Race Report
Pre-race routine:
I had an awful night of stomach cramping and bathroom woes. I don’t know what’s wrong with me…I had to miss a race in July because of the same deal. Ugh.
Woke up, had my oatmeal and a couple bananas on the drive to the race.
Went into the water and swam for 5 minutes. I forgot my goggles but luckily I had an old pair in my bag for backup.
Swim
(60F-Calm-Dew55F-Hum82%-Overcast)
The start was delayed every 15 minutes because of the fog until we finally started an hour later. Started in wave #2, 2 minutes after the first and 2 minutes in front of the next one. I had lots of room and just did my thing. About a quarter in at the first turn, the next wave started coming. And it never stopped! I panicked as I tried to just keep going, but just being in so much traffic freaked me out. It didn’t let up the whole time so I tried my best to keep on going. I took a few breaks to catch my breath but swam into the shore.
Not the last swimmer to finish in my wave but pretty close. When I looked at my time, I guess that it wasn't all that bad for me.
Avg HR 152
What would you do differently?
Become a more confident swimmer. Get more race experience.
T1
T1 was smooth. Wetsuit came off. Socks went on no problem. The transition area wasn’t as long as last time, so it was a short jog to the exit to get the ride on!
Avg HR 156
Bike
(62F-Calm-Dew59F-Hum88%-Mostly Cloudy)
My HR was crazy high early on the bike. I slowed down until it settled down. I’m actually pretty impressed at how I kept it so low. I went faster than I had planned on my bike but that was okay. I drank one bottle of Gatorade and one bottle of water with 3 Cliff Shots. My stomach was kinda queasy the whole time so I decided against pounding back more Gatorade.
The ride was nice - flat with a few climbs. There was an out and back on the park’s camp ground access road which never seemed to end. Towards the last 5 miles or so, a headwind made the going slower, but with the valley declines, it wasn’t too much of a factor.
Min HR 138
Avg HR 149
Max HR 173
What would you do differently?
Develop cyclist legs – do more riding!
T2
No problems here except that I had put some Cliff Shots in my running shoe and forgot when I pulled it on. Oops.
Run
(69F-Calm-Dew57F-Hum64%-Mostly Cloudy)
It was hot out there without shade or a breeze. I ran an even pace, walking through aid stations. My tummy wasn’t happy with me the whole time. It got better when halfway I decided not to bother with the Infinit sports drink stuff and just drink water. However, if I had passed a porta-potty on the run, I would have stopped for sure.
There was no way that I could sprint to the end…I just didn’t have anything left.
Split/HR:
1) 0:09:03 - 161
2) 0:10:37 - 162
3) 0:10:18 - 158
4) 0:10:16 - 160
5) 0:10:03 - 165
6) 0:10:11 - 164
6.55) 0:05:04 - 167
Post race
Hugged Sharon. Ran to the bathroom. Got some water and walked around.
Ate 3 Fig Newtons and stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel (chicken dumplins – yum!)
What limited your ability to perform faster:
IBS??
It was a long three hours but I did it! I'm 1/4 of an Ironman!!
