My motivation is tanking as I approach my A race for the season, so I’m looking for someone who runs about a 10:30 pace to hit the road with me. Running is not my strong suit and my husband runs around an 7:30 pace so I don’t want to slow him down too often.
Right now I’m working 12p – 8p so I’d have to run in the morning during the week. Weekends are open.
I participated in the Hagerstown Sprint Tri yesterday, and you can read my race report here:
http://paddlepedalpound.blogspot.com/2008/07/hagerstown-sprint-triathlon-recap.html
I don’t have my swim split yet, so I haven’t posted my times yet. Once I have it as well as my rankings, I’ll update my blog.
Race Report – Pittsburgh Triathlon, Sunday, July 20, 2008
Format: Olympic Distance
This past weekend my husband and I drove the kids to the sweet, steel city for the event. Well that, and to visit my in-laws. We stayed with his father in Allison Park, PA which is about 4miles north of the city. This was my first Olympic distance race, and despite my initial nervousness over the distances, I was pretty excited. Early in the season, my hope was to place in the top 10 women overall, and maybe place in my age group. After I realized I had some ground to cover in the open water, I showed up race day looking to alter my plan. Coach & I decided that I need to not get worked up in the swim, try to set the fastest women’s bike time, and then see how long I can hold on in the run.
We went to the expo early on Saturday to get the packet and to have the bike inspected. I guess after last year’s super long lines (I’m told), this year’s inspection was voluntary. I was the first customer, but after waiting 45 min for the mechanic to show up late, my personal mechanic decided that the inspection was unnecessary. I think he was a little insulted that I even wanted to do the inspection, but I figured if it’s offered, why not? He humored me, but 45 minutes later, he took the bike off the stand, rode it around Heinz Field parking lot a few times, declaring it sound. We wandered around the course area a bit, but there wasn’t much to see yet, and with the heat increasing, we took the kids to the Etna Pool.
Race morning came very early, 4am early. We arrived by 5:30 and still quite dark. The first thing I heard after exiting our car was a race staffer declaring that wetsuits were not allowed. I was really surprised, considering the volume of water in the Allegheny River – I just didn’t think it would warm up that much (82). Also, since my last race (Jackie Kallal) with a wetsuit, I had major room for improvement. I’ve spent several practice swims in the Y pool and Cunningham Falls making friends with my suit. In addition, I decided that the way I viewed the wetsuit was entirely wrong. Hank shared with me that he valued the peace of mind his provided, the tighter the better. I referred to mine as a beast. Its closeness was nearly claustrophobic. I began to think more positively about it – a helper & a protector. Between the practice and shift in attitude, I was ready to don the suit. Once the announcement was made, I was frustrated, but figured it was less to deal with in transition. I put her back in the car, “Sorry babe, you are gonna have to sit this one out.â€
I was greeted by very pleasant volunteers dressed in, of course, black and gold. They body marked me and guided me by flashlight to my designated spot. Set up was fairly straight forward and I headed out to catch up with my husband and son. By 6am the sun was up and the set up unfolded before our eyes. Throughout the entire event, I was really impressed by the level of detail Piranha Sports produced. After a few brief words we were corralled to the entrance ramp to the water.
Swim: I was the third, but not last wave. (The adventure race started after the women/relays. I knew if I was caught by a kayak, I was not doing to good.) I entered fairly quickly and with the recommended belly flop. I swam out to what appeared to be the start area. Within in minutes we were off and all was good. With my new & improved sighting skills (thanks to former Q.Roo racer, now my hubby’s teammate), I kept my eyes on the Roberto Clemente Bridge until I could sight the first buoy. Feeling good in my freestyle, I just moved right along, upstream. The only glitch I ran into were people who passed the turn around veering off course into oncoming swimmers. I kept sighting frequently, got to the bouy and didn’t even have to stop my freestyle – I slid right around. Now, it was a straight shot to the end, downstream. After I’d pass a buoy, I’d have trouble sighting the next one temporarily – only it was getting harder. That’s when I realized it was raining. The wind was kicking the chop straight up, so to sight you really had to pull your head up.* Still, I was in amazement at the ease (not speed) at which I was swimming. I had the same comfort level as I do in the pool. Swimming through the pylons under the Fort Duquesne Bridge was interesting. The current is weird and then there’s the loud creaking sound of the cars driving overhead. I made the second turn around, swam up to the ramp, beaming. It wasn’t fast, but it felt good. Goal #1 met.
