Pre-Race

I originally chose this race so my teammate Brooke and I could do a relay. I was going to swim and bike, and she was going to run (since I haven’t been able to do so since May). But when I went to sign us up, the relay option was sold out. Both of us wanted to race, so we sucked it up and signed up to do the whole thing. I’m so glad we did because I really enjoyed this race and the course!

We flew into Spokane late on Thursday afternoon, and then made the 2-hour drive down to Richland. It was an easy drive, but literally through the middle of nowhere.  For those of you who drive electric vehicles, make sure you’re charged up before making that drive! On Friday morning, we drove parts of the bike course (including the steep hill) to make sure we knew what to expect, got some tire maintenance done on the Pink Panther (Lars had a small fail), did a shake-out ride along the river, shopped in the merch tent and stood in line in the heat for athlete check-in. It was a longer, more stressful day than it needed to be, but that’s why I get to races early. 

On Saturday morning, Brooke and I did an organized practice swim with lots of other athletes. Lemme just say this: the Columbia River is gorgeous! It’s wide, deep and clean. We got lucky with the temp too- 66 degrees felt lovely in a full wetsuit. The swim is point-to-point, so we’re swimming with the current. I couldn’t feel it, but I swam 1.2 miles in 24 min, so it was definitely there. After the swim, all of the Cupcakes met for a catch-up. It was so great to meet teammates that I’ve never met in IRL, and to meet brand-new Cuppies as well. After that, we went back to the hotel, watched football and chilled for the rest of the day until bike check-in and dinner. Dinner was great because my friend and FASTer Way client Crystal came down from Spokane to join us. And she stayed for the race, which was so kind.

Race Day

4:00am on Sunday came super-early, but when does it not?? I got Lars a VIP pass so he could park at transition/finish, avoiding the cluster of the shuttles. That turned out to be brilliant, because getting in that morning and leaving after the race was soooo easy. Brooke and I got our stuff organized, and then made the 1.2 mile walk to the swim start. I enjoyed that because it was a great warm-up. We then got ourselves into the correct swim waves, and the race started precisely at 6:30am. 

Swim 🏊🏻‍♀️

Amazing and completely a non-issue. I had plenty of room to swim, and had no problems sighting on the buoys. Friends who’ve done the race told me to stay as close to the middle of the river as possible to be able to take full advantage of the current. The safety team was on my left, and the buoys on the right, so I hugged the safety boats/kayakers until it was time to turn right into the marina. That was a slight bottleneck, but still easy. Volunteers were in the water with us, which was super helpful since the rocks below were pretty slippery. One pulled me right out and onto the boat ramp. I got half my wetsuit off, and the strippers easily got the rest off. We had a 1/4 mile run to transition. I power hiked this because I obviously didn’t want to piss off my foot.

Bike 🚴🏼‍♀️

I really loved this course, although the back half had a tad more climbing than I expected. I was a little chilly getting out of the water because the air temp was still in the 50s, but I warmed up quick with the 3 biggest climbs in the first 15 miles. The benefit of being a strong swimmer means I’m out of the water before most, so those climbs weren’t riddled with other athletes, making them safer. Outside of those big climbs, there were several longer rollers over the 56 miles, but one thing I noticed was the lack of downhills off of those climbs. Unlike the St. George course, there was not equal down to the up; we seemed to always have to turn left or right, instead of getting the full benefit of a downhill. 

My bike split time was at least 5 minutes slower than I would have liked, and looking back on it, there were definitely sections that I could’ve pushed harder. And when I go back and do this race again (because I will), I will make those adjustments. Despite that, I nailed my nutrition (added 20 additional carbs per hour with a gel with no GI issues), and felt super-strong throughout all 56 miles. I note this because over the past few years, I’ve felt my energy die around mile 45. When I told my new coach this, she immediately pointed out that I needed to add more carbs- because she was pushing me harder on the bike, and because she wanted me to have more for the start of the run. 

Oh- one thing I want to point out. The safety on this course was the BEST I’ve ever experienced. There were at least 4 police officers at each 4-way intersection (which I made a point to thank), and then at least 2 volunteers in safety vests at the smaller intersections. And when we were on a major road, half of the road was closed off to traffic, so we had at least a lane to ride in. It was great!! 

Run 🏃🏼‍♀️

The course was an out and back, with about 4 miles of the 6.5 right along with the river. It was gorgeous and relatively flat. The last 2 miles towards the turn-around took us off the path, through a neighborhood, and then through a high school parking lot. As always, we had aid stations at each mile, and they were hopping! The volunteers were so supportive and energetic. I got sprayed with Super Soakers and hoses more times than I could count, which felt great. By the time I got to the run, it was definitely getting warmer, but it still hadn’t reached 80 by the time I finished. The course didn’t have a ton of shade, which is probably the only downside. 

So my goal for this run was to run for 3-4 min and then walk for 1.5-2 min for the 1st 6.5 miles. I had no idea how my foot was gonna do, and I thought that was a solid goal. I succeeded without any pain, which made me super happy. I walked for the next mile, and then started throwing in running intervals again. By the time I got to mile 8.5-ish, my legs were completely trashed because of my lack of run training (and frankly, the lack of being on my feet for that long). I ended up walking more for the last 4 miles, but I had already mentally prepared myself for that. That last mile was great though. So many people on the side of the path, and at the finish line, cheering and shaking their cowbells. It was electric.  

All in all, I am very proud of my race. I was 9th in my AG (out of 53) after the swim and the bike. 🥳 I was so upset back in May when I thought I wouldn’t be able to race at all because of my foot. Achilles tendinitis is nothing to mess around with, and I wasn’t going to take any chances. 

Looking forward to a much less dramatic 2027 season. I’m kicking it off in Australia in March!! Psyched to see so many teammates and to see a new part of the world. 🔥