The Inaugural HITS Triathlon - Palm Springs (Thermal) California
December 04, 2011- Half Distance 70.3 Miles
Tri-MOPER
Goal: <6:00:00
Actual: 6:26:34
1.2 Mile Swim Leg
Goal: <41:00
Actual: 45:27
· This dangerously cold water is very different from my familiar Lifetime Fitness 72-degree lap pool.
· I basically got zero deep sleep last night, although I lay in bed for seven hours seemingly thinking of nothing but getting through the swim alive. Yes, I definitely did some praying. At 2:30 a.m. I gained some peace realizing that the Race Director would probably announce that the swim was cancelled and the race would now be a duathlon. I even created my own back up plan: drop out of the swim if I needed to and do my own bike/run race.
· I had just bought a new XTerra full-length wetsuit, a Desoto neoprene tri cap, and Aqua Sphere goggles. I also wore neoprene SCUBA socks and a pair of silicon earplugs.
· Standing on the beach in the mid-30s air temperature I poured a platypus full of warm water down my wetsuit as planned, at five minutes prior to the mass (163 athlete) half- and full-distance start. I boldly walked out into the water thinking positively, “I’ve got this!” I splashed water onto my face, which felt like a thousand needles piercing my cheeks.
· We were called back onto the beach for a run-in start. After a barely audible whistle (where’s the airhorn?), most of us cautiously waded out waist deep waiting for the others to clear out.
· I accepted my own dare and submerged my head, at which time my throat constricted and I could not inhale or exhale. I rolled over on my back and realized I was groaning like a stuck pig and hyperventilating.
· After about 100 meters of backstroke I was able to move into my default plan B stroke, used frequently in my sprint days – the trusty but slow sidestroke. “Take an apple from the tree, put it in the other hand and drop it in the crate”. Repeat.
· Finally, after about 600 meters I was able to swim the crawl although I realized the temperature had continued to drop – reminding me of water skiing as a kid; treading water wondering why I was suddenly in a cold vein. A friend had told me that this is where the moccasins lived so I always freaked out waiting for the boat to pull me up. I recall that the race director had mentioned Friday night that the water temperature had been measured at 59 degrees. My guess is that had to be the surface temperature along the shoreline. USAT standards require temps taken at three locations spread along the route at a depth of 18”. The local ocean trained swimmers later claimed it was likely 53-54.
· One lesson learned is that I don’t train breathing out of one side every stroke, yet I was in such a hurry to get my face out (exhale) I was not fully pivoting. This caused me to swim at about 20 degrees off my aim, to the right.
· I made the turn on this out-and-back course at 25 minutes and concentrated on making up for the slow start as best I could with numb hands and feet. As I picked off one orange inflated cone after another I realized I was passing a few athletes too, including a backstroke swimmer who I later learned was Thao, a friend I met at the Friday night expo. Turns out both her calves were cramping and she had to bail at about 1000 meters.
· Just before coming out of the water I realized I forgot to pee, but decided it would be OK losing time at a porta-potty to keep my new wetsuit “unchristened”.
T1: 13:56
· I exited at 45 minutes (not quite as bad as I feared) and jogged to my T1 stool where I realized how difficult and slow it is to remove a wetsuit and put on my compression socks with numb fingers. About that time two female racers I had chatted with pre-race took a seat on their respective stools – shivering uncontrollably. I attempted to make small talk with them and got no reply. Suddenly several medic folks appeared and began providing them treatment for hypothermia. Their day was done.
· I briefly stopped at the porta-potty before the bike leg and was on my way on the bike. I heard them call out my number “1020”.
56-Mile Bike Leg
Goal: <2:56
HITS Time: 3:15:11 (their guess since I forgot to reattach timing chip)
Garmin: 3:10:14 (includes 4 minutes at porta-potty)
Garmin Moving Time: 3:06:09 (18.0 mph)
· When I drove this course yesterday, several times I missed a zig or a zag. The RD even suggested we carry a map because there was no guarantee anyone would be at each turn, but we could rely on the arrow signs. Well, I did not pack the map yet fortunately there was an officer and/or volunteer at each turn – because there were times the cyclist ahead was either out of sight or maybe lost anyway. With only 163 athletes spread out on a 70.3-mile course, some sizable gaps began opening up on the bike leg.
