Missie Vess – IM 70.3 World Championship – Sunday, September 10, 2017

I qualified for 70.3 Worlds by finishing 2nd in my age group at Raleigh 70.3 in June. Despite the heat that day, I had put together a pretty good race and managed to meet my goal of qualifying for 70.3 Worlds. I was excited and a bit in shock. I knew I had the potential of qualifying, but you can’t control who shows up at a race, so there is always an element of luck with qualifying. With the race being in Chattanooga, there was no question that I would take the slot. While it would have been nice to travel to another country to race, having the race only a 9.5 hour drive from home made logistics much easier. The only drawback was that the kids started school on September 5th, so there was no way they and Dave could come with me to the race. After recovering from Raleigh, I turned to training for Chattanooga. Tim (of CB Multisport) provided the training plan and I executed as best I could around work and kid activities. Tim’s plans always optimize my limited training. Training was going really well and I was feeling confident that I could tackle the Chattanooga Worlds course. For anyone familiar with either Chattanooga 70.3 or 140.6, they really changed the course for the World Championships. They flipped the swim so that we would be swimming much of it against the current in the Tennessee River. The bike featured almost 3100 feet of climbing, including a 3.5 mile climb up Lookout Mountain (averaging ~9% grade) before proceeding to climb another 1000 feet over ~15 more miles. Even the run was slated to be challenging, though I didn't really understand how challenging until I got there. Still, I did my best to prepare. I rode multiple ~3 hour bike rides in Howard County. I did Ft. Ritchie Olympic as a training race, which also has a long climb on the bike and a hilly run. I tried to run the hills around my house as much as I could. Then, the Saturday 4 weeks out from the race I went out for another long bike ride through Howard County. I was on my way home (42 miles into a 50 mile ride) when I hit a huge, deep pot hole and went down hard. I was on Ridge Rd. in Hanover and had just crested the hill. The pot hole was just over the crest of the hill and I couldn't see it until I was on top of it. I knew what was going to happen and I knew I couldn't do anything about it. Long story short, I ended up taking an Ambulance ride to MD Shock Trauma. X-rays and CTs were clear, but I had a laceration on my elbow requiring 4 stitches and my hip was also lacerated and badly bruised. Taper had unexpectedly started 2 weeks ahead of schedule. For 2.5 weeks it was questionable whether I would even be able to run prior to Worlds, but after many visits to my Chiropractor (Todd Fare in Severna Park), I was able to start running again and managed one 8 mile run the week before Worlds. The bike was checked out and cleared by the team at My Bike Shop and I nervously was able to take it out for a couple rides before the race – the longest being 2 hours. I did additional bike trainer work and was able to swim in the pool, but no open water, since I still had open wounds on both elbow and hip. The end of my training wasn't what was planned, but I still had every intention of showing up at Worlds and doing what I could. I drove down to Chattanooga the Thursday before the race. Back to school night for Hayden (my 8 year old) was Wednesday night, so I couldn't leave any earlier than Thursday morning. I hit the road at about 4:30am, determined to make it to Chattanooga in time for packet pick up Thursday afternoon. The drive was long, but pretty easy and I made it to my hotel a little before 2pm. I was able to check in and unload my car and then headed to downtown. To save on cost, I opted to stay about 10 miles outside of town. There is plenty of parking in downtown Chattanooga, so I found a place to park right next to the venue – $9 for the day. I checked out all the IM and Worlds gear in the Ironman tent and ended up buying a tank top with all the participant names on the back. I walked around the expo, and then picked up my packet. We got a nice back pack (I liked it, anyway), a poster, and some miscellaneous samples. We were told timing chips would be handed out during bike racking and there was a delay with getting the swim caps through customs, so those would be handed out race morning. I walked back to my car to drop off my swag and then did a short bike ride around the venue to check out my bike. After that I found Hector and Aileen and we decided to skip the Welcome Banquet and just get an early dinner downtown and then back to our hotels to crash. We were all really tired from getting up early and driving down. Friday morning, I spent some time packing all my gear bags. Worlds is a "clean