5430 Long Course Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I started out WAY at the back. I had no idea how my arms would respond after the 10k swim yesterday. The plan was to just go nice and easy. So, when the gun went off I let everyone go and just started swimming slowly. I had to swim heads up for awhile trying to clear a path. As it thinned out after 100m I started to have to pass people...a LOT of people. Uh...this is weird. I swam 10k yesterday. These people should be kicking my butt! I was passing people like mad until the first turn. Note to self...starting in the back was a bad plan!

Made the first turn and still just swimming nice and easy. Then right away came the second turn. It literally felt like I had been swimming for no time at all. Guess that's what swimming 10k the day before makes a HIM swim feel like. I looked up at the shore as we made that second turn and it did sorta seem far away. But I just put my head back down and kept swimming easy.

I was feeling pretty good, so I thought about picking up the pace. All the fast feet were long gone so I just sorta plugged along slowly by myself. As a few folks from the wave behind us caught up I tried to catch a draft, but they were all too fast and dropped me quickly. Oh well. I'll just keep swimming easy.

There's a last dog-leg turn to the shore. When I hit this turn I thought to myself. Gee, it only feels like I've been swimming about 30 minutes. No way I went that fast. So I tried to look at my watch and I saw 3x:xx. Didn't want to waste time looking again so I assumed it must have been 35 or 38 or something. So I thought. Okay, I might have a chance at sub-40 so push a LITTLE bit. And I really didn't pick up the pace much.

Stood up at the swim exit, looked at my watch and saw 35 and change. Damn. I think it was short (though later absolutely EVERYONE disagreed with me and looking at the results, I guess it probably wasn't). The extra minute or so was the LONG run up the sandy beach (I walked...no need to spike the HR yet) and back down the hill to transition.

Start out in the middle. Apparently, even after swimming 10k the day before and not even trying hard I'm still a good swimmer. It was my second fasted HIM swim.

Crossed into T1 and found my spot easily. Had the wetsuit around my waist and cap/goggles already off when I got there. I did have trouble getting one leg out of the wetsuit which is unusual. Oh well, can't win 'em all. Put on the helmet and sunglasses then stood there wondering if I had everything. I mean...c'mon...get your ass moving!

Not stand there forever looking stupid.

Okay. Out of transition Mike is standing there and asks how my arms were. I said it was my third fastest HIM swim. Turned out it was my SECOND fastest. Apparently, NOT the right answer! I got shit later for taking the time to gonkulate that!

Still don't know how to do a flying mount so I stopped, straddled the 'velo, and started pedaling. Immediately something sounded funky like it was in my tire. WTF. Stopped, got off the bike, found my helmet sticker (they didn't stick well to the helmets) on my tire. Ripped it off, crumpled it up, and got back on the bike. Lost 30 seconds here but the sound of that thing hitting my brakes every time it went around would have driven me crazy and could very possibly have caused mechanical issues if I hadn't fixed it.

So, at this point I'd lost the first downhill so it took me until I was fully out of the Res parking area to get my feet into my shoes. Bad. Got passed a LOT while trying to get my feet into my shoes!

I started out pretty easy. It takes my legs awhile to wake up from the swim. And I had never seen the course. So other than the fact that I knew it was two loops, I had NO idea what I was getting into. The first ten or so miles are uphill so I just kept a good spin going. I was getting passed a TON. On one gradual incline near the beginning I was going 11mph and getting passed like I was standing still! My HR was staying REALLY low and I began to wonder if I was just being lazy or if my legs just were not going to cooperate today. But I didn't want to blow myself up so I kept this strategy of staying easy for awhile. Skipped the first aid station because I still had tons of fluids.

Nutrition strategy was drink from my 500 cal cytomax bottle on the 15's and 45's and take a gel or half a power bar on the 30's and 60's. Drink water when I wanted it. Worked VERY well.

A couple of somewhat big hills come up next. Again, I spun easy up them and tried to go fast down the other sides. Finally, you hit a nice big long downhill. On this first round I coasted a bit and kept it easy. The one road had some turns and I was careful on them since I didn't know the road. Turns out they were really easy turns so I knew on the second loop I could be more aggressive. Basically the whole way back is 90% downhill. I was seeing average speed of 20+ for a long time. There was an aid station on this stretch and since I wasn't desperate for water yet I skipped it because it would have involved slowing down!

