Not great results, but I was actually pretty pleased with this swim. I felt quite comfortable the entire way heading out. I got into a good groove, and felt like I was making good time. The buoys came and went quicker than I had anticipated. Navigation was much better than usual. I made one error, where I swam directly to the sailboat marking the turaround. There was one more buoy to go around before you swim past the sailboat, so I had to backtrack. That cost me some time. On the way back the waves were much bigger and in our faces. Then came the cramps. On Monday I did an OWS and got terrible hamstring cramps when I was done and could not stand up from taking my wetsuit off for minutes. Today I had full blown cramps with probably 1000 yds to go. Not just my usual calf/foot/toe cramps, but the hamstrings and quads as well. They would come and go, mostly trading places in my legs. I tried kicking more, not kicking - it didn't seem to matter, I just had to live with them. Thank goodness for the wetsuit and buoyancy. Through it all I tried hard to concentrate on form and being smooth and streamlined, which was tough to do while getting tossed around by the waves at the same time. Here, I made another navigational error. The inward buoys were yellow, and were more difficult to see because of the waves. I thought I had a good line on my next one, but it turns out it was a guy in a kayak wearing an yellow shirt (who was probably paddling farther away from the course to intercept me). When I realized what it was I took a look and was about 100yds off line - more time lost. Through all this I started passing people from the previous swim wave, and this boosted my spirits. But in the back of my mind I couldn't stop thinking about T1 - how badly am I going to cramp up when I leave the water? Am I going to be done? Then, about 300 yds from the boat ramp I catch a sea nettle in the face. Not bad but annoying. I got passed by Sean (CMS) in the boat ramp. Finally I was done, but what was going to happen next?

Well, nothing, except more OWS practice. Swimming is my weakest event, so considering the conditions and the cramps, I was pretty pleased with my performance. I do need to figure out what is causing these cramps.

How bad were the cramps going to be? I DID NOT want to sit down. Grabbed some Gatorade in case the cramps were an electrolyte/hydration issue. I took off my suit standing up at the end of my bike rack (not much space between racks), then got my socks and shoes on. The hamstrings cramped a little bit, but I was able to stand up. I figured once I got the legs moving I'd be okay. Grabbed my bottles and gum, then out the door I went

Not much I could do. I consciously took a little extra time, easing through the motions so as not to have a full blown muscle lockdown.

Pretty windy day, mostly from the WNW. But with a loop you get a little bit of everything. The first leg of the bike had head/cross winds, and I was rolling along around 21mph, so I was extemely encouraged. My plan was to avg 20.5 under benign conditions, but conditions were fairly tough. I wasn't really sure what to make of my initial results given the wind, so I kind of took things as they came. One thing that came were some micro-cramps in the hamstrings during the first 5 or so miles. I tried to take in some nutrition, but my stomach got queasy whenever I would drink something or take a gel. Probably the result of drinking too much river water. Again, I had to wonder what the future was going to hold - am I going to be able to get in my calories, am I going to barf, am I going to cramp up. After about 25 miles everything seemed to calm down and I felt pretty good, except I had to pee. Which aid station was I going to stop at? It never got too bad, so I made my mind up that I would go at T2. The funny thing about the bike was I had a conservative game plan, but it just felt good to race - to push, to catch people. Was I going to blow up, and not leave anything for the run. In all my other, shorter races I've never considered that - push hard and worry about the run after T2. I had to talk myself out of that strategy when planning this race, but it was coming true. Now I wasn't pushing Z4, but I was spending a fair amount of time in upper Z2 and Z3. One of the great things about racing, opposed to training, is that my back didn't get fatigued and I stayed on the aerobars the entire time (except corninering). Most of the unfavorable stretches of wind came in the latter stages of the bike, so by that time I decided to grind it out instead of spinning easy and keeping my HR down. Was I spending all my capital on the bike?

In retrospect, I could have pushed a hair harder, but since this was my first time at this distance I held back a little.

T2 - the easiest part of triathlon.

Nothing. I'm sure I can do it faster, but I'm not sure how.

