Michellie Jones' 70.3 World's RR

Ironman 70.3 World ChampionshipsThe DNF Monkey is off my back!

In a perfect world my plan was to have a great race in Hawaii and finish the season. Knowing that a null racing can throw many obstacles in your path I had a back up plan to race 4 weeks later the null 70.3 world Championships if things did not unfold they way I had planned. So after a null at Mile 8 on the run and after a few days of R&R I decided to see how the body was recovering.I decided to race the week after null at the local edition of the Women's Triathlon in San Diego. Along with 1200 other women I sprinted away all of my disappointment demons my null the week before. Plus it was also lots of fun going from racing null to a flat out sprint.I knew I would need a lot more speed going in to the 70.3 Worlds as I had done plenty of distance so that was training focus. Race day could not have been more than perfect a little wind and the temperature ideal. Especially considering the area was hit with the aftermath of a down graded hurricane.At 6.45am all my nerves disappeared as the cannon was fired. I exited the swim in the second pack and quickly got into my rhythm on the bike. Usually the Pro Men lead the way but the organizers decided to change it up and have us go first which did play a little havoc on us during the bike when the eventually caught us. Once the train of male Pro's passed me it was back to grinding out the gears.My legs were feeling pretty good as I exited the transition in the top 10 along two other athlete's Magali and Laura. I was not quite as speedie as these two girls over the first Mile but with some patience I caught and passed Magali. At Mile 5 I was back up to Laura but so was Magali. Once again they kicked in a little more speed and bridged me once again on the run. Within a few miles I was up to 6th position and saw Laura being to fade. But she did not fade quite enough for me to make up a top 5 position. No complaints here for a 6th place at a World Championships. A really nice way to end the season especially after Hawaii. The Monkey is gone!

Results
1 3:59:33 103 Dibens, Julie Boulder CO GBR
2 4:03:49 4:16 101 Ellis, Mary Beth Boulder CO USA
3 4:05:27 5:54 118 Tisseyre, Magali St-Sauveur QC CAN
4 4:05:33 6:01 124 Steffen, Caroline Cham CHE
5 4:07:39 8:07 149 Bennett, Laura North Palm Beac FL USA ISM ATHLETE
6 4:08:17 8:44 136 Jones, Michellie Carlsbad CA AUS ISM ATHLETE
7 4:09:34 10:01 119 Groff, Sarah Colorado Spring CO USA ISM ATHLETE
8 4:13:16 13:43 109 Stevens, Amanda Colorado Spring CO USA
9 4:15:04 15:31 127 Thuerig, Karin Retschwil CHE
10 4:17:57 18:25 143 Gianinni, Vanessa Campinas BRA