The week leading up to the race was busy, both with work and trying to get organized for the weekend. Packing all our gear, figuring out a nutrition strategy (both for during the races and between the races), getting our bikes in order, and all the other stuff that came along with doing multiple races in a remote location took a lot of time. I missed one hour of riding during the week leading up to the race in the frenzy of preparing for the trip.
I also discovered that I cannot do Tabatha sprints while riding outside here - there is not a single road within a 20 minute ride of the suburban hellhole in which I reside where one can ride uninterrupted for four straight minutes (just four minutes!). In the future, I'll do all such rides on the trainer.
The plan for the trip was to leave on Thursday evening after I got out of work to drive to Sidney, Ohio, halfway to Portsmouth, then drive the remaining three hours on Friday morning. Stacey was scheduled to work a 12 hour shift at U of M hospital on Thursday, but she had been called off every prior shift in May due to a low census at the hospital so I didn't hesitate to book a (non-refundable) hotel for that night. Of course, Murphy's Law prevailed once again, and Stacey was not called off. She didn't end up getting home until 9 PM, so we got on the road around 9:30.
The trip got worse as we were re-routed due to construction, and then took another bad turn when I drove into a wheel that was lying in the middle of a ramp between highways while traveling at 65 mph. Because it was dark outside and I was going around a turn, I couldn't see the wheel until the last minute. The wheel looked small, like one of those diminutive spares. Given my limited time to react I guessed the best course of action was to steer the car to go directly over the wheel thinking that that was the better alternative to trying to steer around it and potentially running off the road or hitting the wheel with a tire of Stacey's Pontiac. Well, it turns out that Vibes do not have a lot of ground clearance, and I plowed into the tire and dragged it about 100 feet before I was able to recognize that I had not cleared the tire and was able to come to a complete stop, right in the middle of the ramp of course. I reversed the car a few feet to dislodge the wheel from under Stacey's car, and drove around the wheel while trying to figure out if the car was damaged. Apparently, no harm was done, though the check engine light came on a few hours later. Fortunately, we arrived safely in Sidney around 1 AM.
Sidney, despite being only three hours away, is distinctly different from Michigan. People speak with slight southern accents, and they have a Waffle House. Feeling adventurous (as well as dissapointed by the continental breakfast offered by the Days Inn we stayed at), Stacey and I went over to the Waffle House for b-fast. I informed the pregnant 19 year old waitress that it was our first visit to a Waffle House, and asked for a recommendation. Not surprisingly, but with a slight and ominous hesitation, she suggested waffles. While I accepted her recommendation (which one is pretty much obligated to do after asking for a recommendation), Stacey ordered what was supposed to be a egg and sausage sandwich, but which turned out to be a grease sandwich. In summary, I hope that turns out to be my last visit to a Waffle House.
After departing Sidney and driving two and a half hours across the flattest landscape one can image, we very suddenly entered hilly terrain. A half hour later, and we arrived at Super 8, Portsmouth's finest hotel (for under $70/night, anyhow), where we were informed we could not check in until later in the afternoon. Oh well, we thought, we'll just head over to the race venue.
On the road:
Starting to get hilly, though the picture probably doesn't do it justice:
Portsmouth:
Kentucky just over the cool bridge:
Shawnee State Forest, the site of the Triple-T, is a fantastic state park and near perfect venue for a race of this type. If we were wealthier, staying at the park's lodge would be the way to go. We went for a quick 1000m or so swim to try out our wetsuits for the first time this year, then got our bikes assembled and tested before racking them.
Here I am trying out the patriotic jersey that every competitor must wear. Gotta keep it tight to avoid flapping on the bike...though maybe a medium would have been in order since I needed help to get it on.
Stacey trying out the aero helmet for the first time:
In front of the lodge on a ride while testing my gear:
In transition before race 1:
The first race is a short prologue consisting of a 250m swim, 5 mile bike and 1 mile, with racers going off in pairs every 3 seconds. Without many USAT races to our credit, Stacey and I were given low seeds (313 and 360, respectively). That meant all weekend we started about 20 minutes after the highest seed. I was a bit nervous about the prologue, as it's not a format that fits my strengths. Mainly, I don't have that high of top-end speed or power. Plus, the swim was likely a bit long based on the results.
