Challenge Maine - Half Course - Triathlon

Getting to the start so late really worked against me and it induced my first ever panic attack in the water. With no warm up the cold water hit me hard. The big waves really shook my confidence and the fact that I was racing in the ocean for the first time sent me over the edge. I was tempted to grab a kayak at the first buoy - but managed to take a few breaths. One of the life guards gave me some encouragement but it was really just the thought that in order to get out of the f%#*ing water, I needed to finish that got me to put my face in the water and go. I kept popping my head up to correct my course and my sighting was off. I was so eager to make it to the shore that I kept sticking my foot down to stand - which was almost comical since the water was in reality well over my head. I was thrilled to hit terra firma.

1. Take advantage of the pre race swim.- lakes and oceans are not the same
2. Warm up in the ocean
3. Appreciate the beautiful sunrise. So pretty!

It was a long run - more than a quarter mile into T1. But I changed quickly and got going.

Need to practice transitioning standing up as sitting down eat up time.

I had a rough bike. Coming out of T1 - I really pushed my pace hoping to make up some time from the swim. I realized I had already probably cost myself a PR - but I just refused to quit. I figured that if I could just finish the last two segments faster then my goal I would have something to be proud of. So, I put my head down and pushed my speed. My first 5 miles I averaged 15.5 but then I averaged 16.5 for the next two segments. I was stoked about theat... But then my left calf really started to hurt. I don't think it was cramps - I was just sore from the hard workout I had done on Wednesday. But I kept pushing it. At mile 24 - I was about to go up the last big hill and my rear derailer malfunctioned - pushing my chain over my biggest rear ring. It got suck between the spokes and the rear cassette. I worked on it feverishly but I couldn't get the tire off and I couldn't pull the chain out. I actually gave up but decided to try again since there was no sag to help me and I managed to get it fixed. This took about 10 minutes and really set me back. My average for that segment was 10.2. Screw it - I'm gonna finish as hard as I can, so I averaged above 16.5 for all but one of my last 5 mile segments. What made this hard was the fact that I was reluctant to change gears for fear of having another problem. So, I ended up cranking hard (too hard) up the hills and didn't get the speed I could have on the downhills. But I didn't put that much thought into it. All I wanted to do was try as hard as I could and hope for the best on the run. During the last 5 miles, I did my hardest riding and was averaging above 18 which was some of my fastest biking ever. I even past two people. But my efforts would end up costing me on the run.

For the record - when you take off the 10 minutes I spent fixing my chain - my bike average was above 16.5 miles per hour which was my goal for the segment.

Also - the Hoyts were in the race (or at least Rick was). At one point - I just followed them for a few miles sucking in the inspiration.

1. Get my rear derailer fixed before the race
2. be more logical about my thinking. I was thinking that an all out effort would save my day rather then realizing that I was just setting myself up for a world of hurt.
3. Drink more on the bike. I tried hard but in the 84 degree heat - not hard enough

I ran down the shoot to T2 at a pretty good clip - glad to have finished the bike. I again sat down to put on my shoes and I skipped changing socks.

Before heding off on the run - I hit a porta potty and finally peed which I had been trying to do on the bike for the last 40 miles of the bike. I had thought that my big peed meant I had done a good job of hydrating myself on the bike. I was wrong.

Do it standing up

This really is the tale of two races/halves. I headed out and I was feeling pretty good. I saw David Lesley, my doctor friend from Franciscan Hospital, who had come up to cheer us on. He had brought up some cold beers as incentive and I told him that even though I wasn't gonna break 7 - I was still gonna see if I could finish the marathon in less than 2:45 or 13 minutes per mile. I knew I needed to be concerned when I got going on the race course because I was having two to three Gatorades and water at each stop but I didn't have the urge to pee. I also took a salt tab at mile 1, 3, and 5. Yet I was still feeling good. I was running sub 13's. I ran the first 6 miles averaging around 12:30 and I was thinking that my pace would set me up well for the return to town. The wheels came off starting around mile 5 when I ran out into the sunlight and I felt immediately nauseous - or more so than I had been feeling. I managed to keep everything down and I just put my head down. Unfortunately - I chalked it up to my most recent salt tab and not dehydration so I didn't hit the fluids hard. At Mile 6, I knew I was in trouble because I started to get dizzy and I ran that mile in 14:08. But then, I had to run back out into the sun. I had been putting ice into my hat to try to keep heat away but there were no aid stations and there was nothing I could do when my hat ran dry but keep going. At the next station, I drank 4 drinks. But things kept getting worse and I had to stop to walk. I kept gagging and had to force myself to not throw up. That made drinking hard but I still did it. At mile 8 - I thought about walking the rest of the way because I felt so bad. Things kept getting worse - I had never felt so bad during a race when all of a sudden - Dave Lesley came running up the path. He walked with me and carried drinks for me so now I was getting 20-30 oz at each station. I couldn't eat any solids but I was able to get water and coke down (Gatorade made me queezy). We walked the big hill to mile 10 and then I just pushed myself to trot. The drinks were helping but I still felt like crap. I was averaging 15 minute miles and got passed by the Hoyts (no shame in that but it really just goes to show how slow I had gotten). I crossed the finish line and they had me sit down (in the sun - are you kidding me???) due to my dizziness. I tried to drink but it was tough. Here's how bad I felt - the idea of beer or the Lobster dinner made me want to puke. I ended up vomiting up about a gallon of water and it took almost the entire ride home to feel better (a huge thanks to Charles for driving home.

1. Not push so hard on bike.
2. Drink more on the bike and run
3. make sure cap stayed full of ice
4. Run a slower first half. Had I not been trying to gain time by running below my goal - I might not have run myself into the ground.

I just sat there trying to drink. I ran into a retired middle school teacher named Peter and it was great to talk to him - but I just didn't want to talk. All I wanted to do was not puke. Charles helped by getting my stuff into the car. A huge thanks to him!

In fact - after posting this - I saw my time slips from the race that Charles left for me. There was one from early on in my run that showed a projected finishing time of 6:49... So I had ridden/run into a time that would have accomplished my goal. That for me - makes all the difference especially when I factor in the 0 minutes lost on the bike.


dehydration and the bike crash two weeks prior.


This was a great race. If you're reading this and thinking should I sign up - the answer is Yes! I'd rather give my money to Rev #/Challenge anyway. Good people. Great course!