Catriona "Cat" Morrison writes about her St Croix 70.3 experiences...

After a good 2nd place finish at New Orleans 70.3 at the beginning of April, I moved across country to Tucson, Arizona for a three week stay. On some days I felt as if I was riding my bike in a sauna with a hairdryer directed in my face! For my pale Scottish colouring it was a tough time. I averaged one bottle of sunscreen per week (any potential sunscreen sponsors out there should feel free to contact me!). I had a great time in Tucson training for one week with Physfarm on the Sabino Canyon side of town and then cashing in on the generosity of fellow pro Leanda Cave, who graciously put up with me for a couple of weeks.

Then it was time to head to the Caribbean island of St Croix. I simply do not know where to begin writing about my wonderful experiences here. This year I was lucky to arrive on the Monday prior to the race, so I had a full 6 days to live the island life and acclimatise to the heat and humidity. The St Croix 70.3 is more than just a race. For over 20 years the island has embraced local, national and international athletes in a weekend of triathlon activity. Swimmers, bikers and runners take over the island and are welcomed with open arms and wide smiles. The combination of location and community participation in this event make it very very special. It was hard not to feel truly blessed as I woke up every morning to ride around the island, swim in the Caribbean and run through the island’s trails – what an office for a week! For many of the pro athletes one of the highlights of coming to St Croix is staying with a home stay family. I can quite honestly say that I feel as if I have been pampered for a whole week and treated like a queen. My husband now has a lot to live up to when I get home to Edinburgh!! I was honoured to stay with Todd Newman, one of St Croix’s best known citizens and a true triathlon fan. Also staying with Todd were Wayne Nicholls and Win Thomas, two close friends. Together they form the “knuckleheads” and kept me constantly amused with tales of past triathlons and adventures. Who needs to do ab-work when you spend so much time laughing?

And the race? Well, it was another day at the office. The women’s field was very strong this year including current and former world 70.3 champions Joanna Zeiger and Miranda Carfrae. I exited the water in the pack chasing Joanna Zeigler and Nina Craft. The bike course in St Croix is a challenging affair – winds; high heat and humidity; the rolling East end loop and, of course, the infamous “beast” at 21miles. After ascending the beast I was in 3rd position trailing Miranda and Nina. On such a challenging course my plan was to bike within my limits. I bike with a Powertap so I can monitor my wattage throughout the race. This way I can make sure that I maximise my running potential. Coming into T2 I was in second place trailing Miranda by around 3mins. On the run I was feeling pretty strong and I settled into a good pace within the first 3k. The aide stations are a super organised affair. With the high heat and humidity there was plenty on offer for every athlete. I made the most of these goodies and enjoyed the cheering and motivation of the volunteers and spectators alike as I ploughed on. After taming the bike course, if you thought that the challenge was all over, you can get a nasty shock when you get going on the run. Winding out of town and over a couple of tough rises you enter the Buccaneer Resort. Here you run around the perimeter of the golf course on a mixture of paved, gravel and grassy trails before hitting a nasty steep hill, exiting the Buccaneer and re-tracing your route back into town again. At the run turnaround I caught my first glimpse of Miranda who was only about 400m ahead. I was still feeling good and knowing that I had caught about a minute and a half in the first lap of the run I started lap 2 feeling positive that I could catch. On the trails around the golf course I could see Miranda ahead and caught her at around the 10 mile mark. It was a strange feeling to move into first place – part of me was really excited and started to imagine what it was going to feel like when I finally crossed the line! It’s really important to live in the present in any race so I put all of those musings at the back of my mind and ticked off the miles back into town. On the way back in I caught sight of all three “knuckleheads” and got to give them all a cheer! Finally, running up King Street with the spectators cheering I was able to relax and enjoy the moment. I am really ecstatic to have won in St Croix. It was an honour and a privilege to compete in such a great event in a fabulous location. Thanks to everyone who makes the race happen. I can’t wait to come back next year!!