Cutting Edge Half Classic - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Really thought i was faster. The first lap I stayed in the mix until the first buoy. Then i thought I was going straight and sighting on the last buoy, but I must have taken the first turn buoy way wide as I was swimming all by myself. Thought maybe the buoys were not straight and I had found a "short cut." lol. Instead of heading back to the line everyone else was swimming, I stayed wide and just headed towards the last turn buoy. Hit that and headed in. Swam through the jungle and ran around the buoy, where Bob yelled "20:30"
20:30?? Really? Must not have been a short cut. Decided to stick closer to the buoys this time around. Swam next to the same 3 people all the way around. The buoys looked straight and I stuck closer to them. Really picked up the pace the last 300 yards or so (at least increased the effort, not sure about the pace). Up on shore and around the buoy where i heard Bob say 42:xx. Wow, 2nd lap was slower than first?

Relax and not worry about pushing, this may allow me to breathe bilaterally, which I'm faster at. I swam most of this breathing just to the right side.

The best thing I did all day. About :30 faster than my goal time. WooHoo!! (no other part of this report I can say that about :))

Nothing

A tale of 2 rides. Heading out, I felt great. I was passing people as usual. Hitting the hills very well. Gear changes were smooth and I would push the downhills to make it up the next hill. Some of these hills were ALOT steeper than they seemed while driving the course the day before. I focused on not pushing hard, this was not a TT and I tried to ride smart. Passing people and offering encouragement. (passed a P4 :p) Finished the first hour and first bottle of Infinit pretty much on schedule. The family passed, ringing bells and all was well. They stopped up ahead and I saw them just before the turnaround. I mixed my 2nd hour of Infinit at about 1:10. I was thinking, "ok, not a great swim, but if I nail the rest of this bike, then I'll be set up to have a good run and good finish time." I was also thinking that I was riding into a slight headwind, not much, but enough that would make the ride back enjoyable.
Hit the turnaround, took a little water and headed back. Noticed pretty quick that I had not been riding into a headwind on the way out and that, in fact, I would be riding into a little wind on the way back. Passed the family bell ringers again and was still feeling pretty good. It wasn't long after this that I really hit a lull. I just couldn't seem to "go". The hills were tough, I pushed my helmet up and a river of sweat streamed down. I noticed that it was pretty warm out and I was sweating alot. I couldn't keep my speed up. I was thinking "I don't remember the out leg being all downhill." I stopped the bike twice, checking my tires and brakes, convinced something was rubbing and slowing me down. Didn't find anything, but open the brakes up all the way anyway. I was waiting for people to start passing me. I played leap frog with a guy on a a red Cervelo a few times and a guy on a gray Cevelo that I had passed earlier, caught and passed me not far from the finish. Noticed that my belly felt full. I was having trouble pushing the big ring towards the end, so shifted down and tried to spin for awhile in the small ring. The last 2 miles went well and I felt better.

Wow, not sure other than order different Infinit and not put Nunn in Bike bottles (see below)

Heading into T2, I was wondering how the world I was going to complete 13.1 miles. Honestly, didn't want to go out for the run. As soon as I got off the bike, I noticed how hot it was. I knew right away this was going to be ugly.
Just tried to blank my mind and get through transition. I changed out of my tri-jersey into my running jersey. Put suntan lotion on my arms and shoulders. I went to put some vasoline on my feet, but it had all melted and was in a puddle on my towel. I scooped up what I could and got my shoes on and headed out with my water bottle filled with water, Nunn, and caffeine and holding gels. I took a drink of my other bottle that just had water in it and the water was so warm I spit it out.
I told my family "This is going to be a Nick kind of transition." lol

Stop right here, the day is not going to get any better, lol. No, this was actually faster than I though it was.