Bike: I didn’t know it at the time, but I was 9min down on the leader coming out of the water. Transition was rather smooth, don’t recall any problems. I head out on the wet, brick paved streets, ready to fly on the HOV lanes. Turns out, I was a little too eager as I fishtailed a bit coming out of the turn. The city roads were slick and now was not the time to be reckless. I gave each turn my attention and as I entered the HOV lane, the roads were drying. The course is set up as 2 loops, 6miles uphill and 6miles down. The uphill wasn’t super tough – you could still stamp out a nice rhythm. Only a few miles into it, I noticed an unfriendly site – about 6 riders with flats and it got worse as I went along. Since the road was recently resurfaced and other parts under construction, there was considerable debris. Once through the turn around, in the Park N Ride, I was eager to fly. And it was so much fun! I found Coach & son standing on the concrete land dividers cheering me on. Heading back into the city, the roads there were still wet, so I was careful to settle down through the turns. I was not going to make the same mistake in that first turn. About 50meters in advance of the turn stood Coach yelling for me to be careful. I knew if he made it a point to be there, some crashes must have occurred – about 6. Now, I had the pleasure of riding even harder since I knew the course. Going up was the same, going down, even more fun. I arrived back at the transition chicane, 2 girls in front, who flew out of their shoes gracefully and ran up the ramp. I gotta learn me some of that! I unclipped my shoes and clunked up the ramp into transition.
Run: Ok, this transition wasn’t so smooth. I wasn’t able to practice walking in from the “bike in†lane to my station since they had it barricaded in the am. So now arriving there, I thought I knew where to go, but really I didn’t. I was only one row off, laughing at myself as I tried to shove my bike under the rack to where it belonged rather than go the long way around. Fortunately, no other bikes were nearby so I was able to do so. I decided on socks as there has been a rubbing spot on my sneaker. In all the events with 5K’s I can deal with it, but I wasn’t sure I could in a 10K. I tried to put them on, but my toes were all cramped up. After much difficulty I eventually got them on. What I didn’t know here was that I had made up about 5min on the bike and was in 6th place overall. I just was heading out to do the run that finishes the race. After my legs decided they would accept the task at hand, I tried to push a little harder. This was met by side stitches and a completely unexpected sharp pain in my shoulder/neck region. (*I think this may have either been from pulling up to hard while sighting or by gripping too tightly on the aerobars). Okay, no push today, just finish. I was doing okay until I got passed by 2 women. I tried to go again, but no such luck. I ended up getting passed by 4 more women. Even if I knew my standing, I don’t think I could’ve changed anything. I was pretty beat. I was disappointed with my run time, I normally run a full 2 min/mile faster, but sometimes you only got so much. Fortunately, the run was mostly shady & completely flat on an old rail trail. Interestingly, some of the city’s riverfront homeless gave us runners a shout out. Oh but it’s over and I was so glad. It was getting hot, quickly.
We didn’t stick around long. We were all melting and I didn’t think I placed anywhere. We got my son out of the Water Steps, which are really cool, and headed back home. Later, on the car ride back to MD, I got a call from a friend congratulating me on my 2nd place – shocker. I couldn’t wait to get home to see my results for myself. I did set the fastest women’s bike time, Goal #2 met. Goal #3 was not met as apathy took over at about mile 3. However, do you recall my original goals? Well, if you extract the 2 relay results from the overall women’s top 10 (I know relays are people too), then I would be #10. And, I did place 2nd in my age group. Bonus! I’m tickled.
Event and Race Report
Musselman Half Iron 7/13/08
Last year I decided that 2008 would be the season where I attempted the Half Iron distance. I had signed up in August for Eagleman and thought I should have a back up event in case something didn’t go right. Looked around on www.trifind.com and found the listing for Musselman located in Geneva, NY, on the shore of Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes. Since I had visited the region and really liked it, I read on:
- Relatively small event with only 750 maximum participants (Eagleman is over 2000)
- It was half the cost of Eagleman ($135)
- An Athlete Village was available where a local liberal arts college dorm room was $35/night ($70 for min 2 night stay). This was close to downtown and a short drive to the transition site.
