Barb's Half Ironman Relay: Race Report

So, I've showed off the fabu goody bag, along with unique pretty finisher's medal for Barb's Race. I also shared my doubts to even do the bike after Vineman 2 wks ago. I was just mentally NOT into it. But my fellow relay gals had NO expectations for our timing, which was exactly what I needed.

So, a little about Barb's Race. It's the only Half Ironman Distance ALL female race out there at the moment. But there are six different races all going on at the same time/place which included:

1. Full Iron Distance Vineman
2. Vineman Relay
3. Full AquaBike Vineman (2.4 mi swim/112 mile bike)
4. Half AquaBike Vineman (1.2 mi swim/56 mile bike)
5. Barb's Race (Half Ironman Distances)
6. Barb's Race Relay

Sounds pretty hectic eh? Well, it actually wasn't because there were fewer athletes overall than at the 70.3 Vineman. And this race day overall felt much more mellow/low key than  70.3 Vineman. That was the vibe. 

Now, my thoughts on my bike race and performance... Waiting for my Swimmer Relay Gal at T1 was where I got my race mojo. By the time she came in, I found my race face- and wanted to race. I was stoked.

 Out of T1, I had the power tap this time so was aiming to see if I could be at ~165-180. Since I'd never trained with the power tap I was very curious to see what my actual numbers would be..
The Barb's Race and Relay group was the last wave to start the swim, so I was in a position to pass a lot of people because every other race had started before me. I kept passing people, and half the time would say 'on your left, but I'm just relay!' because I felt like I was sorta cheating since just doing the bike.

I went out and biked my race. I wanted to push harder, but sort of didn't know how. But I felt way more confident on the downhills, and bike handling on the uphills-that was a good feeling.

At about ~2:35 with about ~5 miles to go...I told myself to GO for it! It's only ~15 minutes left. Just haul the freakin' mail and pedal hard- I don't have to run! By this point it was all ez road, I had passed the last hard hill (Chalk Hill), and I knew the course so I just biked- head down, cranked the pedals and pushed!

I came into T2 knowing that I had done around 2:47-2:50, but wasn't quite sure because I had started my timer sometime way out of T1. I had done the bike AND felt like I raced it.


Our Relay group ended with a 5:26 total time. Good enough for 4th place in our +120 age group (add the ages of all the ps in your relay). Hey, we'll take it. Here's us post race in our matching dresses w/medals:

That night, I got to see all the numbers generated from the powertap (I think my DH had more fun with this than me!) I can not believe all the info you get from it. It warrants it's own post. My average power was 170 and my normalized power was 180. Ave speed was 19.6 mph. I was happy to actually have a number to work with, and I'm happy with these.
Also, I biked a 2:50. I'm not gonna lie. I was hoping to be under 2:50. I thought I had it, but I was just off the mark. Hmmm..well it gives me incentive. A perfect little carrot you could say;)

So that's my race. If you're looking to do your first HIM or a female relay, I highly recommend this race. Also, if you're looking to do 2/3's of an Ironman sans the marathon, this is your gig. 


Also, don't forget to enter my SCAPE athletic sunblock /lip balm Giveaway. I used both during this race and it was the bomb!