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.

Yay for bananas !

Chip Time: 1:55:14
Average Pace: 8:47
Overall Place: 655 out of 2601
Age Group Place: 39 out of 264

Splits (Garmin Data)
Mile 1: 9:39
Mile 2: 9:11
Mile 3: 8:50
Mile 4: 8:22
Mile 5: 8:48
Mile 6: 8:37
Mile 7: 8:44
Mile 8: 8:37
Mile 9: 8:49
Mile 10: 9:12
Mile 11: 9:00
Mile 12: 8:48
Mile 13: 8:09

As of late, I’ve felt that my races don’t really deserve race reports anymore. It’s always the same story – same venues, same distances, same preparations, same overall outcomes. Then, the stars aligned and I was able to sign up for an out of state race. Last time I attempted that, injury put me out and I was stuck in race city with a couple of fractured feet and a whole lot of nothing to do. This time the race happened to be on a weekend when I’d be in race city anyway. Race or not, I’d still have a great time with friends and Geoffrey.

There’s always a catch, though. I’m a flatlands girl and the race was in hilly Atlanta. I wasn’t able to train properly and even had to change my training schedule around because I’ve been having issues with my feet again. Even on the day prior to the race my feet were still sore. This scared me because I have three more races scheduled before the end of the year and at least two of them are very important. I thought about skipping this one, but decided to go through with it anyway.

I picked up my packet on Saturday, which was a beautiful day in Atlanta – cool, but sunny and bright. We walked leisurely about during the day, had a fantastic lunch with my friend and even went for a swim which felt great. Then we enjoyed a nice dinner at my favorite vegan spot in Atlanta, Café Sunflower.

Back at the inn, I hoped a good night’s sleep would put my feet at ease. Unfortunately, all the hip drunk kids also staying at the inn laughed, screamed and talked loudly ALL NIGHT. I slept solidly for about two hours, finally put in some earplugs and then tossed and turned to the sound of my own heartbeat and distant murmuring until it was time to get ready.

The race was a good hour away. We had to catch a cab from the inn to the train station, take the train north for about 30 minutes and then walk for about a mile to the race location. We made it there with no time to spare. I literally ran from the “happy can” to the starting line as the race official was counting down the seconds.

The first few miles were tough. The weather had changed overnight. Sunday morning was overcast and cooler. It wasn’t freezing, but cold enough for someone who’s been training in 90 degree weather. My nose felt frozen and my lungs hurt. Also, there were quite a few hills during the first 3 miles. My feet started to hurt immediately. Also, I hurt my knee during last weekend’s adventure race which hadn’t really been a problem until the steep down hills. By mile 4 the pain was teeth-clenching worthy, but I was already warmed up, the course had “leveled off” somewhat and I was able to pick up the pace.

From mile 4 to about 8, the course was a series of rollers. I had one gel before the race and one about 4.5 miles in. I planned to have another at mile 9, but after mile 8, the course turned into manic ups and downs and it was hard to get a drink of water even. The uphills were brutal and I was trying to use the downhills for recovery. Finally, we turned into a park for a section of the race that was flat just long enough for me to suck down a gel and take a sip of water.

Then came the big hill at mile 10. My quads felt like bricks, my left foot like someone had smashed it with a hammer, but mentally I’d had enough. I closed my eyes and thought “mind over pain” all the way to the top of the bloody hill and back down the steep descent. It was all rollers to the end after that. I bit my lip and kept pushing all the way to the end.

Somehow, I had managed to ignore the pain for the last few miles, but once I stopped cold, the pain came piercing back. I was sweaty and started to get cold right away. I put my name down for a massage which was great. I walked back to the train station with Geoffrey. Once back at the inn, I was afraid of taking my shoes off. I felt like my toes would fall apart without something to hold them in place. Fortunately, this didn’t ACTUALLY happen and I was able to treat myself to an off-and-on hot shower and excellent brunch with my friends and Geoffrey.

Poor Geoffrey came to the race with me. It was very cold (for someone who wasn’t running) but, as always, he didn’t complain and was supportive and patient with me throughout the whole event. I’m very lucky.

Overall I’m happy with the way the race turned out. I had worst case scenarios in my head ranging from having to drop out to being scooped away by an ambulance mid-race. Not only was I able to finish, but I beat my goal time by a few seconds. That means a lot more to me than if I had beat it by minutes because it confirms that I couldn’t have pushed myself any harder. It wasn’t a perfect race, but I did the best I could considering the circumstances.

Waiting for a much needed massage