· I kept spotting the same family members about every 5-10 miles, including someone’s husband carrying a pink bike on his car rack who offered encouragement to me as “dude.”
· The route was unspectacular and I noticed the same road marks noted during my drive; dead dogs, discarded tires, cattle under palm trees, smelly mulch, loose gravel at intersections, fractured and pitted road surface, yet fresh smooth asphalt leading to the new fire station.
· Besides the rough road, which caused my lower back and glutes to scream in agony, other factors contributed to my slow time; a head wind at nearly every turn (how is this possible?), too few training miles the past month – due to end of season solo riding, daylight savings time, Saturday college football, heavy winds, and maybe since my coach tells me to ride at zone 2 LOE. I believe it is time to invest in a real tri bike, especially since I am officially registered for my first Ironman: IMAZ!
· This is my third straight half-iron that I have experienced bloating which caused an extended visit to a porta-potty – this time at about mile 30. I had thought this was caused by Fig Newtons, but I had none on this trip. My latest thinking is the second morning banana that I consumed just before the swim is the culprit.
Anyway, standing in the green fiberglass hut I wondered, “why did I double knot my tri shorts?” My numb fingers almost couldn’t tackle this task quickly enough!
· I methodically passed many cyclists who I had fallen behind on my swim and (particularly) the slow T1. Only one cyclist passed me, who I figure was the full distance leader.
· I saw one young cyclist on a small single speed (no coasting) BMX bike. His cadence was pretty impressive. Turns out he placed last (119th) in the half as a 17-year old at over 9 hours. He gets honorable mention in my book.
· At mile 40 I passed a female athlete and noticed her timing chip while checking her out, and suddenly realized that I forgot to put mine back on after removing my wetsuit. When I arrived at T2 I wanted to make certain the officials new that #1020 was arriving and I let everyone know – regardless of their status as a family member, volunteer, or the intended time-keeper.
T2:
HITS: 4:08
Actual: much more
· I know my T2 time was longer than 4 minutes (where I took the time to pee) so their estimate (without the timing chip) made it seem like my bike was even slower than it really was. I didn’t care since I would not achieve a PR today.
13.1 Mile Run Leg
Goal: <2:00:00
HITS Time: 2:08:15 at 13.68 (9:22 pace) 2:03 at 13.1
· The last two miles of the bike heading into T2 parallels the first couple of miles of the run, thus I got a good look at those I needed to chase down.
· The run temperature was low 60s therefore, I really felt comfortable and maintained a pretty consistent pace. I could have run a bit faster but live with the fear of calf and ham issues I seem to suffer from without warning.
· About mile 7 a runner came along side of me and I decided to adjust to his pace as we chatted. He was registered for the full distance, but upon finishing his first lap in the lake he was shivering (low body fat) and decided to warm up on shore before his final lap. Eventually he realized a crowd had gathered and he had no idea what they were saying to him, and he was unable to communicate with them. After medical attention and warming up for 40 minutes he talked the RD into allowing him to continue with the half-iron distance. At mile 10 he shifted into a higher gear, and eventually was no longer in sight.
· As I neared the 13.1-mile mark I realized there was no finish line chute in sight – only orange cones as far as I could see. Like the October 02, 2011 Kerrville Festival Half, this run was over a half mile too long; 13.68 miles!
· On the final stretch I was sprinting in all alone; no one to catch and no one able to catch me. A live video image of this was displayed on a large monitor at the finish line.
· At the finish someone removed my timing chip as someone else reached into a box of luggage ties and handed me mine. It has a sponsor’s name on one side and a (non-race specific) HITS logo on the front. Not quite the bling I anticipated.
After having my aching hamstrings massaged by a pain relief secret sauce salesman, I mixed my own recovery drink and arranged for a ride back to the lake from Thao. Once there I loaded up my gear, stopped at a Schlotsky’s for a wrap, and drove the switchbacks on CA-74 over the mountain to San Diego where I attended the Academic Medical and Health Science Centers conference the next three days.