This was my first venture into the 1/2 Ironman distance (non-tri's, this is a 1.2mile swim, 56mile bike, 13.1mile run), so my expectations weren't too high. My A-Race was St. Anthony's two weeks ago, so my training has been just a coasting along until GCT. This past week, my training really wasn't great, and the work schedule had me traveling quite a bit, so my prep time really wasn't what I had hoped for. Not good, but hey, this isn't an A-race, right??
On to the report!
Day Before: Checked in the Blue Pony (my bike's name), and then had a "pasta" dinner. Not quite correct...it was veggie lasagna. Not what I need the night before a race. I thought it would be spaghetti with sauce on the side. I hope the stomach won't be bothering me now! Oh, boy. Got home, and got to bed relatively early.
RACE DAY: actually woke up this time, setting two alarms, and had a wake up call. (Remember, I woke up two hours late for St. A's!!!). Ate normal pre-race meal, met John Matthews and we rode together to check in. The line for body marking was LOOONG, so next race, I'm making sure that a permanent marker is part of my race materials.
Finally get into transition, and only have about 25 minutes to get ready. Go to the port-o-let, where there is another long line. When I am all done with the evacuation procedures, I only have about 5 minutes to get my prep area ready, stretch, and go to the swim start. So, I skip my stretch. Not what I had hoped for, but I'll live.
SWIM: Get to swim start, and the gulf looks more like the wave pool at Adventure Island. Hmm, Coach Mike gave me a plan for the bike and run, but not for tidal waves. Maybe he did that on purpose, knowing my swimming level. So, I think, "forget swimming this in 36 minutes, and forget your goal time, just compete." I decided to go out and test the conditions. It was rough.
About 35 meters past the start, there was a sand bar, where the waves broke. One lady didn't even make it past the sand bar, she came walking back. I didn't need to see that.
"Hey, maybe this will be fun, kind of like when I was a kid running into the waves." um, no, those thoughts didn't work either. Some old spectator said, "oh., those aren't bad" I said, "really, you sure about that??"
We start, and it takes 1m 20s to get to the sand bar! 80 seconds for 35 meters. survive the sand bar, and just start swimming. I never got into a rythm ever, didn't breathe like I normally do, and just did my best. I was slow, but I didn't really get off course like I have before, which was nice. I really didn't get kicked, and didn't swallow too much salt water, which was a pleasant surprise! On the way in, I actually drafted off some faster guys, which was nice. swim finish: 44m 25s...PLACE: 64/93 in age group, 710/1236 males. Not fast, but about what I expected.
T1: much quicker than I thought, except I couldn't get my shirt on. (I usually don't wear tops in races, but thought it would be wise to wear one.) Get out, and hop on the Blue Pony for a ride.
BIKE: Coach Mike says, 'first 18 miles, relax. then pick up the pace. you will catch people.' This first 18 miles was a TOUGH stretch. I was passed by a lot of folks. I just kept my focus, "Save yourself. Like Mike says, you've got 40 miles to go. Be calm." I am very rarely calm, but I kept my composure. For miles 1-9, I was at 19pmh, 9-18, just about 20mph. I really focused on keeping my effort down. I also felt more aches and pains while going slow. My feet hurt, arms hurt, etc. Surprisingly, I didn't feel like I had drowned from the swim. I just forgot about it.
At Mile 15, this lady passed me, she FLEW by me. What made me remember this was that she was...large. I mean really large. that wasn't a confident booster. "Was I going slow? What was wrong? Nothing is wrong, just relax." At mile 18, I said, "THANK YOU LORD!!! Let's go!" picked up the pace, and felt so much better. The Blue Pony is just made to go fast, not slow. and it felt it. At about 18 miles or so, there is a bridge. Should I go hard up the bridge? Nope, just sit, put the Pony in an easy gear and just go up easy. I passed the heavy lady, and never saw her again! Just kept moving along, and realized that going 22mph ain't all that bad. "Keep it up, Mike." at the turn-around, I felt a tailwind. "Let's use this" Hard gear, and up to about 24-25 mph for just a bit. Nice. came back to earth, and just relaxed. Now I am beginning to pass folks.
