So thunderstorms and lightening forced cancellation of the swim in this morning’s 26th Turtleman. Well, almost. The swim start/finish timing mats were used and we just ran ~30 meters in knee deep water. A time trial swim start had been planned for AG anyway so they just extended that to elite and relay waves. But the bottom of the lake is uneven this year (the lake level is really low) and there were these deep potholes that people were stepping in and falling. The lifeguards soon formed a wall around the “main” one but I hit one a little further on and fell onto my left hand.
I thought I had just strained it so I kept going. Got into “T1” and got my bikes shoes and helmet on OK and rode up the hill out of the park. Once up the hill I shifted to the big ring with my right hand and started riding in earnest. Then I looked at my left hand. The middle finger knuckle was sitting a little lower than the others. I knew then that it was broken. But it didn’t hurt in the aero position, and the bike course is gently rolling (no more front shifts, no riding out of the aero position except to brake). I did need to do a little braking with the front for corners but it was scrub-off-speed braking and didn’t hurt too much.
About 3 miles into the 21-mile bike, the rain started coming down really hard. The bike course was also really crowded since there was no swim to spread the field out. And nobody wanted to ride on the right side of the lane or shoulder because of standing water. So the only way to pass was left of the cones. Around me it seemed that about half were riding just right of them and half were left. I rode such that there was room to pass me inside the cones (yes, it was possible) - until I needed to pass and had to go left of the cones to do it, Then at one point when I was riding far right, some guy started to pass me on the right - what was he thinking?
Anyway, finished the bike, swapped to runs shoes with no problems and headed out. Had some difficulty with the number belt though, but finally got it closed. Ran fairly well for about 3 miles of the 5 but then my inadequate run training became evident and I slowed. Rain came heavy again about 4 miles into the run.
Ended up 11th in the AG and my goal was top 10 so I was pleasantly surprised to see that. Got a splint put on my forearm and sat in the dry med tent for a while more heavy rain came down.
Why cancel the swim if you have everyone running in the water anyway? Good job HTFUing
What do you mean your broke your hand? Scaphoid fracture? Finger bones (phlanges, I think)? Or your wrist (colles fracture?)
Sorry, bone injuries interest me.
And rather than a swim you had a water run? Could anyone actually swim aside from pros? That’s interesting format wise (the “water run”)
(((((hugs)))))) and I hope the bone heals fast. Nice race btw even with the injury.
Why cancel the swim if you have everyone running in the water anyway? Good job HTFUing
The whole situation was just bizarre. From what I heard they were watching the radar and there was another line of thunderstorms moving in just to the north (which happens to be where most of the bike course is), but they didn’t really have a good handle on when and where exactly it would hit. With the TT start it would be something like an hour and a half between when the first swimmers hit the water and when the last swimmers exited, so they didn’t want to risk having to pull a bunch of people out of the water or not even letting the late starters get in at all. As it was, it started raining HARD about an hour and a half after the start and a ton of people didn’t get to finish the race.
I can’t say I disagree with their decision given the conditions at the time, but it did seem weird that they didn’t have a contingency plan to turn the race into a legit duathlon instead. Seeing a couple dozen lifeguards standing in knee deep water with holding their life preservers was good for a few laughs anyway.
Legendary performance, given your broken hand and the weather, which was monsoon like on the run, and pretty wet on the bike, not to mention the crowds. I think the director made the right call; given the rain we got it felt like we all got dunked anyway.
I was also thinking about the thunder /lightning safety issue. Sounded like a recipe for a very bad situation. Of course I was not there so just going by OP post.
Sucks about the hand. I broke my little finger last year at the swim start. Some dude kicked my foot and sent me down hard into the water. It hurt.
Guess I picked a good year to skip it! Sorry to hear about the hand Bobby…
Wouldn’t U think of just bagging the race after getting hurt?
What do you mean your broke your hand? Scaphoid fracture? Finger bones (phlanges, I think)? Or your wrist (colles fracture?)
Sorry, bone injuries interest me.
And rather than a swim you had a water run? Could anyone actually swim aside from pros? That’s interesting format wise (the “water run”)
(((((hugs)))))) and I hope the bone heals fast. Nice race btw even with the injury.
It’s not the fingers and not the wrist. Something centered about an inch behind the knuckle of my middle finger, basically the center of the back of my hand - so probably that metacarpal.
There was no swimming at all, not even the elites.
Yeah, I hope it heals fast, too. Thanks!
Wouldn’t U think of just bagging the race after getting hurt?
Yes, the thought crossed my mind.
You completed the race and good luck getting back into good health again.
X-rays yesterday showed a sprial fracture of the third metacarpal. The doctor suspected that I landed on a closed fist.
Why cancel the swim if you have everyone running in the water anyway? Good job HTFUing
It was more…schmarm than water, really. Sort of just along the edge. More like a swamp.
Oh no! The two chicks in front of me biffed it in the sinkholes, so I managed to find them without having to fall in them. But it was a lovely day out there, wasn’t it? I started pretty much at the end, but was lucky enough that my bike was fast enough that I made it to the run. Or was I unlucky? 
Actually, I kind of enjoyed it…aside from the figting my way past 300 people on the bike course.
X-rays yesterday showed a sprial fracture of the third metacarpal. The doctor suspected that I landed on a closed fist.
Boxer’s fracture, in case you’re interested. You can tell people about this if you want more evidence to convince them of how violent the beginnings of races are.
Good war story, anyway. Definite possibilities for badgering training partners: “Oh, so you want to stop running because you’ve got a little side stitch? Did I tell you about the time I did that race in blinding rain with a broken hand?”