- An Athlete Dinner was included in the cost
- The lake offered clearer water than what I had been swimming in
- The weekend was a triathlon festival consisting of a sprint distance event, the Pan Am ITU Cup event, the Half Iron, AquaBike, and a kid’s Tri. In addition one could do the “Double Mussel”, participating in the sprint and Half Iron events (88.7). Ummm… no thanks.
There were so many good testimonials plus the very appealing parts above that I signed up shortly after registration became available in November. Of course, with driving time at 6 hours, who knew gas was going to be so much?
Having completed Eagleman 5 weeks prior in the relentless sun and heat, plus additional training, I enthusiastically headed north on Friday to compete in what I had hoped would be kinder event. However, the weather forecast was threatening rain and storms sometime on race day. For once, I hoped this was wrong and things would hold off.
Upon getting into the region, first thing I did was scope out the bike course. This was a single loop course with rolling hills and long stretches of the course oriented N-S. Two stretches were right along one of the lakes, Cayuga at around the halfway point, and Seneca, on the home stretch. The course also went through a State Park and the gates were currently closed, so I couldn’t’ see that part. However, I had heard about the road surface was not maintained and a bit gravelly. Checking the weather, I knew that going south would mean headwind and going north would be a tailwind. This would be especially gratifying as I’d get to fly on the last stretch of the course getting back to transition.
After checking the bike course, I checked in to the Athlete Village. The liberal arts college is Hobart and Williams Smith Colleges, a very nice small college set in Geneva. Now, this was a single campus dorm room with community bathroom and no real amenities. There were community lounge areas and microwave but it was a bit different than being at a motel. Couldn’t beat the price though nor the closeness to the event and downtown.
However, the next morning, I did have go in search of coffee. Fortunately, as posted on the athlete’s info page, a local church had a pancake breakfast which was in walking distance. Yum! And good coffee too.
After that, I checked into race registration. Got my race numbers, my T-shirt, goody bag, area info, and sampled some products from the local orchard who was one of the sponsors for the event.
The prerace meeting came next. On a lot of folks’ minds were the Tiger Mussels in the lake. This is where the event gets its name as this invasive species covers the rocks on the lake’s bottom. They are sharp and since the swim comes first, having a cut foot on the bike and especially the run was not something folks would want on a HIM (if at all!). But, Jeff Henderson, the race director, assured us if you swim the swim course, sandy bottom was all you’d encounter. You could wear AquaSocks which offered protection and the local bike shop was selling. But, I decided to be bold and forego another item I might not use in a while or for another race. Everything else I was okay with.
Then I decided to take in the Pan Am International Triathlon Union (ITU) Cup event downtown. Again, this was in walking distance though I could’ve biked there too. This event was a bit different than what we’re used to. This is an Olympic distance, but the bike course is like a criterium which wove through town and is draft legal. I’ll post a few pics on the website. And the run course is still 10K but the athletes did 6 laps in the Lakefront Park area. It was very exciting to see and one is just in awe over the abilities of these triathletes. Small groups of men (about 30) and women (about 11). In addition, if one is lapped on the bike, you’re removed from the race. That happened to a few folks out there. USA took the men and women’s first place, with two Beijing bound triathletes taking second in the men and first in the women.
The Athlete Dinner was the evening’s main event and I actually met a few folks I kinda knew from the Beginner Triathlete website! We traded war stories and talked about this event. Wished each other well and luck in tomorrow’s event.
Folks could rack their bikes the night before and I decided this would be good as I could check out the transition area. Our spots were predetermined so no rushing the next morning to get a spot. Normally, I like to count the rows in from the swim and bike but this was unnecessary as this big tree inside the area was right next to my spot. Cool. One thing I didn’t like here was that the State Park where the transition area was at, charged $7 for entry into the park, even though all you were doing was racking your bike. But, I rode my bike in for free and walked back to my car. One thing different is that I would’ve parked closer as it was 20 min walk back to where I parked.