transition" setup, meaning nothing but your bike is allowed in the transition area. Everything else goes into bike and run gear bags that you pick up on your way into T1 and T2, just like in 140.6 races. We would have access to bikes race morning to pump up tires and put nutrition on the bike. We could also leave your shoes on the bike. However, we would have NO access to transition bags once they were dropped off. I normally have a hand flask with nutrition drink mix in T2, but didn't want that sitting all afternoon and overnight. I finally decided to fill the flask with ice and have a baggy with the drink mix in the transition bag, thinking I would mix it at the first water stop. After packing my gear bags, I stickered my bike, loaded everything in the car, and headed down to the venue. I wasn't planning on coming back to the hotel until after bike racking, which started at 2pm. I parked in the parking garage closest to the venue ($8 for the day) and headed down to the river for the practice swim. They had some buoys set up for a short course, and I jumped in for a single loop around. The water temp was listed as 76.2 degrees (0.1 deg above the WTC cutoff) and I opted for just a swim suit. The water was lovely and perfectly comfortable in just the swim suit, so I was hoping it would remain non-wetsuit, but wasn't too optimistic. I could definitely feel the current swimming up river, but it wasn't really all that bad. I finished the loop and opted to do a short run as well. After finishing that, I had some time to kill before meeting up with another woman I know from Annapolis to drive the bike course, so wandered around the Expo again. I met up with Sandy at her hotel a little after 10:30 to drive the bike course. I was glad we did. I knew the course was going to be challenging, but it's always hard to tell based on map programs what the hills really are like and how they compare to what I've ridden in training. Getting to see the Lookout Mountain climb was helpful. Based on the driving preview, the course looked to be every bit as hard as I was expecting, but also completely doable. We finished up the course preview shortly before I was due at a course preview talk that Tim hooked me up with hosted by Matt Dixon with special guest appearance by Jesse Thomas. Jesse gave us his impressions of the course after having swum, biked, and run the whole course. He said all three disciplines were slow and hard. His and Matt's advice were to not let the name "World Championships" trick you into hammering too hard at the beginning of any discipline. This course was not going to be a PR course and would reward those who could be patient. After that talk, it was time for bike racking, so I went back to my car to grab my bike and gear bags and take them to transition. The transition area was HUGE, with sections set up for the women's race and the men's race. I racked my bike (with shoes on the bike), then dropped off my T2 bag near the bike in, picked up my chip, then headed down to the swim exit to drop off my T1 bag. We were told by volunteers that bags would be organized in numerical order, so would be easy to find come race time. Walking around the outside of transition, I was able to check out what each transition was going to be like. T1 was really long and included a pretty steep ramp up from the river to the street above. I also passed by the professional transition area and saw my friend's name (Robin Pomeroy) on her spot, which was pretty cool. I worked with Robin's husband, Brian, when he was an intern at Goddard and we've kept in touch over the years. This was Robin's first 70.3 Worlds as a professional, but she broke her collarbone shortly before Raleigh, so had only been back to training for a short time. After all my transition stuff was dropped off, it was time to head back to the hotel to crash for the night. My dinner consisted of some instant mac and cheese in the hotel room that I had brought with me from home. I was up by 4am the next morning to get dressed, put my tri tat numbers on, get my nutrition bottles for the bike, and head downtown. I got the first tri tat on correctly, but managed to screw up the second one by forgetting to take the paper off the back before transferring it. No worries, I just got sharpied when I got to transition. As is usual for me, my bike bottles were filled with a combination of Cytomax, maltodextrin, and the powder from salt sticks. I was planning for 3 bottles of my mix (aero bottle and 2 disposable bottles) and I would pick up water from one of the aid stations if needed. My breakfast was 2 instant breakfasts, a banana, and some Diet Dr. Pepper that I would drink and eat throughout the morning. The drive downtown and parking were super easy, and I was at the venue really early. Once transition opened at 5:30 