Once it flattened out a little I was cruising along in aero still making good time. Mike spotted me as he went outbound on his ride and said hi. I think I responded. :) I picked up a water bottle at the third aid station. Up to this point it wasn't really hot and I didn't need a lot of fluids. So I topped off my aero bottle with the water they gave me. Maybe 3/4ths of the bottle? My knee started to twinge a few times on the bike too. Not a good sign. But usually it twinges a couple of times then is quiet for awhile.

The diagonal comes up next and it's not far from there to the Res. I start gonkulating pace in my head. Trying to figure out what even split would be to PR since I already know I'm taking the second loop faster. With all that downhill to recover on there was no need to spin easy up the hills again.

I hit the turnaround at about 1:38. If I can even split, I'll PR for a HIM bike segment. Cool. Let's go! So I push a little harder on the hills. I was seeing 12-13 mph on that hill that I went up at 11mph last time. And just seeing higher mph's in general. On the downside of the first big hill I thought I felt my back tire get squishy. The tire has a small hole in it so I'm always worried it will go flat. I slowed down and kept looking at it trying to decide if it was flat. Asked a few riders as they went by but no one would answer me. Finally decided it must not be flat and sped up again.

As I crested the next hill and started down I heard a distinct pssssstttttt! But it sounded like it was coming from the front tire not the back tire. I slow to a stop and end up stopping perfectly so I can see/feel the air coming out of my front tire due to a small piece of glass imbedded in the tire. Drat. I flatted. Oh well.

Hop off the bike and check my watch (just to see how long this takes me). Get all my tire changing shiz out and get to work. The tire comes off easily (for once...must be getting old). Takes me a minute to work the piece of glass out. I had to use the tire lever to try to poke it out without cutting myself. Biggest issue came up next with trying to get the tire back on. The tube was sorta floppy and wasn't staying where it belonged. Finally get the tire back on (not much resistance near the end...again, tires must be getting old). Took the time to check for pinches figuring I didn't want to DNF over stomething that stupid. Filled 'er up with CO2, and put the tire back on. Took a few extra seconds to adjust the front brakes...they didn't look centered and I didn't want to be dragging one! Straddle the bike, get pedalling and check the watch...ten minutes. A TIRE CHANGING PR!!!! WOOHOO! The only PR I would set today!

A TON of people had passed me while I was changing that tire. Most very nicely asking if I had everything I needed, etc. etc. So swell. As soon as I got back on my bike I started passing people. I really pushed it down the hills this time. Even hit 40 on the biggest downhill.

Remember the knee twinges? They started to get worse. And worse. Until it was constant pain if I was pushing hard at all. In fact, on the sorta flat part I had to back off to my little ring because the knee was complaining if I pushed too hard. Pretty much stayed in the little ring for the duration after that. Knee didn't want to work. This was worrying me because I thought I would be in for knee pain from the get-go on the run.

Picked up another water bottle but only needed a few squirts to refill my aero bottle. I had 2.5 bottles of fluid (estimated) on the bike. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but it wasn't hot and by the end of the first lap I had to pee (but held it until T2) so I don't think I drank too little.

Turn into the Res finally. Slow getting my feet out and have to stop fast at the dismount line.

Not get a flat tire? I would have PR'ed the bike if not for the flat tire. :( Second fasted HIM bike leg.

Otherwise, I had a GREAT bike ride for me. I wish I was faster and I wonder how much harder I could have pushed it.

Yup, that's a LONG time. But there's a reason. So, I run in with my bike. Ouch, I hate running in bare feet! Rack it easily. Get the helmet off. Set to work getting the shoes on. Which goes well. Then I'm a total slacker getting my race belt and visor on. Just was SLOW and sluggish. Had to pull the bike tube with the hole in it out of my jersey (can't get hit for abandonment after all) as well as a bunch of trash and gel wrappers I had stored back there.

So, now the reason. I still had to pee. I had been holding it the whole second half of the bike ride. So after I get my stuff together, I dashed to the porta-potties. Ah...peeing is good. Oh, and, uh...why not get lighter too. So, the porta-potty stop took longer than I wanted, but I'm SURE my GI tract was thanking me for it while I was running.

Not take as long actually swapping gear. Otherwise, very worthwhile T2.