Okay, it’s race morning. Up at 4 as transition opens at 5. No worries though. Parked right next to transition and began to set up. Plenty of time to take care of business. I’ve got the timing down pretty well. Race starts at 7 and transition closes at 6:40. I’m in the second wave at 7:06. This is a triangular one loop course. Last year apparently was a double loop and that wasn’t too popular. At 7, the first swim wave starts and what’s so funny is that folks are actually walking to the first buoy!! For some reason, the first set of buoys is really close to shore. And when my wave started, I decided to do the same thing. What the heck? Why should I tire myself when I can walk just about as fast? At the second buoy, it’s deep enough to swim and I get going. Now, the winds on the water must’ve been near 15 mph as there are a few whitecaps and as I round the first buoy, we’re heading into the waves and winds. Forget bilateral breathing. Each time I try to go to my right side, I get water. So, I keep on my left side and this seems to be okay. Now, two days prior, my watchband kinda broke making the band loose. I did a makeshift fix as I couldn’t find a replacement band in time. I also put my wetsuit on top of it. But, the watch comes out from under the wetsuit and the loose band is annoyingly catching water with each stroke. Pretty bothersome and I try to fix it but to no avail. I press onward hoping it doesn’t fall off.
I then actually went fairly off course to the right even with the wind and waves. So, I got back on track into the pack. We’re starting to catch up to the first wave and it’s getting a bit hectic with folks all over. I run into a few people swimming along side me. Then, the wave behind is catching up and I can see feet and bubbles this time. I latch onto a few here and there as I try to sight for the next turn buoy. The buoys on this part needed to be better spaced as it was difficult to see in the waves. Somewhere here I get kicked in the face knocking my goggles askew. I recovered from that quickly and eventually round the last buoy. And now we’re actually body surfing to shore! I try timing my stroke to the wave push and found this worked well. Went in as far as I could even though it was getting quite shallow until I was sure bottom was mostly sandy. I head to T1 just laughing about how comical the swim was.
Easily find the big tree and proceed to the bike. No wetsuit problems and as quickly as I can, get into socks, bike shoes, and helmet. I’m off. One part I didn’t like here is that they spread mats/tarps over the grass to shortcut through the park onto the road. A bit bumpy but I guess they did the best they could here.
On the bike. As expected, the first 17 miles, we are into the wind! So high cadence, low gears most of this way. The downhills I had went well but I’m going overall slower than I would’ve like. Saw a few people drafting here and there which I was dismayed to see and I warned one guy as I passed. The refs were out too and probably caught a few I was looking at. Even with all the aero setup, I wasn’t moving as well as I would’ve liked. What got me a little down was seeing this one woman ahead on her hoods pulling away from me in the wind. Now it did look like she was tiring a bit so I didn’t feel too bad after a while. And fear not, the turn to the north was coming up. Sure enough, after making the turn, I was flying! Can’t tell you how fast, just that I was in my top gear and still at a high cadence. I zoomed past so many folks on this leg it was a real rush! It was not to last for too long as our next leg to the south began. Now, several folks caught me here from the later waves. Just kept spinning along. The one real hill came next and I was glad I had my 12-27 cassette on the back. I used that 27 cog for all it was worth. Wove through the next several miles until we hit this wide open stretch of downhill and a slight tailwind. Again, what a rush! I think here I reached my max speed of 34 mph. As we turned north, I was hoping I could keep the same pace. But, now the rain started and I was having some difficulty seeing. Plus, as we go through the State Park, the road is quite rough and I decided to take things a bit easier here as the last thing I needed was a flat or a crash. But there’s 4 miles of this and I am so glad to get back on the real road. Again, started to fly back to the transition area.
One thing to note here is that I traded places a few times with this one guy who looked so smooth on the bike. He wasn’t going overly fast but he was very consistent and was a lighter cyclist than me. I commented as such as said “You’re just saving yourself to pass me on the run, huh?” He laughed as I passed one last time on the bike.
BTW, nutrition was again worked well for me and I did take one HEED carbo/electolyte drink bottle from the aid station on the bike. Mostly used Clif Blocks, my own drink, water, electrolytes. Did some form of those roughly every 20 min. But the drink only lasts for about 40 miles. So I plan on which aid station to take the HEED from.
Coming into T2, I attempted to get out of my shoes on the bike. I had practiced a little and seemed like I could do this. But, my hamstrings complained as I loosened one shoe and I thought this isn’t working. So, after crossing the bumpy mat area again, I get my shoe strap on and just stop at the dismount area unclipping and clomping to my transition spot. T2 went well and I was pretty quickly out of the area. This time, after my shoes were on and race number, I just grabbed everything else and put it on as I ran. This worked very well.