At Mile 48 (8 miles left), I lost the ability to perform simple math...8x3=60??? No wait, 8x6=48. WHAT???
At Mile 50, "Okay, get ready for the run." Also, a killer head-wind appeared from no where. Ouch. "Maintain composure and speed." I did this until Mile 52. Pulled back just a bit, and really began thinking about the run. Got feel out of shoes while still riding with abotu 1/4 mile remaining and got ready to run. Got into T2 feeling okay. TIME: 2hours, 44mintes, 59seconds. 44/93 in Age group, 462/1236 in males
The strange thing about the bike: on training runs, I think about all kinds of things...everything. When I race, I think only about racing. Wierd. I even tried to think of random things, but they left my mind.
BIKE NUTRITION: 5 servings of HammerGel (Non-tri's, this is energy gel you eat in a long race), one 16oz bottle of Gatorade + added salt, and a ton of water. Alternated these two (HG + G'ade) every 20 minutes, regardless of how I felt. Had water with each. And baby, the burps felt...nice, nice!
T2: fast!! bike racked (I had a GREAT SPOT in the transition area, by the way!), helmet off, running shoes on, visor out, out!
RUN: Heat bothers a lot of people. It bothers me, but not that much. I actually like it. A lot. It is tough, but the hotter it is, the more advantage I have. And it showed. While on the run, I totally forgot about the bike. Jeez, I am turning into the Tom Hanks character on Saturday Night Live that never remembers anything!! that is a good thing in a long triathlon.
I forgot what Coach Mike had said about what to have on the aid stations..."Was it water and G'ade at each? Only water? Oh crap." So, for Aid stations at mile 1 + 2, I had water only. First mile goal, 8 minutes. hit the marker in 7.38. "Oops. Relax, Mike, you've got 12 more to go." I ended up walking at each aid station...I have not mastered the drinking while running at all. I was also too afraid to not drink anything or to skip water or G'ade. So I played it safe, and drank at each.
Mile 2: I saw a lady behind the bushes. "Whoa. That isn't something you see every day!! Gross. Keep running, Mike."
Mile 5: "5 miles down, 7 more left. 7 MORE!!! WHAT??"
Mile 6: at this time, you make a loop in a park. There is no shade, no wind, just the sun. and yourself. Just focus, get out of the park, and you are home free, with only 5 miles left. Phew, it is hot.
Photographer sighting. Get my tough face on! Oops, I forgot to zip up the jersey. (Maria, tell Artemis that Uncle Bellybutton was out in full force!!) Zip it up, and got another picture, Once I passed the photo-guy, zipper = down again!!
Got out of the park, and it is hot. Funny, the wind blows on the bike, but not on the run! For miles 8-13, it is a re-trace through the neighborhoods.
"Keep going." Now, I am passing my age group. I passed a lot of them, probably about 12-15, is my guess.
Mile 8: "5 miles left. WHAT!!! Stop thinking and just get to the aid stations, just like Coach Mike said. Aid stations!!"
Mile 10: a 5K left. "Pick it up now, Mike." That wasn't going to happen. It seemed that at the aid stations, when I'd stop to drink (I actually walked through them) my momentum stopped as well, but I was too scared to not take in fluids.
Mile 10.5: I began to hurt a lot in the legs. Damn, it is hot. Just keep passing people, males, and age groupers! Keep going. I guess now, I looked like Chevy Chase in "Vacation" running through the dessert with his pants on his head.
Mi1e 11: I am going to finish a 1/2 Ironman. 15 months ago, I only day-dreamed about this!
MIle 12. I am going to finish. BUT, from mile 12 marker to the finish was more like 1.5 miles, not 1.1 miles. That isn't fair.
Mile 13: Started to get a bit choaked up, knowing that I am done. Then...I start having breathing problems. I can't breathe. "Shit. Relax, breathe, relax." Kept getting emotional, especially when I saw the finish line. Then, I saw a guy from Tallahassee. "GO PALIOS!!! WOOOO!" Slapped him a high five. "Where is Bessie (wife)? Where is she?" Couldn't find her, damn it.
Time: 1hour, 47minutes 42seconds, 9/93 in age group, 103/1236 for males
TOTAL: 5hours, 21minutes, 29seconds...22/93 in age group, 207/1236 in males, 244/1680 overall.
