I have never put out a race report as my typical race would bore the hell out of everyone here. “I swam, I biked, I suffered through a run and finished middle of the pack.” Insert a race name at the top and that would suffice for most of the 100+ races I’ve done over the last 25 years.
This past Sunday, however, hot muggy conditions combined with a lack of adequate LC training and an unusual race format resulted in an event worthy of a report. Enjoy
Did the Battle of Waterloo (Michigan) race Sunday: http://www.epicraces.com/battleofwaterloo.htm 10 legs: Run, Bike, Swim, Run, Swim, Run, Swim, Run, Bik
e, Run
It was of course the hottest day of the freakin’ year. At race start at 7:30 it was probably 80 degrees and by the finish low 90’s with 75% humidity (a guess but trust me, it was muggy). My strategy was to go hard on the first short run and the first half of the first bike so I knew my placing…I figured the field (which was small…fewer than 100) would really stretch out after that. Worked out I believe I was running 9th after the first bike and was mostly alone…the lead guys (and two really studly girls) were way out in front, then me and 1 other guy (turned out to be Eric Wunderlich, studly UMichigan and Olympic medalist swimmer), then the rest of the field a few minutes back.
First swim (leg #3) was slow and difficult. Since you had to carry your running shoes while you swam I had them in a 2.5 gallon ziplock bag stuffed up the back of my race top. I had tested this and it seemed to work ok. So I get out of the first swim, reach back and grab the bag, and it is FILLED with water. Nice. No wonder I felt like I was dragging a sea anchor.
Ran the next leg fine. Not pushing it, metering out my effort knowing this is a 4 hour race.
Next swim is short but gross. In a small lake FULL of weeds. I was reaching down and pulling myself along by grabbing the weeds. Yuk.
Next run (leg #6) is fine. A bit slower than I’d planned but it is 80% trail running so soft, sandy, lots of up and down. Still watching my effort and taking at least 1-2 cups of Heed at every aid station (of which there were plenty - great job by RD). It is hot but I’m so wet and sweating so much and so into the race I’m not bothered much. I’ve passed one person so now I’m 8th.
Get to the third and final swim and it’s a long one…0.7 miles. Shoes in the bag, goggles up and in the water. I have the bag carefully sealed and the seam pointed behind me so even if the seal fails it won’t fill with water. And I’m swimming great! Nice to cool off. Stroke is long, even, and strong. Legs just a little flutter kick so as to rest them. Pass two more people so now I’m 6th (I think) and feeling great physically and mentally.
Then, my right foot arch cramps up. This is not unusual for me. When I train in the pool during any swim longer than 40 minutes my arches will cramp up at least a little bit. I can almost always swim thru it so I’m not worried. But then, about 1 minute later, my right calf goes. Aaagh!
Immediate transition to breast stroke. Gasp in pain results in an abrupt re-hydration consisting of about a half-liter of lake water. Two breast stroke kicks, and both legs lock up like steel girders. Arches, calfs, quads, and whatever the hell muscles run up the sides of your shins. I’ve cramped before, in fact once I locked up so suddenly and unexpectedly during a half ironman that I actually went down as if I had been shot (a spectator asked me "Did you just get shot???). But never have the strange and wonderful muscles on my shins cramped. I reached down and felt these huge bulges where there should only be that shin bone and thought, “Did I just rupture something? Or did I just drown and decend to Dante’s 4th level because no pain like this exists on earth.”
I try to breast stroke but it’s mostly just treading water. I hurt more and more with every movement and it quickly becomes quite clear this isn’t going to work itself out like a “normal” cramp. So I head right for the shore, which is about 30 meters away. I reach a depth where I can stand in the weeds next to a little dock. Legs still will not bend. At all. Decide to get out of the water and hoist myself up onto this dock and…just sit and watch the race go by. 3 people. 2 more. Pack of 4. Still absolutely no let up on the cramping.
A race marshall spies me from his boat and comes over.
Him: “Are you ok?”
Me: “Uh. Kind of.”
Him: “Cramping?”
Me (in the fetal position with my worst StrokeFace on): “Yeah, just a little bit.”
