Swim start:
It was a very strange experience this year. Standing on the beach with Jen looking out at what could have been the ocean with 2200 other people, cold and anxious. Then Mike Reily came’s on and says that anyone not wanting to swim could just do the bike and run. This would not count as unofficial finish, but would allow those that wouldn't be able to complete the swim to participate at some level. I believe Jen's response to this was along the lines of "there's no way in hell I'm not doing this swim. I don't care if I don't make the cut off. I'm at least going to try". This kick ass attitude is what got her through a very challenging day. She kissed me and headed to the back of the crowd. It got me a little chocked up. Weird how emotional these things can make you. With so many months of prep and training coming down to the 10 sec countdown before they blow the cannon. Very intense, even after you do a few.
First ½ mile of the swim was directly into the wind which was blowing at 15 to 20 mph. The swells felt like they were 10 ft tall at times, but were probably only 2 to 3 ft. Was never able to get into a groove as my goggles kept filling with water and I had to breast stroke a lot to sight the buoys. Around the first buoy on the backside of the rectangle the sun was in our eyes and swimming became even tougher due to the waves coming in sideways. On the way back in it was like body surfing. Still wasn’t able to get in a groove though. Waves were coming in at an angle that kept pushing me towards the sea wall. The second lap felt better since I was warmed up and new what to expect on the way out. My second split ended up being a minute slower even though it felt faster. Oh well… HR average for the first lap was 151, second lap was 148. Almost 7 minutes off my PR, which was CDA 2005.
T1:
Out of the water I wasn’t too tired, just a little dizzy. I jogged through the bag area and into the tent. I swear I spent 60 seconds just trying to get my bag open. I struggled to get my arm warmers on over my wet arms. Still a little out of it, I ran out of the tent to the bike with gloves in hand. It was still a little chilly out so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t too cold on the first part of the bike.
Bike:
I headed out of town up the main street. It’s a little up hill so I stayed up out of my aero bars to try to bring my HR down. Once I was on the flats I settled in and prepped myself for all of the people that would start passing me. Scott had mentioned this in some pre-race advice he had sent me. As people started going by I kept saying to myself “I’ll see you on the run”. By the end of the first lap my pacing paid off. After special needs I was feeling great and really started passing a lot of people. The only issue I was having was the constant urge to pee. I think I took in a lot of lake water in the swim and I couldn’t pee fast enough, or long enough on the bike to get it all out. After nearly filling my shoe and still directing way to much focus to how bad I had to go I finally stopped on the side of the road ~ about mile 60 and just let it out. Wow what a relief!! By mile 85 I had to stop again. Total I calculated I lost about 3 mins total to stopping and peeing. Not sure what I could have done differently there. At least I knew I was hydrated.
T2:
Coming in off the bike I was feeling great, but bummed that I was so far off what I thought I could do. I stayed within my HR ranges and effort level and felt really good, just a lot slower then expected. Jogged into transition and grabbed my bag. Into the tent where I was one of only 4 or 5 people. The volunteer was awesome. I was in and out pretty quick. Had to stop and pee again though, WTF! Took a GU and headed out on the run.
Run:
First mile of the run everything felt good, but I couldn’t get my HR down, Wanted to keep it ~145 to 150 for the first half of the run, but couldn’t get it below 158. The first mile split came in at 8:44. I slowed a bit through town and was able to bring my HR down to 150, but my pace also slowed to ~9:00. My nutrition got screwed up somewhere around mile 4. I was trying to take a gu every 30 min like I had in training, unfortunately the aid stations and my pace screwed up my timing. By mile 10 my pace had slowed to 10’s and my stomach was cramping. This was about the time Rob P. came running by and offered some words of encouragement. He looked strong. I passed Scott and he shouted out a reminder to “keep eating”. By mile 13 the cramps where so bad I couldn’t run. I was pissed because my legs felt so good! I slammed a gu and a cup of water and with a couple minutes the cramps were gone. Then the light bulb came on. I wasn’t eating enough. I started hitting the gu hard at every other aid station. In between I was taking a coke with a water chaser. After a couple miles I was back running 9:00’s. I saw Erin P. after I rounded the last out and back and she was cruising. I had 40+ mins on her off the bike and there she was. I told her as she passed going the other waythat I was going to make her work to catch me. This was more to fire myself up. I thought for sure she would get me. My last 3 miles were sub 8:30’s, I was running scared.
Overall I was disappointed with my time. I had high hopes of breaking 11 hrs. But on the bright side I did PR by 20 minutes in less then ideal conditions. I felt good for most of the day, and I had fun! This is really the first race that I can look back and say I truly enjoyed. I think it was a combo of all of the people that came to watch, knowing others racing, and being much more fit them I’ve ever been.
Key learnings this year:
- Eat more frequently on the run.
- Carry my own nutrition.
- More open water swim practice (sore shoulder)
- Peeing on the bike may not be for me.
- Need a new knot for my transition bags. The “Pad Thai” knot only works on the bag when you get take-out from the local Thai restaurant. Not so cool in T1 when you’re wet, dizzy and easily distracted.