Not thrilled, but not disappointed at all. This was my first 1/2 IM. And I survived that swim! That in itself is a victory for me! If you made it this far, you deserve a medal too!!
On to the report!
Day Before: Checked in the Blue Pony (my bike's name), and then had a "pasta" dinner. Not quite correct...it was veggie lasagna. Not what I need the night before a race. I thought it would be spaghetti with sauce on the side. I hope the stomach won't be bothering me now! Oh, boy. Got home, and got to bed relatively early.
RACE DAY: actually woke up this time, setting two alarms, and had a wake up call. (Remember, I woke up two hours late for St. A's!!!). Ate normal pre-race meal, met John Matthews and we rode together to check in. The line for body marking was LOOONG, so next race, I'm making sure that a permanent marker is part of my race materials.
Finally get into transition, and only have about 25 minutes to get ready. Go to the port-o-let, where there is another long line. When I am all done with the evacuation procedures, I only have about 5 minutes to get my prep area ready, stretch, and go to the swim start. So, I skip my stretch. Not what I had hoped for, but I'll live.
SWIM: Get to swim start, and the gulf looks more like the wave pool at Adventure Island. Hmm, Coach Mike gave me a plan for the bike and run, but not for tidal waves. Maybe he did that on purpose, knowing my swimming level. So, I think, "forget swimming this in 36 minutes, and forget your goal time, just compete." I decided to go out and test the conditions. It was rough.
About 35 meters past the start, there was a sand bar, where the waves broke. One lady didn't even make it past the sand bar, she came walking back. I didn't need to see that.
"Hey, maybe this will be fun, kind of like when I was a kid running into the waves." um, no, those thoughts didn't work either. Some old spectator said, "oh., those aren't bad" I said, "really, you sure about that??"
We start, and it takes 1m 20s to get to the sand bar! 80 seconds for 35 meters. survive the sand bar, and just start swimming. I never got into a rythm ever, didn't breathe like I normally do, and just did my best. I was slow, but I didn't really get off course like I have before, which was nice. I really didn't get kicked, and didn't swallow too much salt water, which was a pleasant surprise! On the way in, I actually drafted off some faster guys, which was nice. swim finish: 44m 25s...PLACE: 64/93 in age group, 710/1236 males. Not fast, but about what I expected.
T1: much quicker than I thought, except I couldn't get my shirt on. (I usually don't wear tops in races, but thought it would be wise to wear one.) Get out, and hop on the Blue Pony for a ride.
BIKE: Coach Mike says, 'first 18 miles, relax. then pick up the pace. you will catch people.' This first 18 miles was a TOUGH stretch. I was passed by a lot of folks. I just kept my focus, "Save yourself. Like Mike says, you've got 40 miles to go. Be calm." I am very rarely calm, but I kept my composure. For miles 1-9, I was at 19pmh, 9-18, just about 20mph. I really focused on keeping my effort down. I also felt more aches and pains while going slow. My feet hurt, arms hurt, etc. Surprisingly, I didn't feel like I had drowned from the swim. I just forgot about it.
At Mile 15, this lady passed me, she FLEW by me. What made me remember this was that she was...large. I mean really large. that wasn't a confident booster. "Was I going slow? What was wrong? Nothing is wrong, just relax." At mile 18, I said, "THANK YOU LORD!!! Let's go!" picked up the pace, and felt so much better. The Blue Pony is just made to go fast, not slow. and it felt it. At about 18 miles or so, there is a bridge. Should I go hard up the bridge? Nope, just sit, put the Pony in an easy gear and just go up easy. I passed the heavy lady, and never saw her again! Just kept moving along, and realized that going 22mph ain't all that bad. "Keep it up, Mike." at the turn-around, I felt a tailwind. "Let's use this" Hard gear, and up to about 24-25 mph for just a bit. Nice. came back to earth, and just relaxed. Now I am beginning to pass folks.
At Mile 48 (8 miles left), I lost the ability to perform simple math...8x3=60??? No wait, 8x6=48. WHAT???