I heard the announcement that "wetsuits are allowed". No statement of what the water temperature actually was, just that "wetsuits are allowed". I have to say, I was disappointed, as I was hoping for a non-wetsuit swim, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had brought my wetsuit and would wear it, since it is faster. The air temp was cool enough that I wasn't too worried about overheating, but I did expect to get pretty warm while swimming. I used one of the available pumps to pump up my tires, put my drink mix and Garmin on the bike, and was done. Nothing left to do but wait for the race to start. I walked by the professional transition area and saw Robin setting up her spot. I talked with Brian for a while before heading over to where the morning clothes bags were to be dropped off. It was time to get ready and head down to the swim start. My wave was supposed to start at 7:54 – 4th wave (yay, an early start!). Swim: 32:18 (1:42/100m) The swim start is a time trial start within each wave with 10 people going off every 15 seconds. We were supposed to line up in expected time order, but it wasn't super well organized in that aspect. I think people did in general, but when we got to the dock, they had 10 "lanes" and just told people to fill into those lanes, so people got pretty mixed up. I was in the 3rd group of 10 and suddenly it was time to start. When the buzzer chimed, we ran to the edge of the dock and dove (or jumped, if desired) into the water and were off swimming. The first part of the swim is ~350m across the river. I settled into an even pace that I felt like I could maintain. I had no problem sighting the first turn buoy and maintaining my line. I made the first right-hand turn and then it was ~850m up river into the rising sun. I could feel a very slight current, but as promised, the flow rate from the dam had been turned down and the current was very minimal. Sighting was a challenge with the sun, but I was generally able to keep a straight line and find the next buoy without too much effort. There were a couple women swimming near me and one of them was to my right and kept drifting into me because she wasn't maintaining a straight line. I finally had to pull back and swim around her to the right so I could stay straight. Lost some time there. We swam under the bridge and got a bit of a respite from the sun in the face. I was getting pretty warm by then, but it wasn’t too bad. Finally got to the second right-hand turn and it was a little crowded as I had caught up to a number of people from the previous waves. I made the turn, and it was then ~350m back across the river. A woman in my age group had latched onto my feet at that point and kept hitting them. I don’t mind drafters, but don’t touch my feet. I will kick. Hard. Made it to the 3rd right-hand turn and the last segment of the swim – ~450m back down river. I was getting tired by then. Swimming open water is always different than swimming in a pool and I hadn’t gotten the open water time I wanted to prior to the race. There was a bit of chop that picked up along that section. I’m not sure if it was because some of the support boats were moving or from the moving water hitting the river wall, but I had to adjust my stroke for the extra chop. It eventually dissipated and I was able to put my head down and fight for the finish. The swim exit was three sets of steps/ramps with volunteers there to help haul you out. My swim time was a bit slow for me for a wetsuit swim, but within expectations given the upriver swim. T1 – 4:02 Wetsuit strippers are awesome. They had me out of my wetsuit in no time flat. Then I ran into the T1 bag area and my bag WAS NOT THERE. 1224 and 1226 were not there, but not 1225. I looked up and down that row and my bag was not where I had put it the afternoon before. I don’t know how long I lost looking for my bag, but a volunteer finally found it in a different row! I was pretty pissed, but it was out of my control, so I had to let it go. I jogged up the steep ramp to the actual transition area. Got my socks and helmet on and found that the lens in my sunglass had popped out in the bag. I took the extra time to put it back in. I knew I would need those glasses on the bike. Finally ready, I stuffed my wetsuit, cap, and goggles back into the transition bag and took off. Ran across the street and into the transition area. My bike was located about halfway through the racks of bikes. Grabbed it off the rack and made for the exit. Crossed over the mount line, got my feet in my shoes, and I was off. Terrible transition time, even considering how long a distance it was from swim exit to bike mount, but a lot of it was out of my control. Lesson learned on the sunglasses, though. Leave them in the case in the transition bag. Bike – 3:03:38 (18.3 