I always like to read race reports on here so I figured I’d finally add one of my own. I have taken a new approach to training this season in anticipation of IMLP (my first) by hiring a coach and the resulting workload had me feeling very prepared for this race. I have also added a power meter which has been great although this was my first race with it. My previous PR for a half was 5:34 and my goal was to crack 5:00 on Saturday.
Flew out to CA from CT on Thursday with Virgin America…relevant because they only charge $50 for a bike (mine was packed in an Trico case). Got settled in O’side on Friday and sorted out some bike issues - big thanks to Rivet for the mechanical work. Like an idiot I forgot to sync my new race wheel to my PT head unit until Friday and discovered there was a firmware upgrade required for communication between the two…if I pestered any of you in the expo or packet pickup about a PT docking cradle, sorry! Finally got that sorted out and had some dinner.
I was in a late wave (7:41) so “slept in” until 5:00am. Ate my standard prerace breakfast of Ensure, banana and a bagel. Made my way down to transition and man it felt cold. I had read all the weather updates from Longboarder and TriBodyboarder and was very glad to be prepared - thanks to everyone who contributed on that front. I had a long wait but because they kept the transitions open it wasn’t bad at all, and it was really cool to see the pros come in from their swim. I started sipping on a Red Bull after I finished a Gatorade and made my standard last second visit to the Portopotty - mental note: ask yourself if you need to go at least one more time before putting on the wetsuit - and was ready to roll.
SWIM: The water felt much warmer than I expected, I was pleasantly surprised for sure. No issues on the way out but had some congestion on the way back and took one solid elbow to the face which knocked my goggles half way off. Got them back on, no biggie. The glare was tough but the course is straight forward so it was easily manageable. Got out of the water in 30:16 feeling like I had swam conservatively. Planned on 30:00 so I was a happy camper. Previous best swim: 33:45.
T1: That is one long jog to the racks and then out the door. I also debated arm warmers but went against them which was the right call for me. 4:27 wasted here, need to get more efficient. Planned on 4:00.
BIKE: What a great bike course! The plan was to be conservative and save my legs for the run so I followed my watts pretty closely. The weather was awesome and I was really looking forward to knocking out that first hill. Until I got there. Yowza! It was worse than I expected but luckily I had an 11-26. It was still a challenge but felt like I was making good progress (I did not love the weavers who almost stopped me dead in my tracks twice though). The rest of the bike course was fun although there were some dead spots for me in there where I was pushing and not going as fast as I would have liked. The other hills were manageable and I was very relieved to note the absence of a headwind coming back into town. I saw a good amount of draft officials and not much drafting which was nice. I drank my Carbopro/Powerbar Endurance mix the whole time as well as a bottle of water and a bottle Gatorade…put down half a Powerbar, two gels and 7 Saltstick pills also. Pulled back into transition feeling fresh and ready to run. 2:41:08, planned 2:40:00. Previous best bike 2:37:22 on a totally flat course.
T2: 2:00 executed, 2:00 planned.
RUN: I have never felt this good coming off the bike before. My legs felt good, stomach was settled, and I had energy. Ran the first mile in 6:55 and told myself to back it down as 7:15s were the plan. Hit the next three dead on. The sand section was softer than I expected and crowded…it was also less fun each time I traversed it. I was taking down Gatorade at every aid station because I’ve had dehydration problems before (see: Eagleman 2008). But at mile 5 a bad feeling started to creep in. I told myself I could fight through it and to just concentrate on getting fluids at every aid station…but it wasn’t enough. Each mile got progressively slower and I felt progressively sicker. It was so disheartening. I took down a gel and started walking the aid stations at mile 8: water over head, cup of Gatorade and then start running again. I started getting tight but my legs weren’t tired if that makes any sense. I trudged on and was so relieved to hear the finish line in the distance. I crossed it, looked down and saw 5:03. DAMNIT! Run was 1:45:39, planned on 1:35:00. Previous best run in HIM: 1:57:11. (Stand alone half mary PR: 1:29)
T3: I debated for 5 minutes if I thought I could self-correct whatever was going on in my body through food or fluids but once the shivering started, I went to the med tent. Started heaving but nothing to put out. Really low blood pressure and low temperature led to an IV and I felt better after 1.5 bags. The staff in the tent was amazing, I can’t say enough good things about them. They were really top notch.
In the end, it was a great venue and a very well run race. I am disappointed that I missed my goal but much more disappointed that I had what I will call nutrition issues. I’m not really sure where to go from here besides to start training again and seek advice on possible causes. I really love this sport and want to keep getting better…in all areas.
Thanks for reading. Good luck to everyone this season.