Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Actual time out of the water was at 38:30 but the official swim time includes a long run up the beach to the transition area. Swimming has been my weakest point so I was very happy with this time. I felt really strong in the water, sighting/navigation was good. Only had one "encounter" with another swimmer and it was me running over him, "oopps", apologized to him and started swimming again.
Started getting calf cramps about 2/3 of the way and they progressed in calf and hamstring cramps and kept getting worse. I stopped kicking and finished the swim with just pulling. I thought the cramps had gone away because there was no sign of them when I got out of the water and I was able to run up to the transition area with no problem.

Not too much, I am pretty happy with this time.

No real rush through transition. First race of the year so I was more concerned that I had remembered all the basics (like snapping the helmet, remmebering to grab nutrition etc).

Speed up a little.

There was a mount line right out of transition that we had to run to prior to getting on the bike. Somewhere between the rack and the mount line, my bike bag became dislodged from under my water bottles and became lodged between the bike frame and the wheel. I had just clipped in with both feet when I realized that the back tire was jammed, needless to say, the result wasn't pretty and over I went. Figured out the problem fairly quickly and resecured the bag to the frame and headed up the hill.
First 10 miles of the ride (other than the mount) were uneventful and I used them to get comfortable. I was watching my speed and cadence and was in my normal range (spd 18 mph / cadence 90-100) and settling in for the ride. I was wanting to stay between an avg of 18-20mph for the entire ride because I had hoped to save my legs for a really strong run. About mile 10, the cramps that I had experienced during the swim started to return, but instead of the calf and hamstrings, they were in both of my quads. The cramps would come and go during the remainder of the ride. Sometimes instead of the cramps, there would just be a sharp stabbing pain in the quad but it would go away (this mostly occured in the right quad). I was having a really difficult time understanding this. I have logged a lot of miles since the new bike configuration and never had this problem occur to any degree before.
Cindy passed my at about mile 20 and I tried to keep up with her but I wasnt able to, she was flying and I couldn't manage to keep up.
I continued with my fluids and ended up drinking three bottles of Perpetume (sp ?) and two bottles of water. I ate at least two bannanas during the ride too.

When I realized that the cramping was back to stay, I probably should have slowed down even more, but with being as stubborn as I am, I was hoping that with enough fluids and electrolytes (took 4 during the ride) that the cramping would go away. No such luck.

As with T1, just wanted to make sure everything was in place. No issues with T2, still using standard laces and no speed laces.
There was a Stop and Dismount line prior to the transition area which limited speed into transition area.

Get comfortable with and get back to using speed laces.

This is where everything fell apart. Felt pretty good coming out of transition and up the initial gradual hill. Ran into the zoo and there was a gradual downhill portion. About the second or third step into the downhill, both quads just locked and cramped up. No other way to describe it. Had to stop and spend two or three minutes trying to rub the cramps out. They finally went away and I started running again. About 100ft more and the cramps returned harder than before. Seriously thought the race was over at that point. Tried to stretch them out and that relieved the cramps, but the quads remained very sore and tender and I was not able to regain a normal stride or pace. I was able to run a few hundred yards at a time and then would have to stop and rub out the cramps. Saw a guy I know being brought back towards the start on a First Aid cart, looked like they were working on his quads too. At that point, I made up my mind that I was going to finish if I had to walk the rest of the way. I was actually able to finish the run with the shuffle/run/walk program.
I made sure that at every water station to drink at least two glasses of fluids (water or Infinit (gatorade like drink)).
Believe it or not, about 1/2 mile from the end of the run, I felt both quads "pop" and all evidence of the cramping went away. I was actually able to return to a somewhat normal stride for the last 1/2 mile.


Obviously, figure out this cramping issue.

Immediately after crossing the finsish line I headed towards the medical tent. I was concerned about the cramping and possible dehydration despite the amount of fluids I drank during the run. Legs remained very sore but the cramping did not return.


Cramping.




Overll, this is an outstanding event. Very well organized, ran and supported by the community. I would definetly recommend this race to anyone considering doing a HIM that can fit it into their schedule.