mph) The bike was hard, but beautiful. The first 4 miles wind their way out of town, through some construction areas and over 2 sets of train tracks. The tracks were covered with rubber mats, but I was understandably freaked out by having to cross them, so took them carefully and off the bike seat. There were several hard turns and then all of a sudden you were at the bottom of THE CLIMB. The first 2 blocks are reminiscent of the beginning of College Ave near Illchester. Then you take a left hand turn and the climb ever so slightly backs off. The next ~2.5 miles are up with an average grade of ~9%. I dropped down to my lowest gear (I was running a mid-compact) and just relaxed into the climb as much as I could. The climb was full of curves and I was passing a lot of people. I wasn’t trying to push – was trying to just maintain a steady cadence I could hold for a long time. After ~2.5 miles of climbing, there is a slight downhill before you start climbing again. At the top of Lookout Mountain, the view is breath taking. I stole a couple glances as I passed by. I averaged around 9 mph through that climb, but even the fastest people were only around 11-12 mph. After reaching the top of Lookout Mountain, there was another steep, winding downhill that I took pretty cautiously. I could feel the cross-winds trying to push me and while the rough sections of the road were well marked with orange spray paint, I was still pretty scared of possibly hitting any of them at speed and going down again. Lots of people passed me on the downhills. The next 15 miles consisted of some ups and downs, but a general trend of more climbing. Every uphill, I would drop to my small crank and spin up. I think most people I saw were doing the same, but I was still able to pass people on the uphills. The road was mostly chip and seal through that section, so I was getting pretty tired of the rough riding. I was relieved when we finally turned off that road. The majority of the climbing was done and the road conditions improved. I was drinking well and had finished my first bottle by then. I refilled my aero bottle and picked up a bottle of water at the 2nd aid station. The next 5 miles were mostly downhill. I was pretty cautious on the descent – spending little time in aero and feathering my breaks every now and then. I got passed by a lot of women, but I just wasn’t comfortable going faster, so I did what I needed to do. When the descent finally ended, I was able to settle in aero and ride. The course became rolling hills, which I love. I saw a fair amount of drafting, but I also saw a bunch of people stopping at the penalty tent, so the officials were trying to keep the race fair. Once the climb up Lookout Mountain ended, the roads became open to traffic. Most drivers were courteous, but there were several times when bikers would get stuck behind a car unable to pass slower bikers, so it got frustrating at times. There was one short out and back section on a fairly narrow road to make the course the right distance. Thankfully the U-turn was actually on a slight incline, so I didn’t see anyone trying to take the turn too fast. After the out and back section, it was more rolling terrain. We pass through several small towns and lots of people were out cheering. In one of the small towns, I was behind a truck that decided to make a right hand turn right in front of me without signaling. I screamed, hit my breaks, and turned into a parking lot. The officer who witnessed the whole thing said “you shouldn’t try to pass on the right”. WHAT!? I wasn’t trying to pass him, he turned right in front of me without signaling. I was freaked out and pissed at the same time. If he had hit me, would the officer still have thought it was my fault!? I shook it off, regained my speed, and just settled in to finish the ride. Finally got back into town and then reached the venue. Dismounted, leaving my shoes on the bike and let a volunteer take my bike for me. Bike was done. Given my accident, the bike was the portion I was most nervous about. It wasn’t as fast as I would have liked, but I was happy enough with how it went and how I approached the course. T2 – 1:54 De ja vu. My bag was not where I left it and the volunteers had trouble finding it. Sigh. They found it faster than in T1, but still, time lost that was beyond my control. Grabbed the bag, ran over to the chairs. Helmet off and back into bag. Shoes on, race belt on, visor on, grabbed hand flask and off I go, handing the bag off to a volunteer. I forgot to grab the baggy of drink mix, however. I shrugged it off at the time, but it would come back to bite me later. Run – 1:50:57 (8:27/mi) I was tired starting the run, but not more than I would have expected given the challenging bike. I settled into a comfortable pace. I usually make up