Lumberman '70.3' - July 27, 2013
We woke up Saturday morning after a very short night. Made coffee, ate breakfast, and packed up to drive to the race. We were late. Not entirely, but the line for the porta-potties was way too long. So we made a brash decision to bolt to a nearby gas station, leaving Timmy in the line without any triathlon-ing gear. Sorry, Timmy! Ended up that it was a good decision, but then we only had 10 minutes to set up in transition. My dad helped and got us a close parking spot. Thankfully, the weather cooperated with our tardiness and caused the race to be delayed for 30-45 minutes due to fog. It would end up being dreary weather all day, but the cooler temperatures would allow for faster racing.
The swim:
Turns out the lake is filled with zebra mussels and their empty razor-like shells will destroy your feet. Thankfully we all figured this out before the swim start, and none of our group personally. We were finally set to start the swim and we hear the race director announce "1 minute to go". I spit in my goggles to keep them from fogging up and put them on. As soon as I do, SNAP, the strap breaks. I had enough extra strap to fix it, but without scissors and more than 45 seconds I accepted the fact that I would have to complete the 1.2 mi swim without goggles. I stuffed them in my wetsuit and the horn went off. Timmy and I pushed through a few people and made our way to the front by the first buoy. I soon realized that I might prefer swimming without goggles. Seems like a strange concept, but after years of playing water polo (without goggles), I found that it was easier to sight buoys without! The rest of the swim went smoothly. We kept the tempo up but certainly wasn't a hard effort. Using the knowledge of the razor-sharp shells on the bottom, we swam all the way to shore, even when the water was only 1-2 feet deep. Out of the water in first place, 29 minutes flat. Good swim.
T1:
Wasn't too bad. It was concerning that it was drizzling rain, that's the only thought I had: Hope I don't crash on the wet roads.
The bike:
Hmmm...1 mile in, I nearly crashed. My sunglasses were completely fogged up/wet and I could hardly see. I saw a right turn coming and started to coast into the turn to try to take it somewhat quickly. After all, I was in first. I wanted to try to keep it that way. I pulled my glasses down a bit and realized that there were a lot of potholes and bumps in the corner. I tried to brake, but in the process locked up both wheels. I thought it was the end. Carbon wheel meets curb. Fly into the grass or get nasty road rash. Yet, somehow I managed to stay upright and make the turn. Perhaps it was the road construction cone that I ran over that slowed me down? Either way, it shook me up a bit and didn't help with getting my heart rate down.
Finally, after a few miles, I settled in. I got passed by a couple guys and found a steady, more sustainable pace. The hills weren't too bad. The wind and rain was a bit cold, but allowed for a faster pace. We hit the turn around and I checked my average: 21.9 mph. Not bad. That's against the wind, but slightly net downhill. At this point I made it my goal to hold 21.5 mph overall. I saw Timmy a few minutes back and thought, he's having a good race, sticking to his guns (i.e. running like a mad man). This is where nutritionally I started to tangent from my plan. I had no gels, no salt tabs, just energy drink concoction made up of PowerBar's Ironman Perform and a couple of PowerGels in each bottle. This was working well except it was cold out and drinking wasn't as enticing as I needed it to be. So, I neglected it. Wen the road started climbing back up it got harder and harder to hold pace. I was getting frustrated. Maybe I went out to hard. Maybe I don't have the fitness. Maybe....amazing how the negative thoughts pile up. Then I thought...maybe you should take some nutrition!!! Brilliant. After guzzling half of a bottle, I quickly recomposed myself and got back on track. I hit the olympic tri turnaround and knew the ride would be net downhill for the rest of the way. I kept looking down at my Garmin and seeing 24-25 mph, sustained for mile after mile. This was going to be my best bike split, ever. I felt great. Cruised into T2 with my bike split at 2:33:33 (21.89 mph average).
T2:
This was tough. My hands and feet were nearly numb and I had no dexterity. This made changing my shoes very difficult. Fortunately, I had swapped out the laces on my Saucony Kinvaras to an elastic set. I wisely grabbed salt tabs and my PowerGel flask and took off running.
The Run:
Maybe the most mentally defeating part of a longer distance triathlon are the early miles in the run discipline. Mile 1, 12.1 miles to go, mile 2 drags on, then mile 3, still 10.1 miles to go. Likely that it feels this way because you haven't found your stride yet. Thankfully the route was along Lake Cadillac, which helps take your mind off of the distance to go. When I hit the aid station at mile 2, the kids were very encouraging. "You're doing awesome, in 4th place!" That caught my attention. I had lost track of how many people had passed me on the bike. I began to ponder how hard I would have to work to get into 3rd and on the overall podium. My left leg was tight and I didn't want to have to deal with an injury this late into Ironman Wisconsin training, but as I kept knocking off the miles around 7:20 pace, I thought I could give it a go.
At mile 5, one of the aid station workers said that I was about a mile behind 3rd. Maybe he said first, but this was a little disheartening. I kept pushing, hoping to get a better update from someone else. The run course takes you around the lake, then back out the way you came for another 10k out-and-back. This meant there was a chance I would get to gauge the distance myself, too. I saw 1st place, then 2nd. Before I could see 3rd, the course separated for a small loop. I hit the turn around to start the out-and-back. Kristin, Korrie, and Molly were there. Kristin yelled at me "142". Funny, all I wanted to know was how far ahead the 3rd place guy was. So I yelled back, "What? How far ahead is 3rd?!". Apparently, that's what Kristin was saying, but my mind was not 100% there. Sorry, Kristin. You are amazing for anticipating me wanting to know that, thank you for doing so! Molly clarified and said, "about 2 minutes, he's way ahead!"
When I turned the corner to a long straightaway, I could see 3rd place ahead, walking! I slowed down. I wanted to be able to have some energy left in case he was just walking an aid station. He would run for a few, then walk, then run. I was making up ground quickly. With about 4 miles to go, he turned around and saw me, just a few meters behind. He tried to pick up the tempo, but I was full of energy and he had cracked. I offered him a salt tab as I passed, but he declined and said good luck. We hit the turn together, 5k to go. When he walked again I knew I had a good shot at holding him off. Then I saw Timmy, barreling down. He was about 1/2 mi behind and charging. Suddenly, I felt my podium spot was not secure. I gave him a high-five and some encouragement to go get 4th place. As the final miles reeled off, I kept looking behind me to ensure that it wasn't going to be a sprint to the finish. I felt great but my legs were very tight at this point. I didn't want to have to sprint to the line. Thankfully, I didn't have to. I crossed in a total time of 4:42:32, but the official time at 4:42:42. I was ecstatic. Tim crossed in 5th, a few seconds behind 4th. He could have caught him, but wanted to do the robot on the finish line. There's photographic evidence to come, just need to find it.
Overall, this was a great race, 18 minute PR, a podium finish, and surplus fitness to boot. It would turn out to be a half-marathon PR as well by 3 minutes. Guess I need to run an open half-marathon! The weather may have provided some upside, but I'm very happy with where I am.
Thanks again to Tim and Molly for hosting, Steve, Korrie, Nenad, Kristin, and my parents for the company and cheering, and to PowerBar for providing us all with nutrition for the race!
Back to pursuing the Kona dream....