It was a very strange experience this year. Standing on the beach with Jen looking out at what could have been the ocean with 2200 other people, cold and anxious. Then Mike Reily came’s on and says that anyone not wanting to swim could just do the bike and run. This would not count as unofficial finish, but would allow those that wouldn't be able to complete the swim to participate at some level. I believe Jen's response to this was along the lines of "there's no way in hell I'm not doing this swim. I don't care if I don't make the cut off. I'm at least going to try". This kick ass attitude is what got her through a very challenging day. She kissed me and headed to the back of the crowd. It got me a little chocked up. Weird how emotional these things can make you. With so many months of prep and training coming down to the 10 sec countdown before they blow the cannon. Very intense, even after you do a few.
First ½ mile of the swim was directly into the wind which was blowing at 15 to 20 mph. The swells felt like they were 10 ft tall at times, but were probably only 2 to 3 ft. Was never able to get into a groove as my goggles kept filling with water and I had to breast stroke a lot to sight the buoys. Around the first buoy on the backside of the rectangle the sun was in our eyes and swimming became even tougher due to the waves coming in sideways. On the way back in it was like body surfing. Still wasn’t able to get in a groove though. Waves were coming in at an angle that kept pushing me towards the sea wall. The second lap felt better since I was warmed up and new what to expect on the way out. My second split ended up being a minute slower even though it felt faster. Oh well… HR average for the first lap was 151, second lap was 148. Almost 7 minutes off my PR, which was CDA 2005.
T1:
Out of the water I wasn’t too tired, just a little dizzy. I jogged through the bag area and into the tent. I swear I spent 60 seconds just trying to get my bag open. I struggled to get my arm warmers on over my wet arms. Still a little out of it, I ran out of the tent to the bike with gloves in hand. It was still a little chilly out so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t too cold on the first part of the bike.
Bike:
I headed out of town up the main street. It’s a little up hill so I stayed up out of my aero bars to try to bring my HR down. Once I was on the flats I settled in and prepped myself for all of the people that would start passing me. Scott had mentioned this in some pre-race advice he had sent me. As people started going by I kept saying to myself “I’ll see you on the run”. By the end of the first lap my pacing paid off. After special needs I was feeling great and really started passing a lot of people. The only issue I was having was the constant urge to pee. I think I took in a lot of lake water in the swim and I couldn’t pee fast enough, or long enough on the bike to get it all out. After nearly filling my shoe and still directing way to much focus to how bad I had to go I finally stopped on the side of the road ~ about mile 60 and just let it out. Wow what a relief!! By mile 85 I had to stop again. Total I calculated I lost about 3 mins total to stopping and peeing. Not sure what I could have done differently there. At least I knew I was hydrated.
T2:
Coming in off the bike I was feeling great, but bummed that I was so far off what I thought I could do. I stayed within my HR ranges and effort level and felt really good, just a lot slower then expected. Jogged into transition and grabbed my bag. Into the tent where I was one of only 4 or 5 people. The volunteer was awesome. I was in and out pretty quick. Had to stop and pee again though, WTF! Took a GU and headed out on the run.
Run:
First mile of the run everything felt good, but I couldn’t get my HR down, Wanted to keep it ~145 to 150 for the first half of the run, but couldn’t get it below 158. The first mile split came in at 8:44. I slowed a bit through town and was able to bring my HR down to 150, but my pace also slowed to ~9:00. My nutrition got screwed up somewhere around mile 4. I was trying to take a gu every 30 min like I had in training, unfortunately the aid stations and my pace screwed up my timing. By mile 10 my pace had slowed to 10’s and my stomach was cramping. This was about the time Rob P. came running by and offered some words of encouragement. He looked strong. I passed Scott and he shouted out a reminder to “keep eating”. By mile 13 the cramps where so bad I couldn’t run. I was pissed because my legs felt so good! I slammed a gu and a cup of water and with a couple minutes the cramps were gone. Then the light bulb came on. I wasn’t eating enough. I started hitting the gu hard at every other aid station. In between I was taking a coke with a water chaser. After a couple miles I was back running 9:00’s. I saw Erin P. after I rounded the last out and back and she was cruising. I had 40+ mins on her off the bike and there she was. I told her as she passed going the other waythat I was going to make her work to catch me. This was more to fire myself up. I thought for sure she would get me. My last 3 miles were sub 8:30’s, I was running scared.
Overall I was disappointed with my time. I had high hopes of breaking 11 hrs. But on the bright side I did PR by 20 minutes in less then ideal conditions. I felt good for most of the day, and I had fun! This is really the first race that I can look back and say I truly enjoyed. I think it was a combo of all of the people that came to watch, knowing others racing, and being much more fit them I’ve ever been.
Key learnings this year:
- Eat more frequently on the run.
- Carry my own nutrition.
- More open water swim practice (sore shoulder)
- Peeing on the bike may not be for me.
- Need a new knot for my transition bags. The “Pad Thai” knot only works on the bag when you get take-out from the local Thai restaurant. Not so cool in T1 when you’re wet, dizzy and easily distracted.