On the run now. The first 2 miles is flat along the lake shore which I was grateful for, especially as we come back this way. Unfortunately, with the rain and my hammering on the bike, my legs are not feeling too good. I almost seem to be in a cramp and limping. I finally worked that out after a while but then I feel something in my shoe and had to stop to try and clear it. This doesn’t work and I continue on with some piece of dirt annoying me the entire way. We proceed through town and up the first short hill. Ugh. Legs are complaining as I do this. At mile 3 lightning flashes and booming thunder sounds. It continues to rain. The first part of the course is generally uphill and turning after mile 6, we’re greeted with a gravel road up this steep hill! Ugh. At the top, it’s the mile 7 marker and I’m more than halfway now. And helping to motivate even more are a couple of bongo players of all things!
Around this time, the rain actually stopped for a moment and it looked like the sun was going to come out. And my legs are still complaining which I work through. I never stopped but I did have to slow a bit here and there. Several people did have to stop and work out cramps or compose themselves again. Fortunately after mile 7, it was mostly downhill. However, I don’t handle downhill too well any more and am more careful. Plus with wet pavement and shoes, it seems to be difficult. Anyway, we come back into town and now it is all downhill. Through town there’s a band playing at one of the local bars/restaurants and I just soak up the tunes to motivate me a bit more.
Last 2 miles to go along the lake shore and the wind is mostly at my back but the rain is picking up again. Another guy is pacing behind me and passes me as I pause for a bit of water. But, I keep him in sight and eventually pass him during the last mile.
Remember the guy on the bike that looked smooth? He passed me with about 1/2 mile to go! See, my prediction was right.
Coming up to the finish at last and a guy in front of me is having problems weaving back and forth. Thought he was going to fall. Thought maybe I could catch him, but he held it together to finish just ahead of me, albeit in worse shape than I was.
At the finish line I look at the clock. I had purposely not been checking my time except on the bike as I didn’t want to be disappointed with my time. But, happily, the race clock said 5:49 which meant a PR for me coming in at under 6 hours! Hands up in victory at the finish! Got my medallion and a nice big water bottle there. But, my legs were not happy at all and I was moving very slowly. Fortunately, fresh fruit and snacks awaited there and I ate so I could get back some composure. Unfortunately, a rain squall came in and just DRENGED everyone at this point. I felt for the volunteers and the spectators and was glad I wasn’t out in that racing.
If it had been hot, there was a nice ice bath awaiting folks which is something I haven’t seen and would’ve welcomed otherwise. But, it got quite chilly and I found myself shivering a bit. After a bit, decided to go to the main pavilion with the food. Sampled the pizza but it was much too cheesy and tomatoey for my taste after a race. There was still plenty of fresh fruit and watermelon always tastes great after a race. Plus some nice fruit drinks as well.
The rain finally let up a little though now it was just raining. I made my way to the transition area, dreading what I’d find. Sure enough, nearly everything was wet and soaked. Not was much in my transition bag but things were still wet. I really dislike rain on these events. Got out the trash bags in my car and loaded up three bags of wet stuff.
Fortunately, the park had a changing area and I did have some dry clothes. I was very glad to finally be out of all the wet stuff I had on.
The rain thoroughly dampened my spirits to stick around any longer and I did have a long drive awaiting me. Armed with some strong coffee, I proceeded home.
My official stats:
Overall time: 5:43:55 (This is a PR for me, beating Eagleman time by about 18 min) Yeah!)
194/549 finishers
167 Male
26/58 AG
Swim: 44:45 (slow as usual)
T1: 3:03 (not bad for me)
Bike: 2:55:35 (19.2 mph, slower than I would’ve liked)
T2: 2:03 (for me, this is a pretty good time!)
Run: 1:58:29 (9:03 pace, which was okay considering)
Overall, I really liked this event. The location was terrific and the amenities for the price were worth the drive. I liked the festival feeling about it and it was quite different than some of the other events I’ve been to. While I liked the courses overall, I didn’t like the shallow swim during the first leg. I thought they could’ve done that better. The swim buoys were also not staying place on the second leg and sighting was difficult. I also didn’t care for the 4 miles of rough road through the state park on the bike. The run was fine though, even with the steep hill up to mile 7. And all the volunteers/race folks were just super! Plenty of nutrition and also water sponges on the run which I did appreciate.
