I was anticipating this race all week, since last year I had a really good result and had a blast, too. When I rolled out of bed at 4:45, the bedroom was periodically lit up by lightening flashes...not a good sign. I had set everything up in the car last night so that I could literally grab some food, cold water, and hit the road for the 15 minute drive to the parking spot. I grabbed the food and cold water, hit the road, and watched the heavens glow with flashes. After wolfing down a pair of brown sugar cinnemon pop-tarts (the best food ever), I reached over for a swig of water. It was then that I noticed something awry. I pulled back a wet hand, and realized in the darkness that my entire Nalgene of water had spilled all over the passenger seat, both potentially soaking my cell phone, and more importantly, leaving me with no clean water for the race. So, I shook my fist at the gods, spun around, and thankfully hit an open Wawa that was about 500 yards away. Bought some water, and off I went. Got to the parking lot of a child daycare place that is about 1 mile from the lake/race site, and pulled in to park. Met two guys who had the same idea, one of whom I rode in with and then saw again for the rest of the race. I did not catch his name, but he was a really nice guy, had just raced IM CDA and was doing this as a tune-up for IM Pucon. We rode in, got marked, and then went to find our racks. Mine was perfectly placed, three rows from the bike exit/entrance and easy to spot. Chatted up my rack neighbor, a Lutheran minister and super nice guy, and then CB and I headed out to swim practice. Water was warm, rocked some new Tyr goggles that worked well, and I felt good. Before I knew it, the star spangled banner was being sung, and then off we went in wave 2.
The Swim: Have a drink on me!
I used the same strategery I did last year for the race, lining up way to the right and outside of the pack. Front row. Gun went, and off we flew. First strokes were good, got into an immediate rythm, and felt great. Then, about 50 yards from the turn buoy, I approached a breast stroker to my left (breathing side). Just as I was passing him, he saw me and decided to being a rabid crawl at the approximate time I was breathing- now drinking and breathing water. Took about 15-20 seconds to get my breath back, and then I rocked on, passed him and others, and exited clean and relatively fresh.
Time: 9:09, 143/1050- about 10 seconds slower than last year, but thats cool...
Transition: In and out with alacrity. The only flub was on my flying mount when a guy swerved and I lost my footing on one pedal, but I recovered quickly.
Time: 1:32
The Bike: Whammer Jammer
I had decided that I was going to hammer the ride, and I did for the better part, but my HR was hitting close to 180 at points, so I backed off for the final 2 miles. I saw multiple breakdowns and guys on the shoulder, more than I have ever seen in a race before. Passed multiple people, got swallowed by some young guns, but only one AG guys passed me, and we went back and forth the whole ride. Bike felt great.
Time: 30:08, 22.2 Ave, 58/1050
T2: Clean dismount, clean drop-off, and I hit the ground running with good legs for a change.
Time: 1:11
The Run: Time to dance!
As I left T2, my legs felt good, but I kept my pace conservative. By the time I hit the 1 mile mark, I was in a good pace and feeling cool. Put an ice towel behind my neck and that was awesome. Passed CB going the other way in turbo mode. Before I knew it, I was at the turnaround, so I started to push it. Caught the heels of a 50-55 AG guy who rocks and stayed with him for about 1/2 mile, and then let him go and cruised in feeling great. Nothing like the long straight going to a finish with stands on either side! Very cool!
Time: 24:00 flat, 7:45 ave, 165/1050
Total: 1:07:14, 60/1050, 7/54 AG SWWWEEEEETTT
The best part, though, is this: There were 3 guys in my AG in the top 10. And, they aged me up for some reason- If they had me scored as my current age, I would have finished 4th AG. Very pleased with the result, and now I have my sights set on the Maine State next weekend. Hope to show some similar gains there.
Thanks for reading! Pics to come!
The Swim: Have a drink on me!
I used the same strategery I did last year for the race, lining up way to the right and outside of the pack. Front row. Gun went, and off we flew. First strokes were good, got into an immediate rythm, and felt great. Then, about 50 yards from the turn buoy, I approached a breast stroker to my left (breathing side). Just as I was passing him, he saw me and decided to being a rabid crawl at the approximate time I was breathing- now drinking and breathing water. Took about 15-20 seconds to get my breath back, and then I rocked on, passed him and others, and exited clean and relatively fresh.
Time: 9:09, 143/1050- about 10 seconds slower than last year, but thats cool...
Transition: In and out with alacrity. The only flub was on my flying mount when a guy swerved and I lost my footing on one pedal, but I recovered quickly.
Time: 1:32
The Bike: Whammer Jammer
I had decided that I was going to hammer the ride, and I did for the better part, but my HR was hitting close to 180 at points, so I backed off for the final 2 miles. I saw multiple breakdowns and guys on the shoulder, more than I have ever seen in a race before. Passed multiple people, got swallowed by some young guns, but only one AG guys passed me, and we went back and forth the whole ride. Bike felt great.
Time: 30:08, 22.2 Ave, 58/1050
T2: Clean dismount, clean drop-off, and I hit the ground running with good legs for a change.
Time: 1:11
The Run: Time to dance!
As I left T2, my legs felt good, but I kept my pace conservative. By the time I hit the 1 mile mark, I was in a good pace and feeling cool. Put an ice towel behind my neck and that was awesome. Passed CB going the other way in turbo mode. Before I knew it, I was at the turnaround, so I started to push it. Caught the heels of a 50-55 AG guy who rocks and stayed with him for about 1/2 mile, and then let him go and cruised in feeling great. Nothing like the long straight going to a finish with stands on either side! Very cool!
Time: 24:00 flat, 7:45 ave, 165/1050
Total: 1:07:14, 60/1050, 7/54 AG SWWWEEEEETTT
The best part, though, is this: There were 3 guys in my AG in the top 10. And, they aged me up for some reason- If they had me scored as my current age, I would have finished 4th AG. Very pleased with the result, and now I have my sights set on the Maine State next weekend. Hope to show some similar gains there.
Thanks for reading! Pics to come!
2 comments:
Nice work and great report - as usual you killed the bike. Was it a USAT race? Sometimes they calculate your age based on what you will be on your next birthday, not what you are now. It makes no sense to me but I'm pretty sure it happens from time to time.
I googled the same hernia surgery that you had and found a link to your post-op blog. Would you e-mail me any comments about the post-surgery swelling? I'm an ultra runner, 6 days post-op, super thin, with swelling that is three times larger than the original hernia. I feel like my surgeon gave me a lift and tighten, not a fix of the hernia. Were you this swollen? How long until you felt pain-free? How long were you swollen? Thanks, Brittany brittanyeddunn1@yahoo.com
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