At Mile 50, "Okay, get ready for the run." Also, a killer head-wind appeared from no where. Ouch. "Maintain composure and speed." I did this until Mile 52. Pulled back just a bit, and really began thinking about the run. Got feel out of shoes while still riding with abotu 1/4 mile remaining and got ready to run. Got into T2 feeling okay. TIME: 2hours, 44mintes, 59seconds. 44/93 in Age group, 462/1236 in males
The strange thing about the bike: on training runs, I think about all kinds of things...everything. When I race, I think only about racing. Wierd. I even tried to think of random things, but they left my mind.
BIKE NUTRITION: 5 servings of HammerGel (Non-tri's, this is energy gel you eat in a long race), one 16oz bottle of Gatorade + added salt, and a ton of water. Alternated these two (HG + G'ade) every 20 minutes, regardless of how I felt. Had water with each. And baby, the burps felt...nice, nice!
T2: fast!! bike racked (I had a GREAT SPOT in the transition area, by the way!), helmet off, running shoes on, visor out, out!
RUN: Heat bothers a lot of people. It bothers me, but not that much. I actually like it. A lot. It is tough, but the hotter it is, the more advantage I have. And it showed. While on the run, I totally forgot about the bike. Jeez, I am turning into the Tom Hanks character on Saturday Night Live that never remembers anything!! that is a good thing in a long triathlon.
I forgot what Coach Mike had said about what to have on the aid stations..."Was it water and G'ade at each? Only water? Oh crap." So, for Aid stations at mile 1 + 2, I had water only. First mile goal, 8 minutes. hit the marker in 7.38. "Oops. Relax, Mike, you've got 12 more to go." I ended up walking at each aid station...I have not mastered the drinking while running at all. I was also too afraid to not drink anything or to skip water or G'ade. So I played it safe, and drank at each.
Mile 2: I saw a lady behind the bushes. "Whoa. That isn't something you see every day!! Gross. Keep running, Mike."
Mile 5: "5 miles down, 7 more left. 7 MORE!!! WHAT??"
Mile 6: at this time, you make a loop in a park. There is no shade, no wind, just the sun. and yourself. Just focus, get out of the park, and you are home free, with only 5 miles left. Phew, it is hot.
Photographer sighting. Get my tough face on! Oops, I forgot to zip up the jersey. (Maria, tell Artemis that Uncle Bellybutton was out in full force!!) Zip it up, and got another picture, Once I passed the photo-guy, zipper = down again!!
Got out of the park, and it is hot. Funny, the wind blows on the bike, but not on the run! For miles 8-13, it is a re-trace through the neighborhoods.
"Keep going." Now, I am passing my age group. I passed a lot of them, probably about 12-15, is my guess.
Mile 8: "5 miles left. WHAT!!! Stop thinking and just get to the aid stations, just like Coach Mike said. Aid stations!!"
Mile 10: a 5K left. "Pick it up now, Mike." That wasn't going to happen. It seemed that at the aid stations, when I'd stop to drink (I actually walked through them) my momentum stopped as well, but I was too scared to not take in fluids.
Mile 10.5: I began to hurt a lot in the legs. Damn, it is hot. Just keep passing people, males, and age groupers! Keep going. I guess now, I looked like Chevy Chase in "Vacation" running through the dessert with his pants on his head.
Mi1e 11: I am going to finish a 1/2 Ironman. 15 months ago, I only day-dreamed about this!
MIle 12. I am going to finish. BUT, from mile 12 marker to the finish was more like 1.5 miles, not 1.1 miles. That isn't fair.
Mile 13: Started to get a bit choaked up, knowing that I am done. Then...I start having breathing problems. I can't breathe. "Shit. Relax, breathe, relax." Kept getting emotional, especially when I saw the finish line. Then, I saw a guy from Tallahassee. "GO PALIOS!!! WOOOO!" Slapped him a high five. "Where is Bessie (wife)? Where is she?" Couldn't find her, damn it.
Time: 1hour, 47minutes 42seconds, 9/93 in age group, 103/1236 for males
TOTAL: 5hours, 21minutes, 29seconds...22/93 in age group, 207/1236 in males, 244/1680 overall.
Not thrilled, but not disappointed at all. This was my first 1/2 IM. And I survived that swim! That in itself is a victory for me! If you made it this far, you deserve a medal too!!