I participated in Rev3 Florida in 2014 and was blown away by their, 'it's all about the athlete' mentality and approach. Challenge Williamsburg was no different.
As a Challenge Team member I was looking forward to seeing teammates I had met at summit and participating in this great event so that I could brag even more about this race series from personal experience.
Days leading up to event: Friday, June 12 was a 12 hour drive from Tallahassee to Williamsburg. Lucky we dodged all the rain and traffic and made it safely without any issues. Checked into hotel and made it to dinner at Food for Thought with Team Triattic. I recommend checking this place out if you are in the Williamsburg area.
Saturday, June 13 was course recon, getting checked in and dropping off bike at T2.
Course recon -
TRANSITION 1&2: This event has two separate transition zones. Both easy to get to and ample parking at both locations. Logistics and planning need to be thought out before hand as gear for bike and run are in different locations.Swim: River swim. Water temperature was about 81 degrees so no wetsuits at this event. The entry and exit were soft sand - very nice on the feet.
Bike: According to my bike file the 56 mile course had 1214 ft of elevation gain. The roads were mostly smooth, flat with some rolling terrain the final 25 miles.
Run: Four loops of about a 5K. Course description said this was FLAT, FLAT, FLAT but I disagree. Each loop on my GPS had about 200 ft of elevation gain so that totals about 800 ft gain over 13.1 miles. Even though I was expecting flat and surprised by the hills, I enjoyed the course. Half was on a wooded crushed gravel/dirt trail and the other half was on asphalt.
Race Report -
Morning: Woke up about 3:30 am, ate a giant bowl of oatmeal with fresh fruit and almond butter and can't forget....coffee! Arrived at T2 around 5:30 am set up my run gear and loaded the bus to head towards T1. This is the only part of the day that was stressful. The buses were very nice and they seemed to have plenty but.....we loaded the bus and waited for about 30 minutes before we left giving us only minutes in T1 to set up fluids and make it down to swim start. My husband Charlie, set up his gear and ran to the swim start. He was walking in as they were counting down, 3, 2, .....1, GO! I had some extra time as the female wave for the half was last to go.
1.2 Mile Swim: 00:34:03.453
I felt good in the water. Didn't have any issues and seemed to be in a good position. Turning the far buoy towards shore the sun was at the perfect angle to make it hard to sight so I know I went off course here some but overall an event-less swim.
T1: 03:07
It is about 1/4 mile from waters edge to T1. Ran but not over doing it, got to my bike suited up and was off.
Bike: 02:53:24.160 - CLICK HERE FOR BIKE FILE
Some days chickens, some days feathers. From the first few pedal strokes I knew it wasn't in the cards. My legs had a lead weight feeling to them that never loosened up. Luckily the course started very flat and this allowed me to just spin without loosing a lot of speed. Normal 70.3 distance races I ride in mid zone 3 heart rate - on this day, I was lucky to hit mid zone 2. I went with it and enjoyed the scenery and course.
T2: 02:16
By this time of day it had really started to warm up and I knew by how my legs were feeling on top of the heat to take my time, not rush and get everything I needed.
Run: 02:13:27.600My running has been put on the back burner for a while because of a knee injury. I knew this run would be about finishing and testing my knee. The hills and heat were enough to have a slower day but on top of that I wasn't feeling it and I hadn't run the necessary miles to race this one. So what did I do - smiled, cheered on my competitors and tried to soak it all in.
Total: 05:46:18.530
I highly recommend Challenge Williamsburg course. It has the perfect mix of flats, hills, off road and shade. I plan to come back to this course in future seasons.
After the race Charlie and I drove and camped at Shenandoah National Park and got to do some amazing hiking. We hiked Rose River Falls/Dark Hollow Falls Loop, Old Rag, and Cedar Run/Whiteoak Canyon Loop. If you are travelling to Williamsburg make sure to add SNP to your trip.