Let's see what I can remember. Heading out, I see James coming in off the bike and know he had a good bike ride. Then i see Pat come in think "Holy Cow, they are right behind me." I started the run planning on a 10 minute jog 2 minute jog plan. It was hotter than Chicago 07 and Louisville 08, so I knew there would be walking to do.
I took a drink from my water bottle and dumped the rest out. The water was too hot to drink. So there went my electrolytes. I made it to the first aid station and was burning up. Had them fill up my water bottle. I headed out doing a little jogging and a little walking. Made the turn onto the gravel road noticed there was not much shade up ahead. Made it to the first aid station and continued on. James caught me and we walked together for a very little while, he was having a good day and felt pretty good. I started jogging with him, but soon fell behind and had to take a walk break. My stomach still felt full and I couldn't drink much water. Most of it was spent dribbling it on my head, shoulders and arms in an attempt to cool them down. Saw the right hand turn up ahead and noticed there was a treeline. I hoped that meant shade. Made the turn and saw....no shade, demoralizing. Continued on to the turnaround. They had cold sponges and they felt great for a little while.
Headed back wondering how the world I was going to make another 10 miles. More of the same, lots of walking with a little "jogging." Filled the water bottle at each aid station. I felt guilty asking for a whole bottle of water, but they seemed to have plenty and didn't hesitate at all. At the last aid station before the 1/2 way turnaround, I saw Pat coming behind me, I waited and he caught up. We walked into the park together. I knew I'd see my family up here and it would be dicey whether they would want me to go back out. I wasn't sure I wanted to go back out. Hell, I wasn't sure I was going to go back out or if I did, that I would make it back. I had spent the last 20 minutes or so trying to figure out if a 7:30 1/2 IM was very much better than a dnf. Was this worth it? Would it be smarter to just call it a day? Pat had to take care of a little business while we were by transition so I stood in the shade and talked to my family.
I got the usual, "no shame in stopping." "be smart" "are you ok?" Didn't feel great, I had just done 6+ miles in like 1:30+ and had not been able to take in any calories and just 2 endurolytes. Pat got done and told me to stay there. I just couldn't do it. So I headed out with Pat.
We walked just a little and then he decided to jog, I needed to walk a little more and stop at the aid station. Got a full bottle of water and was able to drink a little gatorade. Bob and Megan ran over to cheer. I dumped some water on my face and head. The water was very cold and with my eyes closed, I weaved a little. Bob jumped the fence, told me to stop because I was stumbling. I told him to let me dump some of this cold water on his face and see if he didn't stumble.
Actually did a little jogging on the way back out, but that didn't last long. Lots of memories of Chicago and Louisville. Lots of people walking and suffering, but still moving. I kept thinking back to the pro we saw walk it in at IMWI last year. I was thinking about Becca and Megan's first 5k's and how I pushed them and wouldn't let them quit. The sun was relentless and I was roasted. I don't know if I've ever felt hotter.
Made it to the turnaround and reached down into the bucket to get some sponges and got a little light headed when I straightened back up. I stopped at each aid station and borrowed some of their shade. Time no longer mattered.
Headed back in counting down the miles. You have no idea how demoralizing it is to be excited to only have 2 miles to go, but then to realize that at your current pace it means you still have 40 minutes to go. Legs started getting crampy and just concentrated on moving forward. I was still carrying the same gels I started with. My belly was just done.
Topped the hill by the highway and Megan and Bob were there. They walked me back into the park. I wanted to jog it in, but crampy legs and it just seemed ridiculous and hypocritical to walk so much and then "run" at the end. Walked the entire finish.

I was in trouble before the run began. Maybe I should have tried to force some gel into my belly. May have helped, not sure. Just didn't seem possible at the time. I felt bloated.

Found some SHADE and sat for awhile. Packed everything up and we hit the road headed for PA and summer camp. (Monica drove :))

I have to thank my family for coming down to watch and encourage. I can't help but feel bad about my performance and will do better in the future.
Also, my teamates Pat and James, who handled the conditions well and put in great efforts, good race plans, and great results.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

This was as close as I've ever come to a dnf. Very, very close.
Ok, this is not a list of excuses. These are things to learn from and the things I did wrong.
1) Not a great week of nutrition or training leading up to race
2) Took race and distance to lightly
3) Used the rest of my short course Infinit instead of ordering new and right Infinit
4) Infinit has plenty of electrolytes in it, why did I put Nunn in my bike bottles? James even questioned me on this pre race and I thought about changing my "plan", but didn't. I think I took in too many electrolytes on the bike causing the ration in my belly of electrolytes and water to be out of balance and my belly to shut down. I JUST re-read about this last week and still got it wrong. STUPID STUPID STUPID!!!
5) Once my stomach quit digesting, i couldn't take in water or calories and I bonked hard.

Event comments:

Tough race especially with the weather. Bike course is deceptively challeging and a little rough. The run course is at least 1/2 gravel and has very, very little shade. On sunny, hot, humid days it is brutal. The volunteers were GREAT and the aid stations were VERY WELL stocked.