While I am very pleased about my PR for such a different course than Eagleman, I’m a bit disappointed that I apparently hadn’t trained enough or incorrectly moving from the bike to the run. My legs were pretty much complaining constantly on the run and I couldn’t get any real speed out of them. The overall pace was okay, but I was thinking from training that a sub 9 was possible. Something to work on. My transitions were much better though I need to spend more time getting out of my shoes on the bike before T1.
One final comment. Last year the weather cooperated for each event I was in. But so far this year, I’ve been poured on twice and put through blazing heat another time. Hopefully, at least one event this season will have decent weather. Next up: North East Tri, an Olympic Distance. If the weather pattern holds, though, this will be a hot race this year.
Hi Tribe! Thought I’d post a slightly shortened version of my Race Report for Eagleman 70.3 which I participated in on June 8, 2008. To sum things up in two words – FLAT and HOT! Temperatures climbed into the low 90s late in the morning and went into the mid 90s during the early afternoon in time for most folks to be out on the 1/2 marathon run course.
For those not familiar with this event, it takes place on the Maryland Eastern Shore out of the town of Cambridge, which sits along the Choptank River that empties into the Cheasapeake Bay. Basically a bay town that has grown up a bit along with the rest of the Eastern Shore communities. The event has a pretty rich history in its first years and was eventually renamed in honor of the Bald Eagle, an inhabitant of Dorchester County and the vast Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, through which much of the bike course goes. And the entire course itself is challenging. The Choptank has interesting currents and can make the swim tougher than you’d expect. While the bike and run parts are flat, promising quick times, there are often strong winds that blow in several directions and there is very little shade along the run.
Anyway, this is an official Ironman 70.3 event and has qualifying slots for Kona. Our very own Herb Spicer races the course as a potential qualifying race for his age slot. The event is put on by the Columbian Triathlon Association and I found from racing in the Columbia Triathlon that they put together a class act for the participants. This event turned out to be no exception either.
PRE-RACE DAY
Fellow Tribe member Mike Matney also signed up and we rode down the day prior for packet pickup and event check-in, bike inspection/check-in, course preview, and take in whatever the Expo offered. In our goodie bag were the T-shirt (nice!), water bottle, socks (good IM ones from Wigwam), and usual other literature. The Expo was small but there were interesting things to see and perhaps buy. We met Tribe members Vicki Bate, Bernie Sellers, and Herb Spicer there and discussed a bit about the weather for the race the next day. It was already hot outside and it still morning.
Mike and I then drove the bike course which proved as expected – flat, flat, flat. Many long stretches where one could just cruise all out! Winds did not look as if they would be a factor this year. On the backside of the course, I looked up and saw a Bald Eagle flying overhead straight in front of us! We took that as a good sign. It didn’t help with the weather though.
Due to last week’s severe weather, no one could park close to transition and it was still very soggy. This would also be true on race day. But, no worries. Found our racks and I reminded myself to not make the mistake I made at Kinetic and counted the rows from the swim-in and bike-in parts of the transition area. BTW, as with Columbia, the bike rack rows are numbered and there’s a sticker with your name. I actually like doing this the day before a bit better as it’s less stuff to haul.
After that, Mike and I decided to try the Choptank on for size and swim a bit. Geez, the water was warm. But, didn’t seem like the Choptank would give any problems and we could feel a bit of a current swimming back a forth. Then got dinner, check in at the hotel (which was 30 min away in Salisbury), and put together stuff for race day.
RACE DAY:
Transition opened at 5:00 AM. Found parking about 3 blocks away from transition pretty easily, but that does make a difference if you forget something (and I did). After helmet inspection and body marking, got to our respective areas and did the ritual of laying out your space just right. Pumped tires. In transition, saw Tamara, Julian, Luca, and Greg Irwin. Greg said he got lucky as was now racing the whole thing rather than just AquaVelo. At the time I said that was great. Thinking back on it, I wonder considering the run which I’ll get to.
Okay, final preparations and I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. The pros have already started before the Transition area closed for the rest of us and I start getting my wetsuit on as I was a couple swim waves go. I meet up with Mike Orsini while in the swim wave corral and we wish each other lots of luck. Okay, our turn now. Into the water, just before the start buoys and I’m thinking “Geez, that looks far.” So, I tell myself to take one buoy at a time. The horn goes off and my first Half IM is underway!
