Ironman Maryland!

Yep, we did it again - another Ironman in 2014!  A double header year :)  We headed to Maryland this time.  WTC changed it up a little, and there was no prize money, so no pro triathletes.  

 Hanging out at the Ironman village

 athlete meeting

 Cambridge, MD - right on the water - nice!

 The swim course

 and some of the bike course

 It was two loops of the Blackwater Wildlife refuge. It was flat and fast.

 The bike course basically went from Cambridge and down and around the wildlife refuge x 2; it was in  Dorchester County - where Harriet Tubman ran her underground railroad.  Pretty cool!  They had a lot of memorials around the area.

 Transition area

 Dropping off the bikes

 There were around 1,650 competitors - a little smaller than our usual IM race, but still a good crowd!

 Dropping off our gear bags.  Bikes & bags have to be dropped off the day before - keeps race day moving smoothly

 And here's some pictures of some final racers.  Only picture I took on race day :)

Race recap:  We weren't sure how we would feel completing our 2nd IM in a year.  We put the training in, but we never really felt super fit.  Race morning always comes sooner than we think :)  It was a wetsuit swim (thankfully as I had wrecked on my bicycle 3 weeks prior and my shoulder and hip were still sore)  They had us walk into the water - not a mass swim start, but it still seemed crowded.  The swim course was long though -more like 2.8 miles rather than 2.4.  No one swam under an hour, which is rare.  I came out of the water a couple minutes before Chris.  And he caught me on the bike really early - around mile 5.  He usually flies right by me, but this time, he went past me and stayed close.  So I hung on.  You have to keep 4 bike lengths between the cyclist in front of you, otherwise you can get a drafting penalty (4 minutes & possible disqualification)  It was such a great ride - keeping Chris in my sights - I had something to focus on.  The weather was good - nice breeze and 70's.  We cruised through the bike - passing each other every once in a while and chatting.  My favorite ride to date!  And  we had great times  - 6 hours.  Then it was onto the run.  We headed out pretty close together, and stayed together until mile 13.  It was a nice flat run.  Chris' stomach was bothering him, so he wanted to   run alone and deal with it.  He was only a minute or two behind me the rest of the run  My legs were so sore - no cramping thankfully - just sore quads.    But we still both managed to PR.  We had such great days, and it was my favorite race being with Chris all day :)

 The day after - we're still standing and smiling!

 it was a great race - loved the course and the area.  Chris' favorite run course to date!