Coming out of T2 my legs were tight. The quads were very sore and felt like they were cramping. I needed something in a hurry, but didn't know if it was water, electrolytes or carbs. I couldn't wait for that first aid station. First mile split was 6:57 - whoa, that's a little quick. My race plan was to start out in Z2, which means 7:40min/mi. I was in lower Z3 and the effort felt sustainable, but I wasn't sure how much cardiac drift I would get - I had already been racing for about 3 1/2hrs. Let's slow down a little then see what happens. At the 1st aid station I slurped a gel, took a hadful of endurolytes, and walked through so I could drink the full cup of water. After a couple hundred yards the legs started feeling better. For the next 7 miles I felt pretty good, and the 7:15's helped keep me in check - I was very pleased with that pace, so there was no need to go any harder. Plus, I was passing a lot of people, which is always fun. Every once in a while I started feeling the pain in the quads creeping back, so I'd take some more endurolytes at the next aid station, and gels and miles 5 and 9. After mile 7 (downhill from here- yeah!) I saw a green jersey ahead of me and thought that it might be one of the local guys who is in my AG and a very good athlete, always finishing ahead of me in whatever races we are both in. Right before the mile 8 aid station, I catch him and he sounds like he's straining. That was a bit of a milestone for me - I felt like I was competing at a new level. So, for the next mile and a half I was running on air - I felt great and I could feel myself smiling. I was having the race of my life. Approaching mile 10, reality set in, and this half ironman thing became difficult again. I had been in lower Z4 for quite a while now, and my body was fatigued and revolting. The doubts started to creep in and the voices strted trying to talk me down - "Even if you back off you will have beaten your expectations." "You're not going to go sub 5, you're not going to PR the half marathon so what does it matter?" I had to reach deep and decide that my spirit was going to win this battle, and I was going to finish strong - 3 miles, 21:45....2 miles, 14:30...just keep it up, what's another 14 minutes? I didn't take my last gel, and drank some Gatorade at the mile 12 aid station. The last turn towards Great Marsh Park really lifted my spirits, then in the park I saw Brenda and the kids along the rail. "Gimme some hands!" I shouted at them and got some high fives on my way toward the finishing chute. Awesome end to an awesome run. Half marathon PR!

Come on.

Walked around - couldn't sit. I gave Brenda a big hug and got some love from the kids. Dave heard my name announced and came down to congratulate me. I think he was happier at my time than I was. Mostly I just kept moving - I was sore and thought my legs were going to seize up if I sat down. Drank some Endurox and water and ate my banana.


Swimming ability and experience at the distance.


So many post scripts to this race, I'm not sure I will get to all of them today.
Peformance:
The biggest post script was that I think my training plan came very close to optimizing my abilities. Leading up to the race I could see brief glimpses of a higher level of performance - PR's for 0.5mi run intervals, 1000yd swim TT. The 20 weeks of preparation that I invested in this race paid big dividends. My goal time was 5:15, which at times I thought was a bit ambitious, but I beat it by 10 minutes - that feels awesome.

Pain:
I am sore - everywhere. My legs are trashed, by back is stiff, I have blisters on my feet , and I'm sunburnt (couldn't scrub my race numbers off).

Competition:
Before the race I looked around TA and saw the $$$ bikes (was I the only one to not have Zipps, a disc rear, or Hed 3's?) and the $$$ wetsuits, and I couldn't help but wonder, "Am I out of my league, here?" I realize that triathlon is about personal goals, but part of racing for me is being happy about my performance. I don't disillusion myself that I'm going to win, but I like to be competetive - to make a good showing. I felt like I did that today. It was a very satisfying day.

Mental:
I was really able to compartmentalize this race. Meaning that I didn't have to wrap my brain around racing for 5+ hrs. I more or less stayed in the moment. Of course I was wondering what might happen next, but for the most part I just raced and didn't become overwhelmed by xx miles ahead of me. My biggest concern was the cyclist/runner in front of me.

Hydration:
I believe I got pretty dehydrated. I had to pee on the bike, but that went away on the run, and I wound up not using the facilities until 2:45 - over 7 hrs between leaks. I thought I drank pretty well on the run, but I'm sure I could have used more.

Nutrition:
Breakfast (3 hrs before) - Ensure, omelet, cataloupe, water (600 cal)
Swim (25 min before, of course) - 15 oz Accelerade (150 cal)
T1 - 8 oz Gatorade (~50 cal)
Bike - 20 oz Accel/Perp mix, 2.5 gels, water (660 cal, 247/hr)
T2 - n/a
Run - 3 gels, 6 oz Gatorade (~340 cal, 217/hr)
Never felt hungry. Rarely had a negative mood. Hard to separate out fatigue from caloric need, especially on the run, since I was in Z4 pretty much from 3:45 on.