Him: “Want to bag it?”
Me: “I’m going to give it a few more minutes and see.”
After 12 minutes (!!) I get back in the water. Cramps have subsided but are lurking just beneath the surface, similar to bad case of the runs. You know…it’s your body’s way of saying “I’m going to punish you for eating that fish taco you bought at the roadside stand by making sure you can’t stray more than 12 feet from a toilet for the next 4000 hours. Or at least that’s what it’s going to feel like.” In this case of course I was being punished for attepting a 4 hour race despite no workouts this year longer than 3 hours.
What was I thinking? But that taco smelled sooooo good! Anyway, I digress.
I only have about 400 meters to go and I figure if I can get to the next running leg I might be able to work this out. I start swimming and it’s fine. Get to the transition and take a long break. Take in several cups of water and a big handful of pretzels. I’ve only got an hour of racing left so my body isn’t going to have very much time to absorb salts and recover before this deal is over.
Start running leg #8 (3.3 miles) and it’s not pretty. Stride length is measured in millimeters. There are a couple of loooong uphills and loooong downhills. We come out on a gravel road that is completely exposed so the sun is beating down mercilessly. Think any of the recent Michigan vs. Ohio State football games and you’ll get the picture. So even though I’m moving very slow I’m not cramping per se. I hurt, but I’m running.
So I stagger into transition and climb on my bike for leg #9 which is just a 6 mile ride. I spin easily for 3 miles before all hell breaks loose in my body. First the calves go (again), then those shin muscles (my wife told me what they’re called but she used words that are too long for me). Then my adductors. Then my arms cramp on the insides of my elbows??? WFT? Last, and most horrifyingly, my breasts. I guess technically it was my pectorals, but in the hurt of the moment I was shocked to find my boobs were cramping.
At this point it’s hard to even get the pedals around. Thankfully there isn’t much traffic because I wasn’t holding a line very well. I’ve only got a few miles to go so I grind away and try to keep StrokeFace to a minimum so as to not scare any race marshalls or nearby children.
The finish for the event is cruel. You come in from the bike and rack literally right next to the finish line, yet you have to put the running shoes back on and do a short 1.4 mile run in the woods. I sit on the ground to swap shoes and a friend of mine that is timing yells over “Adam, where the *bleep” have you been?" He’s been tracking my progress and has watched me fall from 8th to 20-something. I look over and StrokeFace must have been in full effect because he turns away like he just stumbled upon a rotting corpse.
I pull on the shoes and set out running with a style never before seen by man. Imagine someone running while doing the chicken dance on stilts. No knee or ankle bend (to save the quads and calfs). Elbows bent all the way (arms cramping). Arms held high…my boobs good lord my boobs.
I did finish, in high spirits even. Time of 4:19:XX. Was shooting for 4 hours so obvioulsly way off. Cramping goes away and once the day was over from a competitive standpoint it was interesting and even comical to observe what my body was doing. I actually learned a lot. Like how about some longer workouts to prepare for this kind of thing? Hey, genius! My nutrition was ok, I think. An entire bottle of Accelerate during the first hour, 4 Thermotabs during hour 2 and 3 during hour 3. 1-2 cups of Heed/water at beginning and end of each leg. It was just so hot and muggy…and I’m a very heavy sweater to begin with.
Anyway, it was a very fun event and certainly a LOT different from the usual tri. There is a rumor that it the RD is giving up on this race because of the low registration, and that would be a shame. I’d love to have another crack at it next year. Oh well. Hopefully that is just a rumor.
Happy racing, everyone. Can’t believe the season is nearly over already.
Adam
I am good friends with the RDs and volunteered at the race last year. It looked like such a blast, I knew I wanted to race it this year. I had a total blast and loved the fact that the race felt like the perfect combo of a triathlon plus an adventure race. The first run had some fallen trees we had to climb over and around and yes that 2nd swim was quite a trip! The RDs and volunteers did an unbelievable job and the course was really well marked. I have been begging the RDs to keep BOW around for next year…we just have to get the word out about this unique race so the