I try to grab onto some feet to draft off of and this worked well for a while. But, the person breaststroked to sight a few times and I thought this isn’t working. So, I go on and try to find someone else. Only two buoys into it and my arms are starting to feel it a bit. This time I was more relaxed than at the Kinetic Sprint and I’m trying to concentrate more on my bilateral breathing. Sighting is going okay but I seem to be going right a bit. Not sure if that’s current or what. At the pros meeting, one of them recommended watching to see which way folks get pulled to in the earlier waves but I had not done that and so that’s a lesson learned for next year. I plodded along at my pace and still saw a good number of my wave around so I didn’t think I was doing too bad. But, rounding a buoy I got bumped a few times and feet hit my cheek and nearly my jaw. I was okay but had to get my bearings. Tried to latch onto the folks but couldn’t. Rounding the next turn buoy on the way back, everything seemed to be going left. So I went right and a race guy on jet ski said to go back left. This didn’t make sense but I attempted to do so. Two buoys left and I can see the finish. The wave behind me is catching up but I’m also passing a few people from the waves ahead. That felt kinda okay but I knew most of my wave had already made it in. Getting tired but tried to push a bit to the end and finally was able to walk onto the beach. Whew! Longest continuous swim I had done in a while.
Now into T1. Goggles off, cap off, peel wetsuit halfway. Found my area right away thanks to the practice I had done. I took my time in T1 since the goal was just to finish. Dried my arms a bit and put my arm coolers on. Realize that I should’ve put these on under my wetsuit and will have to train that way if I have another hot race. Took too much time to do so. But since I didn’t, just did it in T1. I had to sit to put on socks as this is what I had on cycling. Didn’t want a blister going into the run. That took a little while too. Used a shoe horn to get into my shoes and this actually worked well. Helmet on and onto the bike course!
Since Mike and I drove course, I knew what to expect, especially rough spots, gravel areas, and sharp turns. So no surprises. As I had done in training, I had my watch set to beep every 20 minutes to remind me to take in something. Usually I took an electrolyte pill at least every hour, food every 40 min, and something to drink every 20. This worked well for me but I also planned to replace my aerobottle drink on the course with Gatorade as I had done during training as well. So, did that around 45 miles out. A fair number of women from the swim wave behind me passed by with some nice looking bikes. I guess a few of my age group did too. But, I did the same to people as well and some with Zipp wheels. Always feels good to do that. My strategy for the bike was to set a reasonable pace and save something for the run as I knew that was going to be the most difficult part to the race. So, I decided to spin more than grind even if it meant going slower. This became more important as the bike went on as at mile 40, my inner thighs started to give me a bit of problems. I was afraid of cramping but ensured my electorlyte and hydration was on course every 20 min. Spun above 80 rpm or better for the rest of the way. I was glad to see the transition area come back into view.
T2. I had not practiced getting out of my shoes on the bike though I thought about trying it when I saw others. I resisted this temptation as the last thing I needed was a crash going into the run. So, got into transition getting my cycling shoes off and moved over to running. The shoehorn didn’t work quite as well this time but I moved through T2 at an okay pace. Still didn’t want to rush. Two things I put on were my hydration belt and my cooling bandanna. Though this probably took time, I was grateful for both. I need to take things and put them on as I’m joggin out of T2 though.
Onto the run. By now, somewhere around 11 AM I think. And as I start the run course, the temperature continues to climb. I’m sure it’s near 90 by this time and just getting hotter as we go along. Figure a 9 min pace is just under a 2-hour half marathon, which means running until early afternoon when the heat is starting to peak. And even in the first couple of miles, we are all running to any shade we can find. During this time, my inner thighs are starting to cramp so I slow down and relax and see if I can switch to a different set of muscles. This seems to work though my hamstrings start to complain a bit. Everything eases into the run and I pick it back up. At the second aid station, I wrongfully decide to grab some of their Gatorade. MISTAKE, MISTAKE! I don’t know why I did this as I have my own stuff. Well, it was mixed WAY too strong and I spit it back out. Unfortunately, I swallowed a bit and this got me a little nauseous. So much so, I had to stop to make sure I wasn’t going to have more problems. After a bit, felt like I could continue and started jogging again. From that point on, worked out a strategy that I followed: run/jog to each aid station as they were every mile, walk through the aid station, take water to drink, water to pour on me, and ice for my hat. No more of the race-provided Gatorade. My watch was also going every 20 min. So, no matter I would take a drink from my stuff and also take an electrolyte pill at least every 40. This worked extremely well for the rest of the run.
