Well, this is my 1st RR, so my apologies if its kinda long- I write like I speak, never shut up…
Background- this is my 3rd season of racing longer distances (HIM; will do IMOO this SEP), raced my 1st tri in 2000 on a MTB. Rockman was my 3rd HIM. I really focused on weight loss this year- went from 174 at New YR to 160 at this race, will lose 5-8 more by IMOO. I’ve also done a ton of running this year, I’m on track to run 1000+ this year.
The week leading up to the race was hectic with work and all, plus I felt like garbage resting up. No real taper, as this was really just a big training day on my way to IM. My left knee was hurting all week, started in the middle of a century in Union IL the weekend before. Running wasn’t bad, but whenever I pushed hard on the pedals, I got a sharp pain on the lateral side of my L knee. Some stretching, and I was hoping it would just go away (it worked 10 years ago, why not now?).
Got up at 3:50 to do the usual AM routine and pick up my friend in DeKalb- really nice to have a HIM this close top home early in the season! Ate 2 whole wheat egos w/ natural (no hydrogenated oil and better texture) PB and no HFCS jelly. 16 ozs coffee from Panama, plus a banana and water on the drive up. Quick check-in, and I racked my bike near the transition entry. The ST racks were crowded, and I knew I’d start talking and having a good time rather than warm up properly. Did a 10-min warmup run, a few 20 second intervals to get the HR up, and got my wetsuit on. The spray-on sunblock is much better than Bodyglide… To the water!
Warmed up about 5 minutes in the water, then ran into Spot- I was easy to ID, as I wrote “Lunchbox” on my swim cap. Good to meet another Ohioan! I saw a lot of people moving to the right and figured I should head that way when: 5,4,3,2,1, go! OK, that was a quick start, not ideal position, but hey, its time to move! I had more contact on that swim than the 15 or so other races I’ve done combined! It was good training, and I was happy that none of it got me nervous- just pop ahead or swim off of whoever I was in contact with. I had trouble sighting the bouys and zig-zagged some, but the swim was pretty uneventful after the 2nd turn. Coming out of the water, I saw I was at about 42 min- 2 slower than my last HIM. Shit, I swam a LOT more this year (already doubled last year’s total yardage). Nothing to do but go- one thing I DID get out of the extra swimming was not feeling dizzy or smoked heading into transition.
Not too many bikes in transition when I rolled in- I was likely 175-200 overall at this point. I hadn’t practiced getting into my shoes with them on the bike, so I put my shoes on and ran out of transition, almost falling on my ass the 1st time I tried to mount. Must have looked funny- I felt like a dumbass. 2nd try was better. As soon as I got out of the park my knee started hurting. I was cursing myself for not bringing Advil, but I figured I could suck it up. I must have passed 75 or so people in the 1st 20-25 miles, and then things sort of evened out- 1 or 2 passed, got passed by 1 or 2 the rest of the way. I saw my buddy Diego just before the turnaround- if my count was accurate, he was in 36th, I was in 128th. Now to keep steady the rest of the bike- seems the key is to not fade. My knee was a low-grade irritation the whole way, with a flash of intense pain every time I stood up to hit the hills on the way in. At this point, I just wanted to get off the bike and start running, as I knew my knee would likely calm down a bit. Nutrition was good on the bike- 2 Clif bars, bottle of Gatorade, 1 and a half of water. Stomach felt somewhat bloated- I seem to swallow air when I swim- need to get this worked out before September. I did the bike in 2:44 and change (20.4 MPH)- 14 minutes improvement. Not sure how much of a limiter my knee was, but it was a factor- I felt like I could never completely hammer on the downstroke; maybe this will help on the run, having some energy left…
T2 was quick and easy- hosed off w/ some water, ate a gel w/ caffeine, and headed out. My knee was immediately better- that alone was a big mental boost! It took about 2 miles to fully get my legs under me, and about 12-15 people passed me in that time. I felt good by the 1st aid station, and I seemed to be pacing well- much better than the death slog of previous years. The run was great- course was challenging but scenic, and I really felt good. I kept steady through mile 7 or so, and then started to speed up a bit- I felt good, and I knew from my marathon 5 weeks ago that I could take whatever pain came up in the final 6 miles. I had seen my friend about mile 4, and he was not looking too good; saw him again at about mile 10- said he was sick and had lost his water on the bike, had walked most of the run. That sucked to hear- Diego pushed me all winter and spring on a ton of runs, and I got a lot faster trying to keep up- I told him I’d see him at the line, and started the push to the end. At this point, my knee was starting to hurt on the uphills and down, but I really didn’t care- adrenaline was keeping me rolling along, and I felt really good mentally. I like the feel of ignoring the burning legs and lungs, and pushing on. I even smiled a few times- it feels like you’re really alive whenever life is hard. It was a surprise to see that I ran 7:45 per mile between 10 and 12 (based on aid stations being 2 miles apart- I definitely felt faster there). 2 last uphills, and there’s the line! 1:55 on the run- 16 minutes faster than last year’s HIM, putting me at 5:27:xx overall- a PR by 27+ minutes.
I gimped around for awhile, then waited for Diego to come in. He was pretty much out of everything by the end, and made it 5 feet past the line before hitting the ground. Bottomfeeder got some good pics of that. He was a cool guy to meet- hope you feel like racing again soon, man. He looked pretty surprised when I told him who I was on here- I think he expected a fat dude or something, LOL. That was probably the best compliment I’ve gotten in awhile- “you’re starting to look like an endurance athlete”. Hopefully the conversion will be done in another 2 years.
Overall, it was a really good time and well run, particularly for the 1st year. It was good to meet a few of you guys. I’m looking forward to meeting some more at Wisconsin. For now, its rest up ( I already want to train again- even my wife was surprised; I was a wreck after the last 2 HIMs). I had my physical to apply to PA school on Monday- BP of 148 over 78 and HR of 72- usually 112 over 77 w/ my morning HR 48-51, so some rest if definitely in order. I’ve got to get my knee back to 100% as well. The last half of June is Annual Training at Ft. McCoy, so there will be lots of hilly running, but no biking and minimal swimming. I’ll push hard in July and August, and then see how bad IM kicks my ass- should be a good time!**
