Mid January and I was back to packing up Scarto, on a plane and relearning to sleep while sitting up. It is a long trip from Toronto to Pucon, Chile, but there is a 70.3 race in Pucon, that is very well organized, beautiful and a good way to remind myself that race season has begun..
The first thing I noticed after I arrived and caught up on my sleep with a 12 hour snooze, was how clear everything looks. It is incredible, so sunny and sharp it almost hurts the eyes. Kind of reminded me of after I had my laser eye surgery, and did not need to look through my old, dried out contacts anymore.
I was lucky enough to be staying at the race hotel, Gran Hotel Pucon, directly on the course. I have never stayed this close to the transition and swim start- less than 200 meters to either, incredible. Lake on one side of the hotel, and a volcano on the other side. During my little swim I took a few photos of the beach, and the volcano behind the hotel. If the beach were not so packed you would see that it is actually black sand- or lava rock I think. Awesome.
Race day came quickly enough, and I was a bit afraid of sleeping in. No need to fear that, since transition was directly below my window, and I could hear set up beginning at 3 am. It was pretty fun to have the race start directly outside the hotel, no need to worry if I forgot anything, since it would be just a few steps away.
I was not sure how I would feel during the race, I am just starting up to build my training up, and very slowly regaining a bit of fitness, so the main goal was to get in a good, honest effort. The swim was a wave start, with pro men and women starting 5 minutes ahead of the next wave. It was pretty uneventful, my first wetsuit swim since last August, in perfect water temperatures. I got on my bike in second place, but quickly caught the swim leader and settled into a nice rhythm. The bike course is rolling, with lots of very gradual ups and downs, and quite fun. It was going pretty well, except for my lower back tightening up a bit as the ride progressed. Getting off the bike I knew I was in a bit of trouble, I felt less limber than even after the toughest ironman bike ride. The run course at this race is what makes it really stand out. Within 200 meters of running out of transition the hills begin, and then keep going as you run up a peninsula for about 2 km, then back down, and onto a flat 3 km before running a second and third lap of the same loop. I am not sure what was tougher, running up the steep climbs with my hamstring feeling like it was about to snap, or running downhill and pounding the quads. I didn’t stay tough on the run like I needed to and was passed by a flying Amanda Lovato, and Heather Gollnick who was trying to win this race for the 3rd time in a row. But it was 2/3 or a pretty solid race, and a good refresher on racing.
The day after the race was the big adventure of climbing the volcano in the hotel photo- Villarica. Stay tuned for that one.
