2nd at Oceanside 70.3

If someone had told me a few days ago that I would place second to my buddy and former World Champion Mirinda "Rinny" Carfrae at the Oceanside 70.3, I would probably have responded with a dramatic roll of the eyes. With no experience at the distance and using the competition as a "training race" to ascertain my fitness at this point in the season, I had some modest goals. I thought that a top-5 finish against such a strong field would be a best case scenario and that I'd be extremely lucky if I were to get a Clearwater slot through roll-down. I won't even acknowledge my imagined worst-case scenario, other than to state that my sister is not the only Groff with a flair for dramatic fiction!

The best part of the race? The experience was actually a lot of fun and a grin on my face most of the way. To be more exact, I had fun from mile 0, with a brief mid-bike period of boredom, until approximately mile 67, when the run turned into a death march worthy of a John Williams composition. Thankfully, the fun resumed the second that I crossed the finish line and could put my tender feet up and some real food in my stomach. While my 2XU Endurance Tri Suit had a great pocket in the back (a novel concept for short-course racers), I was unfortunately unable to bring anything more substantial than a couple of gels (sorry, Groves. The corndog wouldn't fit). The medical staff also did a great job of providing a lovely ice-filled kiddie pool and taking care of my blistered feet. Thanks, guys!

As for the race itself, here's the abridged version of how it unfolded: I lead the swim from the start, taking a small group with me. I paced the swim conservatively, knowing that an ITU effort would only produce lactic acid that I'd have to contend with for 4 more hours of racing. Once on the Ceepo bat bike, my strategy was simple: try to stay focused and use more experienced racers for pacing. Mary Beth Ellis, last year's silver medallist at the 70.3 World Champs, a strong cyclist and good friend, set the pace on the bike and Leanda Cave and I kept her within sight as we worked our way around Camp Pendleton. At around mile 30, Sam Warriner, a true BAMF for starting the race despite being stung by a stingray the day before, bridged up and made our group a foursome. I am incredibly grateful for the pace-setting of the other girls, as I know that I would have gone out too hard at the start! I was the third athlete out of T2 and soon caught Leanda and Sam. While part of me thought that I should once again defer to the pace-setting of these more experienced and accomplished athletes, I decided to make a break about a kilometer into the run. For the first 3/4 of the 13.1 mile run, I was surprised by how good I felt. With half a lap to go, however, I started to worry about whether or not I'd be able to finish the race. I knew that I was slowing down significantly, but I hoped that I wouldn't slow down to a shuffle. With less than a kilometer to go and the finish line in sight, Rinny came blazing by like a locomotive. At that point, however, I was more concerned about finishing than getting passed! I luckily held off Leanda, who was closing in quickly, to finish 2nd place. I was blown away by Matt Reed, who won the men's race in a dominating fashion with a smoking 1:11 run split. As both Matty and Rinny are good friends and all-around awesome people, I was really happy for both of them to be on top of the podium.

It is very tempting for athletes to dwell on what they could have done differently and I have certainly made a laundry list of things to improve upon. Don't worry- I'll spare my readers the details! I am buoyed, however, by the thought that I can iron out these rookie mistakes and maybe race better next time. That next time, however, will be in Clearwater at the 70.3 World Championships. Until then, I will be starting up some speed work and getting back to short-course racing!

While the actual race was pretty fun, I can't help but think that my experience was greatly improved by all of the support that I had in and leading up to the race. Representatives from two of my sponsors were there, 2XU and Ceepo, and I was fortunate enough to get some great help and care from the people behind the companies. While I truly believe in the quality and integrity of their products, I am incredibly lucky to work with such kind and caring people at 2XU and Ceepo, as well as at Saucony, Athletes for a Fit Planet, In the Arena and More Business Solutions. I have a great team behind me! Part of that team also includes my friends, some of whom were able to come to the race to cheer me on. A special thanks to Andy, for letting me crash at his place (sorry if I ate too many of your thin mints!). Thanks, guys! A final, huge "thank you" goes out to my coach, Justin Trolle. If this is my base, I can't wait to see how we build on it :-)