Sorry for the length, please skip if you have anything brewin'..especially since most of you have heard some or all of these stories.
Pre-race:
My morning routine went well, got out of the house on time and only forgot one thing, a gel flask and velcro holster that attaches to my bike. A bummer but nothing major. I got real nervous on the way to the race but settled down after being on site. First mistake happened when Cronz offered me some sunscreen. I happened to be pulling on my wetsuit at the time so I declined. And then for some reason I took off my wetsuit after the swim?! What was I thinking? Everybody wears their wetsuit on the bike/run, duh. Well, this unconventional race strategy caused some serious cooking of the shoulders. Well played.
Swim:
Started out in a spastic panic and tried desperately gasping for air in lieu of bilateral breathing. After calming down I got into somewhat of a groove and there was less contact than I expected. One time I got clocked in the head pretty good, and I did swim directly (as in forehead first) into a bouy. Did you know they use those ab exercise balls as bouys? Me neither. A couple times on the way back I tried to look behind me and I never saw anyone, so I was pretty positive I was literally going to be last out of the water. But, I finished in 45:51 and was happy with that time.
Bike:
The first ten miles were the most fun I've ever had on a bike. I tried to save my legs on the downhills and coasted much more than I expected. Since I forgot my gel flask I was only taking liquids (perpetuem and water) and I was holding up a lot better than I expected. My legs felt strong all throughout and my HR stayed low. After 40 miles or so people stopped passing me and I started to wonder if I was the last person on the bike course. Towards the end of the ride my stomach started to rumble and I was having some belly cramps by the time I got off.
Run:
My stomach was pretty much knotted up by the time I came out of T2 so I decided to hold off on the liquid and take a gel, which went down alright. Tried a little pertpetuem about 20 minutes later and it didn't go down very well so I figured I would hold off again until the stomach settled. I made it to the turn around feeling really good and decided since there was less than hour I could push a little. I was feelin' good and passing people and then the wheels came off. Stomach completely cramped up and I felt like I was going to puke. I tried to back off the pace but it wasn't helping and I decided to walk for a stretch. That was at mile 9 and I never recovered. The final four miles were a combination of walk, shuffle, trot, jog, repeat.
I was really discouraged after the race because I had to walk so much. I was happy with my overall time (6:19:16) but I wish I could've run it out. Now that I'm a few days removed I'm feeling better about the race. I realize that drinking one bottle of perpetuem and eating one gel isn't really a "nutrition plan."
So, lessons learned. Remember your gel flask, wear your wetsuit for the whole race (or use sunscreen) and bringing nutrition is not a nutrition plan.
Word to the herd.
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2 comments:
You and cronz should be very happy, the race sounded like it went well for both of you. You are always going to have something go wrong, dealing with it is part of the fun of this deal. I keep changing my nutrition a bit trying to find the perfect mix. You boys should be happy, a good intro tri to get things started.
Slim, great recap on the day. Loved reading it, however I sympathize with the way you felt near the end. I can totally imagine. So sweet that you finished and felt good for most of the way though. Lessons learned. Great showing.
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