I had 3 or 4 goals going into this race (yeah, I know I'm weird). Goal #1 was if the wheels fell off the bus I wanted to at least break 5 hours. Goal #2, if things were going as planned I wanted to hit 4:54 and if things were going great I wanted to try to break or hit 4:50. To achieve these things I really wanted to hit a 1:40min/100m swim, 22mph bike and a 7:40 pace run. All of which seemed like they could have been doable if all went well on race day.
It's so weird the range of emotions that I go through on a race day. Even 5 years into this it still happens every time.
- 4:45 am, Alarm goes off,emotion = dread (is that an emotion?) I roll over and tell my wife I don't want to do this and why in the world do we do this to ourselves?
- 5:30 am, emotion = dreaming of glory. I'm on the road and starting to get pumped up about the race while slightly worrying about how I probably forgot to bring something.
- 5:45 - 6:45am, emotion = stressed out. Traffic jam! now very eager to do the race, but totally stressed out that I'm going to miss this thing that 2 hours ago I didn't even want to do.
- 7:15am emotions = psyched, nervous and ready to kill it. Got my transition setup and time to go warmup.
Swim: 32:04 and a 1:40s/100m pace (wetsuit)
Nothing too crazy to report here except for over-heating. I started at the front and sprinted the first 100 meters, which has been working for me lately. As usual a few people bumped into me from behind and passed me. For the first time I was actually near the lead pack for the first 300 or 400 meters. Then I lost them and swam on my own most of the way. By the time I made the first turn I was beginning to overheat and had to wake myself up every once in a while and force myself to push. Didn't have too many issues with congestion, just hitting some of the groups in front every once in a while. Near the end someone from the wave behind passed me and I jumped on his feet to bring it home.
T1: 2:31
Awesome wetsuit strippers, my suit can be hard to get off sometimes and some of you know how crazy I look trying to get it off quickly, but they got it off in no time. I passed tons of people in transition, we all have different goals and I used to take my time in transition too. I hope no one got mad at me for yelling "on your left" and squeezing by them.
Bike: 2:29:40, 22.45mph
This is a PR for me on the bike by at least 1mph for this distance. The course was rolling and didn't have the best roads, but it was definitely better than what it was like just a few weeks before. They did a great job filling in some of the cracks. Despite it being rolling and a little rough it was a pretty fast course. The wind was behind us or non-existent for 80% of the ride and when it was a head wind it was pretty mild. I definitely pushed it on the bike, and kept humming some motivating tunes to myself. The thought of Boise and how I was off 5 hrs by only 4 minutes in my last 1/2 also kept me pretty motivated. Somehow I was low on electrolytes or under-hydrated though and I felt my legs cramping a bit at around mile 40 or 45. I had tons of sodium on the bike (I calculated 1400mg later) and quite a bit to drink. So I was either dehydrated from the overheating on the swim or not being hydrated enough before the race. This will bug me for months to come as I know I set myself up for a bad run before I even got off the bike just like last year, even though I had way more electrolytes this time. Oh and one last note, I wish they had more officials out there for the Age groupers. I've never seen so much drafting. I seriously got passed by two different "packs" at different times and had one woman blatantly drafting off the guy in front of her for a good mile or more. Us age groupers are supposed to be doing this for the love of the sport aren't we? Anyways, it's their choice I guess.
T2: 1:48
This went pretty smooth except I ran past my bike spot at first since they all looked the same with the clean transition.
The crazy smile on my face was from a combination of a great bike time and seeing all my friends and wife lined up to cheer me on with special "Run Fast Eh" signs.Run: 1:50:23, 8:25 min/mile
Leg cramping started as soon as I got off the bike and they never quite went away. There were 3 miles after which I took the initial salt pills that they subsided for a bit, but then they came back with a vengence. Quads, hamstrings and at the end the higher groin area leg muscles too. I tried taking in as much electrolytes and fluids as I could, but the run ended up being just trying to control the damage. The run course had lots of rolling hills that made things "interesting" when my legs almost locked up completely on some of the downhills (quads) and uphills (upper leg muscles). Having all my friends there to cheer me on each lap made me look forward to the turn around each time though. That's the best part of doing a local race, having all your friends there to cheer you on.
A smile on my face despite the cramping legs. Having everyone there to cheer me on was priceless.
Total: 4:56:24 a new PR by about 8 minutes (coincidentally from a time on the same race last year)
EMS: "how do you feel" Me: "Huh, where am I? I must have taken a wrong turn after the finish"
After 15 minutes of thinking I was fine I finally gave in and admitted I wasn't so fine. They got me squared away with some ice and an IV and I felt better shortly after.
Some Final Words
Definitely happy with the overall result, but it now leaves me wanting more. I was about 5 minutes faster on the bike than I had planned, but 10 minutes slower on the run. I know I have it in me now to post an even faster time if I get my hydration dialed in. The cycle continues... :) Thanks to my wife, all my friends, my dog and coach for great cheering and an awesome season.
My number one fans!
Leg cramping started as soon as I got off the bike and they never quite went away. There were 3 miles after which I took the initial salt pills that they subsided for a bit, but then they came back with a vengence. Quads, hamstrings and at the end the higher groin area leg muscles too. I tried taking in as much electrolytes and fluids as I could, but the run ended up being just trying to control the damage. The run course had lots of rolling hills that made things "interesting" when my legs almost locked up completely on some of the downhills (quads) and uphills (upper leg muscles). Having all my friends there to cheer me on each lap made me look forward to the turn around each time though. That's the best part of doing a local race, having all your friends there to cheer you on.
A smile on my face despite the cramping legs. Having everyone there to cheer me on was priceless.Total: 4:56:24 a new PR by about 8 minutes (coincidentally from a time on the same race last year)
EMS: "how do you feel" Me: "Huh, where am I? I must have taken a wrong turn after the finish"
After 15 minutes of thinking I was fine I finally gave in and admitted I wasn't so fine. They got me squared away with some ice and an IV and I felt better shortly after.Some Final Words
Definitely happy with the overall result, but it now leaves me wanting more. I was about 5 minutes faster on the bike than I had planned, but 10 minutes slower on the run. I know I have it in me now to post an even faster time if I get my hydration dialed in. The cycle continues... :) Thanks to my wife, all my friends, my dog and coach for great cheering and an awesome season.
My number one fans! 
