First, a HUGE thanks to Kris, Christina, Jamie, Tammy, Beth, Mom and Dad, who were BY FAR the best cheering section. You rock.
Second, I finished. It was hot: 99°F with heat index of 112°F, with hair dryer-like winds topping out at 20mph. Vigorous conditions to say the least.
Here's the specifics:
Swim (1.2mi): 26:34.43 (3rd in AG, 21st overall)
T1: 03:03.25
Bike (56 mi): 2:42:59.53 (22nd / 201st)
T2: 03:09.67
Run (13.1mi): 2:25:35.68 (35th / 538th)
Total: 5:41:22.56 (27th / 226th)
Pre-Race Day
We left for Racine on Friday night and checked into what was decidedly not the suite with the Sleepnumber king bed ad advertised and reserved. Instead, we found two doubles, and some crappy wall paper with a decent sized TV without OLN. I guess we'll make due. We're hear for a race, not a vacation.
We slept in on Saturday until 7, got up found some bagels and went for a swim and bike. (If only the overcast and relatively cool conditions would hold for the weekend...) Lake Michigan wasn't too wavy, and the wind was relatively calm; just about perfect conditions. Things were still being set up for the race, but I registered anyways, and bought two extra water bottles, and hurried back to listen to Chris Legh speak at the hotel. Ever courteous and downright friendly, it was a pleasure to interact with such an open and obviously all-around good guy.
Back in the room, I'd struggled with hydration given the devilish forecast of upper 90s and humidity for Sunday. I'm fueled by Endurance Gatorade and Gu, aligning with IMNA and their sponsors for the . InfinIT was to be served on course, something with 4-times the carbs & calories than the Gatorade. I didn't know how much and of what to bring on the bike. My wife, Kris, was the clear thinker of the group and suggested a winning strategy: install all my bottle cages (5 total incl. the aero bottle), fill three with Gatorade and leave two empty for water to be served on course. If the Gatorade ran out, I could mix the InfinIT with water to cut down on the calories.
Earlier, we parked back at the hotel, thinking we'd drive back to the transition area to drop off the bike and to get some bagels and yogurt for race morning. But, I couldn't get the car key into the ignition. The steering wheel didn't move. Explicative. Maybe it's just stuck. We'll try again later. I finished with my bike and we walked the 15 minutes to drop it off at the transition area. Walked back. Tried key again. Nothing. More explicatives. It was now 4 PM, and the local dealership service center said, "we're closing in 15 minutes, but pound on the steering column." Pound on it with what? Knowing this wasn't going to get solved until after the race, I put it out of my mind and concentrated on the next day. Kris boldly unknowingly walked through severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings to get what she could for breakfast. Hot dog buns & pre-packaged muffins were the closest to bagels she could find. That'll have to do.
Pre-race
We left the air conditioner going all night and I woke up with goose bumps. Not goose bumps from excitement or nervousness, but from the chill in the room. Foreshadowing what was to come, I said, "This is the coldest I'm going to be all day." I packed up, and we stepped outside into the sauna that was the City of Racine at 5:30 in the morning. There's nothing like 85 humid degrees to get you warmed up. By the time I got to my area and set it up, I was sweating. When I wiggled into my wetsuit, I was sweating. After walking the three-quarters of a mile to the swim start, I was sweating.
Swim
Lake Michigan was 72°F for the start. Jumping into the lake to warm up, it felt like running from the sauna and rolling in snow drifts. I was in the fourth wave after the pros and elites. Building on the confidence from top swims in my earlier races, I lined up right in the front. As the horn goes off, we run into the water. Everyone else dives in while I keep running through the thigh-deep water. Hmmm...maybe I'm cheating, so I'll dive in, too. After some dolphin dives, it was off to the first turn buoy. I made it with the first group, following the feet of two guys ahead of me. Turns out, they made the turn a bit sharp and sent us back towards the beach a bit too early. It was easy to do, as the lake provided for three foot swells that weren't spaced with any regularity to time your stroke with. I finally caught sight of the first buoy and made my own line. About two-thirds of the way through the swim, I finally felt comfortable with my stroke and the waves and made up some time. That's when I noticed some silver caps of the elite wave pass by, indicating things were going well. When I rounded the final buoy to head for the shore, I tried to body surf the waves in, but nothing grabbed hold. As I stood up to run in, I realized I was tired. Uh-oh. I just may have over extended myself.