The bike course included two short out-and-back sections in opposite directions. The first section was nearly totally flat, and the second section was up a steep hill, a few hundred feet to a turnaround, and then back down the hill. I was held up a few times trying to pass people (mostly at around the turnarounds and down the hill), so my low seeding cost me a bit of time. No problem, I figured, plenty of time in the coming days to make that up. My average power, misleading as it is, was 228 W at an average of 162 bpm, while my highest power in any five minute segment was 338 W with a peak HR of 184 bpm. The results are available here, and I ended Friday in 29th place.
Saturday's first Olympic distance race also began in time trial fashion, with two racers leaving each few seconds. I had a record swim time, shaving about 3 minutes off my feeble previous best time. I also felt better than ever getting out of the water. In the past, I've felt high-effort Olympic race swims were draining.
The bike was, in a word, tough. Lots of hills made it a good course for me. Olympic distance races have a high % of swim time, so the tougher the bike and run are the better as far as I'm concerned. Average power 248 W at an average HR of 162 bpm, just like the prologue. When given the opportunity (e.g., when the road was flat or uphill), I pedalled around 165-170 bpm and 260-275 W. A hard effort, but no need to dig deep yet.
I started the run and strapped on my Garmin to get some HR data, but in the midst of racing I only turned the thing on and never actually pressed the "start" button, so I didn't collect any data. I did notice my HR was 174 when I glanced at my watch toward the end of the run, if that's of any value. The run course is essentially 2.25 miles gradually uphill with a few steep but short ascents and descents thrown in, then 1.25 miles a bit more steep downhill, followed by a turnaround repeating the course in reverse fashion. Oh, and just for good measure, most of the course is on dirt and loose rocks. I held back just a bit (maybe 5 bpm or so) on the run to save something for the evening's race. Still, a fast run relative to the field boosted gave me a 12th place finish in 2:17.
Results are available here. Not a bad time, considering both the bike course and run course are tough and longer than standard (my CPU had the bike at 25.55, and the run is advertised as 6.55 miles).
Stacey and I headed up to the lodge in the park to get out of the oppressing 85-90 degree heat, where we relaxed in the lobby and watched some tragic movie with Jack Nicolson and Diane Keaton, in which Nicholson gets dumped by Amada Peet only to end up with the aging Keaton. Poor guy.
View from the lodge:
I drank massive amounts of water during the movie after having some some salty processed meat sandwiches shortly after the morning's race. Normally I'm pretty beat after racing an Olympic but I think knowing that I had another race coming allowed me to ignore any fatigue I was feeling.
The second Olympic race had an odd format: bike -- swim -- run. The bike was tough again. That's the theme of the Triple-T, I suppose. Still, I had the 8th best bike split, but I think most of the riders above me were doing the team format that allowed for drafting. 247 average watts at 156 bpm, with a five minute best of 333 W. Very close to my first ride in terms of power.
The swim posed a dilemma, to wear a wetsuit, or not to wear a wetsuit? On the one hand, wearing a wetsuit would save time during the swim and act as a safety device in the event of severe cramps that may result from swimming immediately after a hard ride. On the other hand, wearing the suit costs time putting it on and taking it off. Plus, the heat was nearing 90, while the water was a comfortable 67 degrees or so. I figured to err on the side of staying cool by not wearing the suit. Stupidly, I did the swim with my jersey on, providing a slight parachute effect. Over 28 minutes, or 4 minutes slower than my morning swim. Ouch.
I got out of the water and had some slight cramping in the quads. I cramped again bending my legs to put my running shoes on. This could be a tough run, I though. I started slow to try to ease into it, and once I got going all was well. I ended up with the fastest run split for the race, more than 20 sec/mile faster than the second fastest guy and less than a minute slower than my morning run. Once again, I screwed up getting HR data. This time, I turned the watch on and pressed "start" while the loading screen was still up. Apparently, the thing doesn't actually start recording when "start" is pressed that early. 0/2 on getting good HR data.
5th place for this race. Results available here.
Afterwards, it was time to eat. I ate and ate and ate. I went to bed stuffed. After more than four hours of racing and another long day coming, I needed all the calories I could stomach. Knowing that my strengths lie in longer events with shorter relative swims, the half was my opportunity to move up in the standings. I was nervous, as a half IM is no piece of cake even when fresh.