time on people on the run, but not in this race. Everyone seemed to look really strong coming off the bike. I passed a few people, but even more were still passing me. The run starts with a short out and back section near the venue and then heads away and into the town. I hit the first hill and it didn’t seem too bad. I shortened my stride and relaxed into the climb. At the first aid station, I walked through and filled my hand flask with water and Gatorade. I also grabbed a cold sponge and shoved it in my bra. The temperature was not that bad, but the sun was intense, making it feel hotter. We ran along a road for a while and then turned into a shaded section near the river that reminded me of Centennial Park, including the ups and downs. The rest of the loop blurred together. Lots of ups, including a hill that was about half a mile long, seemingly few downs. Aid stations were about every mile and I would grab water, ice, cold sponges, whatever I could grab without stopping. I ran most of the first loop, since I was feeling pretty good at the time. Eventually we neared the end of the first loop and crossed a long, wooden, pedestrian bridge, which was (what else) slightly uphill. On the other side of the bridge, I walked through the next aid station to refill my hand flask. When we reached the split between finish and second loop, we were actually slightly past half way because the second loop actually wasn’t exactly the same as the first. I was feeling pretty good still. I could tell my legs were starting to give out, but I was determined to run at least until after mile 8 before walking again. 8 miles was the longest I had run since my crash, so mentally it was a big deal for me to get there. The hills on the 2nd loop were so much harder. I was able to keep running until after mile 9, but then I started hitting the long and steep hills. I couldn’t make it up those without resorting to walking. I could tell I was starting to sugar crash (remember the baggy of mix I left in transition?). My legs were not responding on the hills and I had to alternate running 50-70 steps and walking 30 or so. The hills were so long that I would have to repeat the run/walk about 3 times before the hill was finally over. (I think this run was essentially like doing the Columbia Tri run course twice!) But, I knew how close I was getting to finishing. I ran all the downhills and tried to run over the pedestrian bridge, but my legs weren’t cooperating. I had to walk up the incline of that too. I started running again and was determined to run to the finish, which was just over a mile away, but when I reached the final aid station, I had to walk again. I took a cup of coke to try and get just enough sugar to get me to the finish. I started running again and this time I was able to keep running through the finish. Even after turning off towards the finish line, it was still about half a mile to go. I wanted nothing more but to stop, but when I reached the red carpet, I let the momentum of the crowd carry me across. I’d finished! I’d done the World Championships! I stumbled into the catchers and they helped me over to get my finisher shirt and hat and then over to medical. I was light headed, but still coherent, so they gave me some Gatorade and a bag of ice for my neck and after a few minutes I felt better enough to leave on my own. I got morning clothes bag and my results from the timing tent and just hung out in the finisher’s area for a while. Brian found me and we chatted for a while. It was nice having a familiar face to talk with after finishing. I got messages and texts from everyone who had been tracking me, and that was really nice as well. I was physically and emotionally drained, but so very happy. I had worked really hard to qualify for Worlds and then worked really hard to train. The training ended abruptly and unexpectedly, but I was able to overcome that and not just make it to the race, but finish it with a pretty respectable time. I would like to thank Coach Tim of CB Multisport for his coaching and support. We are a pretty good team, and I am so grateful he puts up with me. I would also like to thank Brian, Logan, Todd, and Ben from My Bike Shop for making sure my bike was in top shape for the race. Finally, I have to thank Dave, Kaylie, and Hayden for being my biggest supporters. I missed Kaylie’s back to school night and the kids’ opening weekend of soccer for the race, and while they were disappointed, they also wanted me to be able to race. Just like I would have liked to have them at the race, but didn’t want them to miss their games. Overall, it was an amazing experience. The course was oh so challenging, but I would expect and want nothing less from a World Championship. The city of Chattanooga was a wonderful host and the volunteers were great!