critical. I texted Karel and we tried everything (via text). He was not allowed to enter transition area and I was not allowed to leave. Thankfully I had the Di2 charger and power bank (we learned from Karel’s issue at Lake Placid) and we plugged it into my charger and it showed fully charged. I must have not woken the battery up in the morning or hit a button on accident but thankfully all was ok. But this issue caused me to rush before the 6am swim start and I didn’t have my wetsuit on until 5:50am.
113 mile bike, ~11,500 feet elevation gain: 7:20.20.
I felt very prepared for this bike course. I really put in a lot of specific cycling trainer for this event but I also incorporated group rides to help keep my top end sharp. This bike course can be broken into three sections. The first “loop” included a 12 mile climb that started from the transition area. Within the first pedal stroke, I was climbing. This climb took me ~57 minutes (~1800 feet). We then had a fast descent. Karel told me I was 2nd after the swim and first in my category (masters one/FM1) but I didn’t realize I was 2nd overall until I biked my way up to the leader - who was a professional (with a yellow bib number). We ended up riding together for the first 2.5 hours of the race. With this came the lead motorcycle and a camera guy on a motorcycle taking lots of pictures and videos (which you can check out on the Embrunman Facebook page).
After finishing the 28 mile “loop” (which isn’t really a loop but looks that way on the map) and covered 2300 feet of elevation gain, the next section was a little more mellow. There were still some punchy sections. We rode on a beautiful twisty road that had gentle undulations alongside a balcony brick wall. It was beautiful. I stopped at an aid station to top off my rear bottle (which had powder inside). I didn’t want to carry too much weight to start so I had 2 x 27 ounce bottles with 90g carbs each of INFINIT Fructose and 1 bottle with only powder (90g carbs). The course was well marked (with volunteers at the key intersections) and we also never experienced any oncoming traffic on any of the small roads or descends.
The next 14.2 miles were beautiful as we made our way towards the town of Guillestre (which is the south side of Col d’ Izoard). I didn’t sleep well the two nights before the race so I was a little tired but having Kenetik Ketones (2 capfuls) in each of my bottles helped keep my mind alert and sharp. Throughout the ride, I kept thinking “how am I going to run after this ride!?!?” but I tried to quiet those thoughts and focus on the present. The section before the big climb was beautiful. The road was windy alongside a river and we went through several tunnels. I was happy that I had my aerobars on the road bike as there were several opportunities where I could change my position. The leader eventually rode away from me as I didn’t want to push too hard on the climb so I just settled and did my own thing. For the next 22.7 miles and 2 hours and 10 minutes, I climbed for almost 5000 feet. This climb was tough because there were very few hairpins to break up the rhythm. The road went straight up and there was some slight wind at our face. While it wasn’t hot out, it was warm. The air was dry but I did find myself sweating. I wasn’t drinking as much as I had planned so I grabbed two power bar gels from an aid station (cherry flavor) and spaced them out throughout the climb so that I wasn’t running low in energy. The topography changed as I neared Izoard and it turned into a rocky, moon-like landscape. When I reached the top, I made a quick stop to access my three bottles (2 filled and 1 with powder only) in my special needs bag and made a quick potty stop. The start of the descend was a little chilly but after a few miles, I was comfortable. The descend into Briancon was long - almost 11 miles of descending.
The next 45 miles went by pretty quickly. I found myself feeling really strong and staying around a group of guys. There were more opportunities to be in the aerobats and I averaged 21 mph for 2:07. This section was my favorite as it had 3 x 1 mile climbs at a gentle grade of 3-4%. The camera guy was around me a few times which gave me a little boost.
I made a quick stop at an aid station to grab a bottle of water (I also grabbed water before the Izoard climb) and then another stop before the last climb to top off a bottle and to empty any extra fluid in my bottles.
Rather than biking back into town, the course takes us on a 5 mile, steep and twisty climb to the top of the Embrun town. This took me 32 minutes and covered 1200 feet. I saw Karel on the climb and I gave him a big smile as I was feeling surprisingly good. I kept tricking my brain and told myself “this is only a 56 mile bike” to see if my legs would believe it on the run. I then spotted Leah and Cedric outside our Airbnb on the twisty fast descend into Embrun.
I really enjoyed this entire bike course as it had everything in it and felt strong on the climbs. This was a great course for me with the long climbs as I like to settle into a rhythm when I climb.
The course was shortened by a few miles (and omitted one very steep climb due to wild fires. We were notified the day before the race and given an updated bike file on the website).
26.2 mile run, ~1300 feet elevation gain. 3:59.20.
I loved this 3 loop (~8.5 mile per loop) run course.
When I got into T2, I took my time. My transition was 7 minutes and I could have easily taken this down by a few minutes. However, I wanted to go to the bathroom and make sure I was fully ready to run. I also took my time putting on my gear. I didn’t realize it when I was setting up my transition box in the morning but I put all my run bottles in my run special needs bag and I couldn’t access that bag until after lap 1. Thankfully I had a baggie of power ready in my hydration belt so I found an unopened plastic bottle of water and poured my powder into that bottle. That took me a little time but it was worth it as there was only coke and water for liquids at the aid stations.
The run course was easy to break down. The first mile was on the gravel. I really liked this to start the run. Then we started a 1.5 mile climb into town. I loved running through the crowds of people in town and on the cobblestones. There were so many people cheering. Then a long steep downhill before a mix of gravel and trail. My legs didn’t enjoy the flat sections so I counted down the miles until I could climb again. I walked through every aid station (14 times) to get water/coke and to sip on my sport drink (never second) and I stopped at special needs after loop 1 and 2 to exchange my bottles. My stops were quick and efficient and stopping helped me cool myself (it was very warm until the clouds came in and it started to thunder near the end) and get in liquids. I never had a lot moment on the run and my energy felt really stable. I was able to get in around 70g carbs per hour of a mix of my Never Second C30 and coke. I also sipped water from the aid stations.
Of note, the run course wasn't well marked but the volunteers did a great job pointing to where to go. After the first loop, I understood the layout of the course. Also, there were no kilometer markers on the course so my watch was the only way of knowing how far I had run. I didn't end up using my reusable cup, even though there were no cups at the aid stations. The volunteers would cut the bottom of the plastic bottles (coke and water) and make cups for us to use. They would then rinse them out and reuse them. A few of the aid stations were by natural water fountains from the wall so we had cold fresh water.
I was getting word that I was losing time to the girl behind me. I started out with a 10 min lead and it came down to 2 minutes in the last loop. With a mile to go, it was down to 90 sec. I was able to pick up the pace and run 8;34 min/mile for the last 1.25 miles. I picked up the pace to 7:59 for the last few minutes as it came down to a sprint. We were running side by side until I could not longer keep up. I tried my very best and I was so pleased with my effort and what my body allowed me to do, especially with a run that had over 1,300 feet elevation. I feel this was one of my best run executions and I loved how I felt for all 26.2 miles.
My finishing time was 12:28.25.
After the race, I collapsed. The 2nd place girl and I left everything out there in the last mile. It was a special experience to share a hug on the ground. After a few post race interviews, I was surprised to learn that I needed to go to drug testing because the top finishers receive a payout. This was a first for me. I spent the next 90 minutes in doping control, waiting my turn to pee in a cup and to fill out lots of paperwork. Thankfully I was able to pee (and it was a healthy urine color), which told me that my body was in a good state post race.
I met up with Karel, Leah and Cedric and I hobbled my way to the car, feeling very accomplished.
