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 Swim
Comments: This was by far the roughest OWS I've ever done. Leaving shore, we shot straight out parallel with a pier that acted as a breakwater. I started towards the front of my wave, and when we started I got passed by a lot of guys. When they passed the end of the pier though, about 8 or 9 heads popped out of the water and it was mayhem. I don't think they we ready for the chop. This slowed me up quite a bit to make my way through the wreckage. I felt really comfortable in the chop. Breathing was excellent, and the fact that there was a buoy every 50 yards made sighting a piece of cake, and it helped you feel like you were cruising along. I began to catch the tail end of the Elite women's wave, which was kinda crazy. Rounding the final buoy, turning back towards shore, I looked up to sight, and got the sun right in my eyes. I could not see a single buoy, so I had to slow-stroke it for a bit, and I waited for a pack to go by, and I just drafted off them and hoped for the best. It worked pretty well! Unfortunately, at about 1500 yards, I began cramping again. This time in my right hip flexor. I just kept kicking to try to loosen it up. That worked for a little bit, but it would keep coming back. This proved to be an issue for the rest of the day. What would you do differently?: Open up a little faster on the swim to get ahead of the mayhem out in the chop. Get to the bottom of this cramping issue.  Transition 1
Comments: Wetsuit strippers! Need I say more? I am really shocked that my T1 was this fast. I am getting the hang of getting my hearing aid in quickly. I was pumped to be sportin' my new American Flag Oakleys. Mount the bike and go! Had a little trouble getting into the shoes, I think either my feet swelled up a little, or I left the front strap on my Sidi's a little too tight.  Bike
Comments: I was reminded by a good friend beforehand, "there is no such thing as a good bike and a bad run". I wanted to make sure I paced well, and kept a high cadence throughout. The hip flexor cramping was becoming a problem, and it took about 20 miles or so for it to work itself out. Through the first 25 miles, it was a flat (and I mean pancake flat) course. I was averaging 23 mph without much effort. Very scenic route through Door County. When the hills came, I was ready, and they were not bad at all, but enough to drop my average to 20mph. That's cool. The hills gave me a good chance to get out of the saddle and stretch a little bit, and try to keep that hip loose. I was very worried coming into T2 that as soon as I got off the bike, my hip would seize up, so I spent the last 1.5 miles in high cadence, spinning out to loosen up as much as I could. What would you do differently?: Nutrition wise, I had a plan for an 85-90 degree day. The forecast was for 72, so I modified the plan a bit before the race started. Temps got into the 80s, so I think I cooked a little bit, but I don't think that was the root of the issue since I began cramping in the swim. Transition 2
Comments: All good here! Legs felt fine getting off, so I assumed that the plan worked. Saw my folks as I was leaving T2, little extra boost there!  Run
Comments: This is where it gets interesting. Really interesting. I kept my right hip loose coming out of T2, first time in a while that I haven't cramped straight out. Got my heart rate zones in place, got my plan, all good to go. Goal was to keep my heart rate below 165, preferably below 160. Take a look at my watch, I am at 161 and holding steady, feeling SOLID. Hit the first mile in 7:30. Still feeling great, passing several people, getting passed, too. Second mile split was 7:28. I LOVE TO RUN. This is too good to be true. Water, GU, keep on truckin'! Mile three 7:27. Are kidding?!? Yep. At about the 5k mark, my right hip flexor seized up something ugly. I could barely bend at the hip. My right leg basically straightened out and refused to bend anywhere. It was like throwing the E-brake on a Mack Truck, I came to a screeching halt. Here we are again. At the bottom of my barrel. But this time, instead of having 3 miles to go, I got 10 miles to go. Time to narrow the focus down to the tree up the road, then that stop sign, then that turn, then up the next hump of this hill, then to the next intersection, then to the water station, then to that bush, then to the bottom of the next hill, and so on... At least my feet didn't start bleeding though my shoes, right? When I came around the final bend and saw the finish, I could hardly believe it. I did it. I met my primary goal of finishing. The funny thing is, my parents asked me what was wrong, and I said what do you mean? They said that when I crossed the line, I looked down at my watch and my eyes got REALLY big. They got big because even after all that struggling and walking the run, I still beat my goal time by 24 minutes... What would you do differently?: Need to figure out the cramping issue. I am taking endurolytes. Am I not taking enough? Am I taking too much? I also need to run more. Post race
Warm down: Jumped in the lake! Felt like a nice ice bath! Sat in a half-dazed state for a little bit, then got some food and BEER. The BEER is why I do this, remember? What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of experience at this distance, cramping issues, plus a very tough course. I think the fact that the winning time was 4:28ish is a testament to the difficulty of the course. Event comments: Overall, this was a great learning experience. I now know what it feels like to put your body through 5 plus hours of duress, and the strength needed to keep your head about you for good decision making throughout. I am VERY satisfied with my performance and am grateful to have had the opportunity to test myself and learn more about myself. That said, the race has also left a sour taste in my mouth. It's woken up a beast inside me that hungers for more. I need to conquer this running thing. I know it won't happen right away, and I'm OK with that. But I have a new mission in triathlon. I'll be back. Last updated: 2008-10-13 12:00 AM
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United States
80sF / 0C
Sunny
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 24-29
Age Group Rank = 0/
Spent a lot of time in the upcoming weeks with visualizing the race. A little hard to do because I had no idea what any of the course looked like. I knew that I LOVE TO RUN, though! And I do. The self-confidence that was building up coming into the days before the race was incredible. No doubt in my mind that I was going to finish. And the was my main goal. I wanted to finish.
But I will admit, I let myself have a goal time to beat. I have a competitive side to me that wells up every now and then. I let it out this time. I didn't share it with ANYONE, as I wanted to make sure I was doing this for personal reasons, for myself. Judging that this was my first ever Half, in my first ever season, with hardly any base at all, coming off a less than stellar Olympic a month before, I decided that 6 hours was a good spot to shoot for. Puts me in the BOP for my wave, but comfortable pacing.
I had a great weekend overall, as I was up in DC with my folks, treating them to a weekend up there for their anniversary, capped off with a few hours of watching me suffer! It was nice to have them there, and it was fun too, because I haven't been to Door County since I was a little kid, so it was funny (and embarassing) to listen to them tell stories of what my brothers and I were up to and the shenanigans that we did while we were up there. Ah...memories...
Race Day morning, got up at 5ish, ate 2 slices jelly toast, banana, cup of coffee, endurolytes and had a bottle of Gatorade Endurance. Loaded up and headed to the race site.
Not much here, got to my transition spot (this was one of the best transition areas I have ever seen, by the way). Took the bike out for a spin to make sure everything is working properly. Hung around, saw a few folks I knew, but couldn't find any donkeys! :(
About 30 minutes before the start, I got into my wetsuit and hopped in the water for a quick swim out to the first buoy and back. Feeling good!