Bike
Confirming the energetic swim, my heart rate was hovering around 155 as soon as I got on my bike, way over my average 135. I recalled what Chris Legh talked about the day before, "There's no way to continue working hard in a race like this over your threshold." So I took it easy and spun for about 10 miles and waited for my legs to warm up and heart rate to drop, (even though I was sweating the entire time). Unfortunately, the heart rate never really did drop. I haven't yet looked at the data, but a few glances told me I was maintaining 150 beats per minute most likely due to the wind.
The Wind. Combined with the heat, it made the day quite challenging. Imagine someone holding a gigantic hair dryer and running after you the entire day. Sometimes it was in front of you, sometimes behind. But never, ever was it cool. Include laser like rays from the sun beating down your back. Then ride 56 mostly flat miles. Welcome to your own personal version of hell. I tried to stay upbeat, waving to the locals sitting in the shade of their front lawn, clapping for us crazies riding bikes in this heat. My parents provided much needed energy, cheering at various spots for twenty miles, joined by rest of my family and friends carried me home from mile 40.
I didn't realize it at the time, but my hydration plan had a flaw. I planned to eat a Gu in T1, and then another when I got water at the first aide station (mile 15). Well, I forgot to take the Gu in T1, and didn't have any water to take one on the bike. So, the first 52 minutes on the bike were Gatorade only, with a Gu every half-hour after that. Because I didn't take water initially on the bike, I missed two important gel packs.
About mile 45, I felt a big bug hit my chest then a sharp pain in my thigh. I got stung. I hope whatever it was, died. Now my leg might be swelling up. Would it affect my run? I continued and told myself not to worry about it now. I finished strong - well ahead of Chris Legh's run finish - so I felt good heading out to my own run.
Run
I started out running. I intended to run the entire half marathon. I walked through the first aide station, drank a lot of water, and continued running. Soon after, I peed (Finally!) and continued running the first three miles. Each walk through the aide stations got longer and longer until I was walking long before, through and long after each water stop. I was taking cups of ice and putting them in the rear pocket in my new Oomph shorts, right at the small of my back. Some more ice would go on my bee sting, trying to keep that swelling down. About 4 miles in, my stomach started hurting, and I didn't chance taking a Gu for fear of upsetting it. By mile 10, I said what the hell, and ate one anyways. I felt fine. Then, I found some pretzel sticks at one aide station and gobbled them down. With all the water I was taking, I felt better. I ran for a while, took a long walk chewing ice, and then continued to run. Finally, I reached the home stretch, running most of mile 12, walked the first half of Mile 13, and ran to the finish line. My sister ran along cheering me the entire way in. She mentioned later that it was hard to keep up. I was floating, just knowing that the day would be over.
As soon as I crossed, I was brought to the ice tent and thankfully draped in ice-soaked towels and bags of ice. No one could wipe the smile off my face.
I entered this race to prepare for IM Wisconsin in seven weeks. I learned some major lessons:
- I survived extreme conditions; now there isn't much I can't do.
- Ease off the swim. I'll need the energy & heartbeats later.
- Eat early and eat often. Then eat again.
- I can easily get up to running speed after walking for extended periods.
- My family and friends are the best cheering section. They will carry you a long way.
Post Race
After I cooled down, we made our way back to our car to see if any more banging would help. It didn't. Not even with a new rubber hammer. We gave up, ate dinner, and checked backed into the hotel. This time, we got the room we were supposed to get when we first arrived; a nice one with a king-sized bed and view of the harbor. I promptly passed out for two hours, woke up, ate the rest of my dinner and watched The Day After Tomorrow. (Bad, bad movie.)
Monday, we woke up, signed up for AAA, immediately got the car towed to the Ford dealer, and got it checked out. It needed a new tumbler for the ignition. A few hundred dollars later, we were on our way home and even made it back to work for a few hours at the end of the day.