Okay, as I ran out of transition Mike shouted at me again. I think I waved but I was a bit preoccupied thinking. I was supposed to try 8/2 run/walk. So, I looked at my watch and it said about 4:00. Okay, so I run until 4:08, then walk two and get to keep the cycle going on some easy number to remember. Cool.

Hit my first walk break and immediately everyone around me is like, "You can do it! Just keep moving!" and all I want to say is shut up, I'm walking because I have to. But I don't...I just keep saying thanks and go about my sorta-race walking. As I start the second run I feel like I can run a little faster. Well, I'll get a walk break in 8 minutes, so why not?

First six miles go REALLY well. Times are staying very close and even decreasing a few seconds. Legs feel good (within the first half mile I had forgotten I'd ridden my bike). I'm getting in some water and even a coke once in awhile at the aid stations. Took my first gel during my third walking break. Almost forgot the second gel during the 6th walking break, but remember with less than a minute to go.

I didn't get my split at the end of the first loop. The loop only had the miles 1-6 markers so in order to get any more mile splits I had to keep the watch going until the mile 1 marker again. So that one split is probably 1.55 miles if the loops were even.

Anyway, at my 8.5 mile split I start to notice I'm slowing down and that my legs are a little tired and my knee is starting to wench. It had been pretty quiet thus far. Over the next two miles the splits start to slow down a LOT and the knee just gets worse and worse.

It had been overcast on the first loop but the sun came out for the second loop. Still, it felt warm but I never felt overheated or thirsty. 1-2 cups of water or coke at the aid stations was doing just fine. Dumped two cups on my head at some point but didn't like how squishy it made my jersey feel.

I took what I intended to be my last walk break at the 10.5 mile point. I was allowed to run the last 5k if I wanted. But the second I tried to run after this walk break the knee would have none of it. Sharp, sharp, evil pain. I was reduced to a walk. I walked about half a mile before trying to run again. Didn't get very far before I had to walk again. I figured I was going to have to walk the last 2.5 miles. I tried some peg-legged running since it's the bending motion that hurts. That worked well for about a quarter mile before the strain on the opposite calf was just too much. Back to walking.

It was painful to watch everyone run past me...but at this point I really had no choice. The knee was DONE.

So I walked and walked and saved my peg-legged running for the last 100 yards. Ran the last 100 yds to the finish, got my cartwheel in, and crossed the line.

Splits:
Mile 1: 10:15 157/166
Mile 2: 10:05 163/170
Mile 3: 10:08 165/173
Mile 4: 9:53 165/172
Mile 5: 10:04 165/175
Mile 6: 10:35 165/171
Mile 7.5?: 17:11 167/176 (this is from the mile 6 marker to the mile 1 marker on the second loop…they didn’t have mile 7-13 markers)
Mile 8.5?: 11:34 163/173 (i.e the mile 2 marker on the second loop…)
Mile 9.5?: 11:52 162/171 (mile 3 marker)
Mile 10.5?: 12:28 156/166 (etc.)
Mile 11.5?: 17:04 142/160
Mile 12.5? :15:52 143/163
Mile 13.1?: 9:14 149/173 (this is from the mile 6 marker to the end)

Get a new knee. :(

Oh, and train more. I honestly could NOT have ever expected to run the whole thing. Since I sprained my ankle I probably haven't run more than 15 miles COMBINED. That was 10 weeks ago. While the ankle held up well today, I did not have the conditioning to run 13.1 miles...even WITHOUT the swim and bike before.

Crossed the line and walked straight to the med tent for ice. Brett found me here and walked back in the direction of the D3 tent with me. Sat and ice my knee and ankle (ankle didn't REALLY hurt...preventative for the ankle only) for a long time. Finally got up and hit the food tent. Then sat around some more until Mike dismantled the D3 tent thus forcing me to go take down transition and go home.


1. 10k swim the day before? Though, this didn't seem to affect me as much as I thought.
2. Ankle sprained 10 weeks prior. No run training to speak of.
3. MY STUPID KNEE!


Gee, 5430 sports really puts on a good event. Absolutely awesome. I was having a fabulous day until lap two of the run. Then life went to hell in a handbasket. Oh well. I've told Mike this is my last race of the season. Time to regroup and get the knee healthy. BUT...I did win the bet. I did the HIM the day after the 10k swim! NEVER bet with me...you're guaranteed to lose!