I started off right in the middle of the pack. The normal bumping and pushing, but nothing too bad. We were swimming directly into the sun, so I just tried to keep swimmers on both sides of me and find the next buoy.

My plan was to start off at an easy pace and then slow down. I got into a pretty decent rythmn quickly. About a 1/4 of the way through, I was swimming stroke for stroke with the guy next to me, so I eased up a bit to drop behind him and try to draft off of him. That worked for a bit, but then I lost him.

Just before the turn, I passed a couple of people from the first wave. This was a new experience for me, and I was excited. I hit the turn in a little under 20 minutes, right on target.

It was a lot easier to sight coming back without the sun in my eyes, and I just tried to find feet to draft off. This was the best I have done at drafting, but I never could hold on to one person for very long.

As I continued on, I tried to think about my form and just maintain a comfortable pace. I was really enjoying myself at this point.

I hit the beach at about 40:30, so the official time must include the run up the beach and back to transition. I had estimated 41 minutes for my swim time, so I was right on target and felt really good.

Nothing.

In all my previous races, I was bottom 1/3 in T1 time. Today I was solidly middle of the pack, so I am happy. I tried to focus on staying smooth. I have very fair skin, so I took the time to put on sunscreen.

The tri-top exposes I lot of skin. I got to work on my sunscreening technique to make sure get everything covered. Otherwise, nothing.

I spent the first couple of miles just trying to get my HR down. After about 15 minutes, I had the HR under control, tried to settle into the right pace and started my nutrition plan.

In all of my previous races, the bike has been my strenght. After the young guys with their fancy bikes go flying past me, I have then been the one passing everyone. Not today. I was getting constantly passed in the early stages. My plan was to keep my HR to no more than 138 bpm on the flats and under 150 on the hills. It was frustrating to just let everyone fly by me, especially since I was feeling really good at this point, but I stuck to my plan and let them go.

I hit the 2 hour mark averaging 18.5 mph, but then the hills, wind and the heat of the day started to take their toll. What started off as I rather cool day (cool enough I actually started with arm warmers), was now pretty warm. I went through 6 full bottles of water and could have used more. I did everything I could to stick with my plan regarding my HR, but I just couldn't keep it under control on the hills. I knew I was working too hard, but I was already in a little bitty gear, and there just wasn't much else I could do. I was able to stick with my nutrition plan, and got in 900 calories, but I was beginning to feel a little bloated.

I finished about 5 minutes slowing that my predicted time, which wasn't too bad, but I had worked a lot harder than I wanted to over the last 15 miles. I knew I would pay for this later.

Nothing. I stuck to my plan as best I could given the conditions and my conditioning.

Smooth transition. Took time to reapply sunscreen

Nothing.

It was clear that the run was going to be tough, right from the start. It was brutally hot by this point, and my HR was sky high. And what's with all the hills?

I alternated walking a bit and running a bit the first 2 miles, trying to get my HR down. At around mile 2, the course flattened somewhat, and I settled into a rythmn. From then to mile 11, I ran, only walking long enough to take on fluids at the aid stations.

My stomach was unhappy right from the start of the run. I knew I needed more calories, but I didn't think I could tolerate anything but liquids. I decided to give HEED a try even though I had never tried it before. My stomach never felt much better, but I didn't get worse either. I took a cup of water and a cup of HEED at each aid station, and another cup of water to pour over my head.

I read Dean Karnazes book this past week. Early in the run, I thought about what his father had told him during the last few miles of the Western States 100, "If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl." I was moving awfully slow, but I would try to run as long as I could. I hoped the crawling wouldn't become necessary.

By mile 4, I was feeling a bit better than I had the first couple of miles, but it was painfully slow. At first I was frustrated by the slowness, but as the run went on, I started to find it comical. I was working as hard as I normally would for about a 9 minute pace, but my Garmin kept saying my pace was closer to 12 minutes per mile.

At about mile 8, my legs decided they had had enough. I took even more e-caps, and walked a little farther at each aid station, but pushed on.

At around mile 10, I had my first experience with bizarre emotional swings. Although I was doing OK and I knew I would finish, I had a very strong urge to cry and really just wanted to lay down on the grass and curl up into a ball. I figured at that point, it was time to try some cola.

At around mile 11, I started to have some cramping, first my calves, then my quads. From here to the end, I just ran until the cramps hit, walked some, then repeated.

Finally, I could see the finish in the distance. I wanted to finish strong, but I knew that anything more than a shuffle would bring on cramping, so I shuffled on. My wife and kids met me about 50 yards from the finish, and my kids ran across the line with me.

Nothing

I went back to the lake and sat in the cold water.


The heat and the wind made this a tough day, but inexperience and conditioning were the limiting factors. I have come a long way over the past year, I have been very consistent in my training and I followed my race plan as best I could. I think this was the best I could do on this day. I will be back to give the distance a try again at some point


This was a well run race.