Bone Island Tri - Full Iron Course - TriathlonFull Ironman

I was ready for whatever and we kind of got just that...

Waves that slapped you, waves that lifted and dropped, salt water up my nose..what am I leaving out? Oh, yeah..I had to stop three times to put my cap back on my head - waves kept pushing it off. Although I knew my time wasn't going to be fast, I was still enjoying the challenge; conditions were just the right side of tough but not impossible.

Bit of misadventure, though, when I missed the last buoy and was heading directly for exit ladders when I had another leg/buoy to cross. Kayaker came over and thoughtfully corrected my course to make sure I was getting my money's worth by covering the full 2.4. Wanker.

1:20 finish was 10mins slower than typical but if you count the navigational hijinx, I'd have been about right.

Ok with the effort - had to stop many times to find the next buoy and conditions weren't primed for a fast time but everyone else had to deal with the same set up, so...

Results show something crazy like a one minute T1. Not correct. The mat must have counted swim time as transition because I did a change out of jammers to my club's cycling shorts. Not slow or speedy, but methodical and to the point.

A 15-20 mile headwind is no small adversary. It was a tale of two races; wind directly in your face for 28 miles and then at your back for 28. Repeat.

Four of the 5 IM's I've made it to the start line for have been in a stiff breeze ->steady wind so hunkering down and muscling my way through wasn't new. I passed a bunch of people in the first 15 miles but the strain on my legs was building and sure enough, cramps/cramping/cramp-ola until around the 90th mile, when I finally found some rhythm. The damage, both to my time and my legs, was a fait-accompli though, and I never really had a chance to run any kind of respectable marathon. Dropping my second Uncrustable with a few miles to go didn't do anything to help set up my run, either. A veritable comedy of errors. After a somewhat light but still respectable training arc, it was a little freaky to be out of the hunt so early in the day but there you are. This, my friends, is what it looks like when an iron distance race slaps you...Next time I'll be more respectful of the distance.

As a post-mortem, I've been told swallowing salt water can start the cramping cycle. Just the opposite of what I would have thought...

I would rather not race than slow down any more than I already did in the face of the wind, so not sure there's any one simple answer to this question. 6:15 finish was well off typical for this kind of course but it was 100% of what I had on race morning.

Passed a couple of people in the tent - one of them caught me right back.

I was bloated after the bike and down at least few hundred calories from optimal leading into the run. Not the best way to start a 26.2 but made the best of where I was - just start off at a shuffle and wait for the legs to come around. First loop was slow but picking up steam towards the end and 3/4 of loop2 was def more like running but alas, not sustainable. Feet were really feeling the endless pounding on concrete and that led to the worst thing that can happen in an IM: bargaining with yourself. As in: "if I quit now, I promise to go harder at the next one" and variations on that same theme. I was feeling rotten and plenty sorry for myself(LOL) and decided to throw in the towel at the 16 mile mark. My feet and cramped out legs thanked me. My conscience, OTOH, was morally outraged and isn't presently sleeping with me. In fact, in a meta-physical sense, I'm sleeping on the sofa. Redemption, whither goest thou?

Not listen to myself and not do races on concrete and be in better shape and HTFU and, and...hell, I don't know.

Whatever brought those cramps on.

I think in my heart, I felt undertrained but also lacked confidence in what fitness I did bring with me..


This is the toughest part of the RR but I don't want to over analyze my feelings about BoneIsalnd.

First year races have more than a typical number of issues that could pop up..I had the sense that BI was struggling with the local permitting authorities to a fairly late stage. There was nothing wrong with Set-Up's organization; there was a race course that covered 140.6 miles and as always, the rest is up to you. In looking back at race day nearly two weeks since, I can't really remember much, though, that was especially great and I hate to say it, but Key West might not be the optimal place to stage a long course event. Key West is a lot of fun and a great place to go, so if you wanted to combine a vacation with an extremely early season fitness test, BoneIsland would make a lot of sense. To make the race special, it will take some fine tuning on SetUp's part..