Between miles 3 and 4, there was this bypass road under construction. Let me tell you – that was the longest mile I faced except for the last one. The shade was now gone, there was new asphalt under our feet, and the temperature continued to rise. After mile 4, I actually started to feel fairly good running. So much so, that between miles 6 and 8, I’m seem to actually be setting a decent pace between the aid stations. BTW, you come back along this and I saw Mike Matney and Julian. I saw Vicki when I was heading back.
Again, there is VERY LITTLE SHADE on this course. What little there is is fleeting and you have to stop for to get any relief. But on this day, many people were walking through the aid stations. One gal remarked that she had never seen so many people walking in a Half IM. Fortunately, the aid station folks as well as many of the folks who live along the route came out to hose you down. Gosh even that little bit just felt great!
After mile 9, we come back again onto the bypass. This time, though there’s actually a breeze and my arm coolers and jersey are making use of it, cooling me down just a tad. It felt good. And I must’ve been setting a good pace as I hear those words from behind me. Sure enough, this one gal had decided to run with me using my pace to keep her going. I fell back a bit but she encouraged me to set the pace. So, I continue on and she falls in step behind me for the next mile.
At mile 10, though, I lose my shadow as she walks through the aid station a bit longer. I did look back and slow to wait but she didn’t appear to be catching back up. I press on.
As I round a corner pressing to mile 11, I see the bay. What a sight! It motivates me more. I take any shade and water sprinkling from the local folks. Someone yells that I’m looking good and I yell back that I wish I felt that way. A few laughs. But, in some ways I actually am as I’m smiling knowing I’m near to completing this event. I pass by folks watching the event and ask where’s the Corona I ordered a while back. They quickly come back that it’s waiting at the finish. I pass a photographer, raise my arms in triumph, and smile. More laughs. Keeps me going.
Mile 12 passes by and I feel the end is near. I can hear other folks names being called at the finish and know that I’m almost there. I can see the tents at the park as we come onto the road by the bay. Round another turn, quarter mile to go. Last turn and the finish is in site. I hear the names of the folks just in front of me. I’m listening for mine and slow just a bit in anticipation. Then my name is read over the loudspeaker and my arms go up triumphantly with a big smile on my face as I cross the finish line completing my first Half Ironman!! Volunteers come to take care of me, look me over to see if I’m okay, put my medal on, and give me some water which I’m very grateful for. I also look for a bit of Gatorade too. I actually got very emotional a few times walking over to the food area.
Again, a good spread of eats afterwords- pasta, rice and chili, cookies, soda, water, carrot cake, delicious watermelon (nothing ever tasted so good!), bagels, bananas. Free massages again, but I didn’t do that this time. Felt good but didn’t seem to really be effective the next few days.
After recomposing myself and hooking back up with Mike, it was now time to head back home and close the book on this chapter in my triathlon career.
My official times:
SWIM: 41:43
SWIM TO BIKE TRANSITION: 6:36
BIKE: 2:52:42 (19.6mph)
BIKE TO RUN TRANSITION: 4:10
RUN: 2:16:04 (10:24 pace)
FINISH 6:01:13
I was 60 out of 121 in my AG (M45-49), 504 out of 907 males, 649 out of 1356 total finishers in the full Half IM. Interestingly enough, it was the run that I did the best in compared to the other folks, the area I trained the least in.
Despite the heat, overall this was a great first Half IM! A class act by the race organizers and also a terrific job of ensuring folks had enough ice, water, and other aid on the run. Enough good food to eat as well. I think I’ll sign up for next year (if gas prices will allow me too).
And as always, the volunteers were just SUPER! I thanked as many as I could. Always thank them for being out helping you, because the event really couldn’t go on without them.
Hi Tribe! New (and old) pictures have been posted for your viewing pleasure at past and recent events. Sorry it took a while to post but I still was getting used to this web publishing software.
If you’d like me to post pics of you at events, please let me know via email – dsemiller@comcast.net
“Race Report” Dave
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