So yesterday I lined up for the Peterborough HIM. This was my 4th start in a tri, and my fiance had gotten the idea from someone last year that having done a bike trip where they rode 80-120k per day, that a half would be doable(she has done about 12 marathons). Since we were newly dating at the time, and well, a guy’s always trying to impress a girl…anyway, so there we were yesterday.
We had been going from looking forward tot he racer to looking forward to it being over, as we had learned a few things over the past few months, but more on that later. At the start, she was getting quite concerned as the bike cutoff was at a time that she was unsure she could make. If she could make that, she ould be able to do the run no problem. My concerns were how fresh I would feel coming out of the water, and then how would I do on the run, as 10 miles had been my longest run thus far.
Having the new wetsuit on, which was much tighter and a better fit than my old one, I was actually looking forward to the race, and was excited to go. Not really knowing much about the course, just kind of things I had done before, I had goals of 45 mins to swim, 3 hours on the bike, and 2:15 for the run, trying to shoot for a 6 hour race. Not that I would have been disappointed with longer, it just kind of gave me something to try to push. A slower finish time would have turned out to be more positive than what happened.
Getting into the swim took quite a while as people were walking out, and then not really getting themselves moving. I would make some progress, and then swim up on a wall of people. It was the first mass start I had done, so it’s all new. A couple guys kept going to breaststroke right in front of me every 10 seconds, which really started to tick me off, as they pretty much came to a stop each time. There was the bumping and hitting but it was not bad on the first loop. Came through and got into the second and figured it would be less as the course should have thinned out. Wrong. I took a silver cap, seeding myself in the slowest swim wave. I was in the middle of greens and yellows most of the swim. One guy must have thought he was cool because he was trying to elbow me. Managed to get away from him and pretty much get in no prob. Considering how long it took get going, and the minute it took to jog out of the water to the mat into to T1, my 45:52 flt pretty good. I was amazed at how fresh I felt coming out of the water, and right on goal time.
T1 was uneventful. Got evertying to go and got out on the bike. Ashburnham Rd was bumpy as heck. Just installed an aero bottle, and I am pretty sure I was wearing as much Gatorade as I drank out of there. The first 7-8K were just bumpy as heck, but I was feeling good. I know I was averaging better than 30, so that is what I wanted. Once we got onto Bensfort, we spent the next 75K on some of the best pavement you can ride on. Very smooth, with only a couple minor exceptions. Some of the hills were a little tough, but I was cruising along. My one foot was feeling a little sore, but I figured it’s just along ride. Made the turnaround right about what I thought was goal time. A couple of kms into the return leg I see my fiance, and she must be riding pretty well, because normally she wouldn’t be that close to me. She hadn’t gotten into transition when I left, so she was rolling well as well.
The way back was a completely different story. Riding into some winds that were pretty strong, and there were more uphills it seemed on that stretch than the first one. It becamse a struggle as both feet strated to hurt. In places where I could coast I would unclip and try to shake them out a little. I was drinking, eating, doing whatever I could to get myself through it. I knew I would be nowhere near the goal time. Finally it was over, and I got off the bike, in what I learned today was 3:23. When I got off the bike, it was a real struggle. Not only did it feel like I had hemorrhoids, but both feet were killing me. Hotspots all over. It hurt to walk.
T2 was very long, because I then had to go from one end of the zone to the other to get on the run course. I was just able to walk, but figured I would get out there, see if I couldn’t walk it off, and then try to get into it. My feet will be a little sore from cycling but it goes away after a few minutes. Started to walk, had one guy tell me to start a trot, but he figured it was the dead legs of the bike, which really weren’t there. Walked through the aid station at 1K, saw the wife of another competitor from our club, and she said she saw me limping, and I told her it wasn’t good. Walked out past the 2K mark, and then my fiance caught up with me. She was feeling the bike, so she took advantage of a little walk break to see what was happening, then continued on. Shortly thereafter, the foot seemed to feel a little better so I tried to run. Made it about 100m, and then it came back. Did this off and on for 4K, at which point I decided that I wasn’t going to wreck my season just to get a finish. I knew that if my feet didn’t hurt, I would have been able to finish without much problem. So at that point I turned around, pulled the chip off my ankle and walked in. People were trying to give encouragement, which was nice, but I had to tell them I was out.
What I found was I learned several lessons though throughout this process. 1)Long course isn’t for me. While I applaud those who do them, and do them fast, I just don’t find enjoyment from suffering that long, and more importantly, the amount of training time involved. I’m not in a state where I am competing for AG podium spots, so frankly the sprints are fine for me, maybe up to an Oly. While there is a litle bit of a nag that I didn’t finish, I can say it will be a long time before I go this distance again. That has nothing to do. however, with the race itself. The people put on a 1st class event, on what seemed to be a good course, and I would not hesitate to do the sprint there. 2)Preparation. While I was prepared to finish the race, I was not prepared to deal with those hills. I suppose it may be normal terrain in most places, but coming from southwestern Ontario, you have to find a hill, and then do a million repeats to replicate that bike course. Very tough, and then add in the wind…These sub 2:45 bike splits are very, very impressive IMHO. 3)Equipment. I’ve fallen into buying models of things I need because they are on sale, not because they are the right one for me. It happened with the wetsuit I bought last year, and I think with the cycling shoes this year. I can’t help but think that if I spent a little more money and was a little more thorough, the hotspots don’t happen yesterday and I finish that race.
As I said before, it was a first class event, and I certainly enjoyed the atmosphere surrounding it, but my hat’s off to those who push forward on long course. I will be wathcing from the sidelines for the time being.