After the standard pre-race breakfast of Captain Crunch, OJ and coffee, it was off to the race. Again I started at the back of the pack due to my low pre-race seeding, and I waited 20 minutes while the higher-seeded folks went.
The swim was actually 2000m, we were told, instead of the standard 1900m. Oh well, I though, just a few more seconds I'm going to give up. The swim went well, and I set a new record for the distance (even if it had been only 1900m) of 32 minutes and change. Just about on pace for an hour IM swim.
I took the first loop of the bike really easy. Well, at least that was my plan. I set a power cap of 300 W and tried to avoid going over it while climbing. Basically, I used the power meter as an "idiot meter" to prevent riding too hard. I also noticed that my HR didn't want to go up. Sometimes I was surprised to look down and see the 130s. By the end of the first loop, I was feeling a bit fatigued, and the second loop was not nearly as easy. Looking at my power file, it looks like I split the two loops almost perfectly evenly. I also dropped my chain four times during the ride. I haven't dropped my chain an aggregate of four times in the past two years. I have no idea how I did it four times in one race, unless maybe my front derailleur somehow became maladjusted over the weekend. Fortunately, I was able to shift to the big chainring each time to get the chain back on the crank without stopping. All four bad shifts were early in the ride, and I finally made myself be a bit more attentive to the zealousness with which I shifted. Once I did that, I stopped dropping the chain.
I was nervous about how my legs would feel on the run given that I was getting tired on the ride. I decided to take loop 1 easy and pick up the effort on loop two. Knowing that the temperature was high again (mid 80s or higher and sunny for most of the race, it seemed), I had a water bottle and gel flask to carry on the run. I quickly realized I had made another mistake in forgetting to remove the plastic wrapper from the gel flask. I tried to bit it off and ended up pulling the entire stopper thingy off the flask, allowing the gel to leak out. I ate a bunch of gel in the first mile of the race (maybe 250 calories - way more than I'd normally consume in a few minutes), but felt good. The water bottle proved invaluable, as I filled it with ice and water while running through the aid stations and was able to drink at my own leisure while spraying myself off when I got hot.
Watching the top seeds coming on the back half of the first loop of the two loop run while I was on the front half of the first loop, I knew I'd make up some time. I felt great the whole first loop and checked my first loop time - 45 minutes, or right around 7 minutes per mile. I thought I could negative split by a minute or two. I actually captured HR data for the first loop, then intended to press "lap" to separate the first loop from the second. However, operating in mind-numb race mode, I pressed "stop" instead. Oops. 0.5 for 3 on the HR data.
I started the second loops and slowed ramped up the effort level. Despite all the racing I had done, I still felt really, really good. I worked my way up through the field and got a few comments from people I ran by. My favorite was, "Is this really your fourth race this weekend?" I think it was the easiest feeling run I've ever done in a half-IM, despite the heat, the terrain, and the fatigue in my legs. I only negative split by a few seconds though, not the few minutes I was expected.
I was 5th overall, but the four guys above me include two guys that were on a team and thus were able to draft on the bike. Results here.
I ended up fourth overall in the non-team division and sixth overall including teams. Results here. The guys above me beat me by a fair amount of time, so I've got to continue making progress on the swim. My run and bike are pretty good relative to the field (though that's not to say there isn't plenty of room to improve). I'm very happy with the weekend and especially happy with how great I felt at the end. That's gotta be a good sign of Ironman fitness. I would really like to do the race again next year, and would especially enjoy starting with a high seed. All weekend I was not passed on the bike or run. I was never to find someone to draft off on the swim (though that's partially my fault as I was passed by a few swimmers that were going too quick for me to hang with). I never had anyone to pace off or get a legal draft effect from on the bike. I had a hard time telling how far behind I was on the run because I started a long and uncertain time after the leaders. Still, all that would not likely have changed my placing.
Stacey, the champion that she is, finished the race cursing every hill she climbed (and me, for signing her up for the thing). Her assessment is that it's harder than an IM. After each race, I'd get something to eat then go out and get in a good position to watch her finish. My favorite moment was watching her finish the last race. I was about 200 feet from the finish line as she approached. "Go Stacey", I yelled. Her response can best be approximated by "mmfhmmmfhmm". No words, no smile, just "mmfhmmmfhmm". That about sums it up.
Overall, an awesome race, and a great value at that. The organization was top notch, there was lots of free food after every race, and the courses and format make for a race that every triathlete should try.
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