speedvegan

1.5 km swim – 40 km bike – 10 km run

Race morning with Geoffrey and Luka

Total Time: 3:07:50
Swim: 46:28
T1: 3:10
Bike: 1:22:53
T2: 1:35
Run: 53:47
Overall Place: 245 out of 315
Category Place: 10 out of 15

My goal for this race was to take it easy, test my HIM nutrition plan and finish with plenty of energy. I did just that.

My training has been mostly consistent, though running has been (ironically, will explain later) a rocky road. I admit that lining up races en route to my first HIM was a bad idea. My legs haven’t felt the same since the Atlanta half marathon. Lesson learned. But, overall, I have felt strong, ready, confident. That’s how I felt Sunday morning despite the adverse conditions.

It was almost 90 on the Saturday morning before the race. Imagine my surprise when I heard the race director at packet pickup say “it’s going to be 65 degrees tomorrow morning.” I honestly thought it was a mistake. Surely, temperatures can’t drop more than 20 degrees overnight ! On the way home, my phone confirmed he was right.

My first thought was “Great !” Can’t beat 60s temperature on race day. However, as the temperatures turned south, the winds picked up. Cool temperatures I can handle. No sweat, literally. But 20-30mph winds can make for a very uncomfortable triathlon.

The Swim
The water, at least, was warm (about 80 degrees). It was like jumping into a spa. Unfortunately, half of the swim was against an incredibly strong current. Swimming is my weakest discipline. Regardless of all the time I spend in the pool and the countless drills I do, it always will be. My swim times are, at best, slightly below average. Throw in some waves and a strong current, and I’m dead last (not really, but almost). Despite my atrocious swim, I did feel good in the water. It wasn’t the usual neurotic suffer fest I’ve come to know and hate. I actually enjoyed myself – apart from getting kicked in the chest by a guy breast stroking his way to nowhere (seriously, I passed him). I made good time up until the turn around point. Then I started to sway off course and kept finding myself swimming in the wrong direction every time I sighted. The good news is that I probably ended up swimming the HIM swim distance, so I know I can do it. I couldn’t believe when I finally arrived at the shore. I looked at my watch – ten minutes off my mark. I started running toward transition. And that’s when it happened.

Part of the path from the swim to transition was rough, rocky asphalt. On a personal note, my feet are very bony. That spells bad combination. Normally, I’d take it easy and walk, but it was cold and my feet were starting to go numb, so I trotted blissfully along until the ball of my foot landed on a stone which sent a sharp pain through me, forcing me to limp-walk the rest of the way.

The Bike
By the time I got to transition, I was dazed. It took me more than a few seconds to figure out where my bike was. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I carefully put on all of my gear and walked my bike out of transition. The bike course consisted of two loops. It was very windy, probably one of the windiest rides of my life. The first loop wasn’t too bad. There were still plenty of people out on the course. Unfortunately, they were on their second lap at this point, making the second lap absolute torture. It was a ghost town. I could spot a fellow racer every quarter mile or so, but that was it. My foot was half numb but throbbing with pain. My stomach was cramping big time, probably from all the thrashing in the water. I was planning to take it easy, but I wasn’t expecting to have such a terrible time. My heart rate didn’t go above 61% on the bike. That alone should tell you how much effort I was putting in. None.

The Run
I finally got back to transition. My main concern after hurting my foot was how it would affect my run. I’m not one to knock walking, but running the 10K would already put me over the 3 hour mark. There probably wouldn’t be a finish line to cross if I walked. I was prepared to drop out if it came to that. Fortunately, my feet were still half numb which made it possible for me to complete the run. And what a good run it was ! I was expecting my run time to be way off as well, so was actually quite surprised at the turn around point. I was almost on track and felt really good. I was just taking it easy and enjoying the beautiful course. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to finish such a torturous race. Physically, except for the injured foot, I felt great.

I didn’t exactly enjoy every minute of it, but I did learn a lot. I never doubted my ability to finish, but the fact that I did and still felt like I could easily run another 10 miles, gives me a bit of confidence about my upcoming HIM. The swim was hard, but I got through it. And I didn’t stop once. Despite what my time may tell you, there were no breaks, no slowing down. I freestyled my way from beginning to end. So, I’m slow. I can live with that. The bike was also hard. I didn’t even try. That bothers me, but I know the HIM will be different. The run was wonderful despite an injured foot, which is doing much better by the way. I should be able to get in a long ride this weekend.

This was my first Olympic Triathlon. In two weeks, I will race my first HIM. If on that morning I feel what I felt last Sunday, I’ll know that everything will be OK.