Well it has been a week since the race had ended and I can now say that I am ready to write this race report again for the second time. I wrote one about five days ago and it was not pretty. It mirrored the way I felt about the race at that time, not pretty. So, let’s start again.
I am not going into too much detail about the trip, accommodations, pre race activities, etc. So, here we go.
Swim
I felt pretty good about the swim before the race. The new DeSoto wetsuit was proving fast and efficient. I love that thing.
Not being the swiftest in the water I lined myself up to way to the right of the rest of the crowd. I felt that this gave me the best shot for a “clear” swim to the first buoy. Well, I was right. No contact at all. I over swam the buoy by about ten yards to avoid the mosh pit at the turn around. This proved to be a good way to gain some valuable time on the competition without losing an arm and a leg. First lap came and went in 31 minutes. That is a huge PR for me. In fact that is faster than any previous 1/2IM swims that I had. Hell, I was so excited that I even preformed a few really pathetic and funny dolphin dives back in to the lake. First half of the second lap went great. I was able to hang onto some fast feet for good chunks of time. Now all that was left was the turn around and a smooth cruise home. Then about one hundred yards past the turn around my left leg cramped up pretty badly. I swam through it using the wetsuit as a floatation device. This would continue for the reminder of the swim. I kept on swimming without as much as one kick. Out of the water 1.05, new PR by 5 minutes. I could have been faster but considering the leg cramps I was pretty damn happy.
Bike
Not so quick transition. They never are for me in an IM, I normally swim with the other 1500 average swimmers and help is hard to find in T1.
Plan for the ride was to go easy on the first lap and open it up a bit on the second. I have never ridden the course, but from the drive on it the night before the bike course did not look too bad. Fun down hill and some good inclines but nothing too intimidating. On the downhill to Keene I hit 49 mph and there were guys and maybe a girl or two flying by me. Wow. Fun.
Route 9N was a breeze. Crusing at 28 mph with a HR of 152. Right on schedule. Then we took the right on the out and back, something happened there. My leg cramps came back. All the power from my legs was sapped only about 35 miles into the ride. I new that I was in trouble. I could not produce any meaningful power on the bike. Flats were ok but my quads would lock up on the up hills.
Still the first bike loop came and went in a respectable 2.31.
The second loop brought on more leg cramps. No power at all. I am not too sure what went wrong. But it is something that I promised myself to look into after the race.
Back into Lake Placid from Willmington I was suffering. That last 12 miles were though and I got passed by quite a few people.
Second loop went by in 2.52 for a total of 5.23, good for 30th fastest split and 56th pace after the ride.
Run
T2 went by much smoother or at least quicker. I normally pass a ton of folks on the bike and the second transition has a tendency to be pretty empty. I did mention that T2 was fast not smooth. My legs were cramping so bad that I could not put my socks or shoes on. I needed help with that. I also needed some help getting up from my chair, and when I did get up I fell to the ground.
The next four hours of my short 36 year old existence on this earth were the most painful and grueling experience of my life. I simply could not run. I could not run on flats, uphill or downhill without any pain. I tried. First four miles went by without stopping or walking. My pace was around 7.15 but I knew that it would be short lived. The next ten miles I started walking the aid stations and the last twelve miles I was walking the aid stations and somewhere in between too. I would stop to try and stretch. When I stopped for too long and massage my inner quads I would sometimes fall to the ground. Most of the time I would get up, twice I had to be helped up. That is how my run went.
I went for contending for a top ten finish to hanging on for dear life just hoping to get there, across the finish line in one piece.
Run time total 3.59
Race total 10.37 good for 109th place.
Post race
Let’s make this short. 3.5 hours, eight cups of chicken broth, two bags of chips, Subway sandwich and four IV bags and I was ready to drive back to the cabin.
Looking back at the race I guess that it was not a complete disaster. I cannot yet explain what went wrong. I though that I had raced with in my level of fitness. I kept my effort in check, consumed Gatorade Endurace and GU and water at regular normal intervals. There wasn’t anything different that I did prior to the race. I don’t have a clear idea of what and why happened.
I do however feel that the pressure to qualify for Kona might have had something to do with the leg cramps. The fact that my foot had been killing me and I was not able to run for three weeks prior to race had something to do with it too. But I am not laying blame anywhere except on myself and the sometimes void space between my ears. The game for me is not physical anymore it is definitely mental.
Now to my favorite part.
Dora and Alex you don’t realize how much you never ending support means to me. Could not even begin another race without you both being there. Thank you for putting other important matters aside to insure that I get my training in, for instance, bringing my bike to the honeymoon so I could get a few miles in.
Russell and Eric, my constant training friends who with out I would not be the triathlete I am today. Russell for making me tough as nails y never ever skipping a workout or in interval and Eric for keeping my ego and heart race in check. Thanks.
Get a Grip Cycles for proving me with years of the best damn bike service possible and this year a shiny new Litespeed Saber. Don’t worry I’ll return it soon. Thanks Kevin, Jason, Adam and Matt.
See you all in Lake Placid next year.