We headed to WI Friday morning in order to make it to the race site for packet pick-up and mandatory bike check-in. Relatively smooth sailing thanks to a borrowed iPass (thanks Mom and Dad!). Everything with the race venue was easy and quick, and we were on our way to get situated at the condo in no time. The condo was stunning, we had views of Lake Michigan, immaculate decorations, and convenient location. We would end up walking everywhere. We all met up with my folks for dinner and had a few beers to unwind/calm the pre-race nerves. I was especially nervous with having ridden in the car for a long time with a race the next day. Seems that when that happens I always have issues with cramps and can't finish (Riverbank 2013, Hoogie Birthday Brick, etc.). Thankfully, with some ART and careful foam rolling, I managed to avoid any issues. Thanks to Dr. Ronda at Dynamic Family Chiropractic in Grandville, MI for the treatment!
Race morning came quickly. We had to go down to transition to set up the rest of our gear, look over our bikes, etc. before 7:30, but didn't race until 9:30. So Timmy and I walked back to the condo again. Pre-race breakfast was usual: banana, coffee, and a PowerBar. We applied our race numbers which were in the form of temporary tattoos. Kind of a nice perk of such a big race, except we didn't bring baby oil to help remove them afterwards. I still have some marking left. We headed back to the race venue, this time to race.
We geared up for the swim and wished fellow GH alum, Anne Clancy, good luck, and walked down to the swim start. A few minutes to warm up and make sure my wetsuit was situated and into the starting pen. Once the gun went off it was clear what kind of talent had come to race. Usually Tim and I are straight off the front, this time it felt like I was going backwards. Here's where I made my first mistake of the day: I tried to keep up with the chaos. As a result, spiked my heart rate. Even at the Olympic distance that seems to be an issue as I hadn't trained with such a high heart rate for that long. I settled down as well as I could, tried to find some open water to swim but it was chaos. Guys were criss-crossing all over, it felt more like water polo than a triathlon swim. Thankfully that could be handled. When I stepped up the ramp out of the water, I looked up to see Timmy a step in front of me. Crazy, after not knowing where he was for 22 minutes, we are right together. [strava file]
While running into T1, I switched my watch to biking and noticed my heart rate was 174. This was after trying to swim easy. I slowed to a jog to catch my breath. Finding my bike was easy, since Tim was racked literally right next to me. We were assigned race numbers 1 apart from each other. I grabbed my gear as quickly as possible and ran off with my bike. One thing I need to master is the flying mount, where your shoes are already attached to your bike. This would probably save 30 seconds or so.
On to the bike, it was evident that the course was going to be fast (and that my new bike was fast!). On the first uphill stretch I was still rolling over 20mph. On way back the speeds were pushing 30mph! I hammered pretty hard but tried to keep my heart rate under 170. It was still too high for what I had trained with, but there was hope that I could remediate the earlier spike. The course was pretty bumpy (every seam in the concrete rattled your bottles, windy (there were times I had to get out of the aero bars just to keep things going straight), but scenic (lots of Lake Michigan views). Didn't see much drafting, which was good. Heading back into T2 I tried to pull back on the effort but I spent too much pushing the pace. A quick flying dismount (leaving shoes on the bike), and into T2. My bike split would end up being a PR by a LONG shot. 24mph average, covering the 24.8 miles in 1:02! [strava file]
The run into T2 was a struggle. I could tell that on the new bike that I use my hamstrings far more than I am used to. It was going to be a rough run. I managed to get out of T2 in a respectable time and headed out on to the run. Usually I would soak up the spectator support but this time I was grumpy and hurting. I'm bummed about that.
The run course is pretty great. Lots of Lake Michigan views and very flat. I enjoyed the first 1.5 miles. Then things derailed. I took my PowerGel at mile 1, hoping to get a boost. But it wasn't nutrition or energy levels. My heart rate was seemingly maxed out and I couldn't catch my breath. It was clear that I would have to struggle to finish. After seeing Kristin the second time, I said "this hurts like hell!", to which she said something like "don't tell me that!" and "stay strong!". I walked the next aid station, thinking that I might be able to catch my breath and recover a bit. It helped for a moment, but soon I was back to max. I held onto a 7 min/mi average to the turnaround at 4 miles, but from there to the finish it was one streetlight to the next. My mental strength was gone. I kept thinking about how far we came for this race, that it was only X number of minutes left, but never have I fought the will to give up so much. I finally saw the finish straight and tried to pick up speed, smile down the chute, and cross the line. The 44 minute 10k was one of my slowest, if not my slowest, in an Olympic distance race. [strava file]
One disappointing of note about the race itself, which was very well run otherwise, was the post-race athlete food. Bean salad, cold pulled pork and cold corn on the cob are not what I want after slaying myself for 2+ hours. Oh well, there were lots of great food options in town and we'd sample many as we strolled around that afternoon, enjoying local beers and as many patios as we could find!
In all, it was a good weekend. I learned a lot about execution and focusing on a race plan. Clearly I went out too hard and paid for it later on. I have a couple more races this season to perfect the race strategy and execution: Traverse City Tri - 8/17 and Reeds Lake Tri - 9/6 in East Grand Rapids. I can't wait!
A special thanks again to Tim and Molly, to Kristin for her endless ironmate support, my folks for the iPass and the support (my mom had a PR race, too, congrats!!!), and to PowerBar for fueling the journey.
Keep dreaming!
Keep dreaming!
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