Austin, TexasI awoke at 3:30, stretched and headed over to the race. I parked with ease and dropped off my run bag at T2 and boarded a bus to T1 and the lake. It was a stress free morning. I felt pretty good despite being sick. My lungs weren’t congested, I just felt a bit tired. I am never yawing pre-race.SwimMy swim heat did not leave until 8:40 a.m. The first pro wave left at 7:30. Somehow despite all the time I had, I ended up misjudging time and had to run over to the swim corral pulling my suit on as I went. I am never one of those people. If there wasn’t an age 40-44 A-L heat before my heat, I might have missed my start. It may have worked out for me, because when I started my heart rate was already up and I had a good swim. It was a well marked triangle. Although there were 2700 people doing this race I encountered very little congestion in the swim. The water temperature was nice for a wetsuit swim and the visibility wasn’t bad. Since my wave did not leave until 8:40 a.m., the sun was up and hitting the water at an angle making for good visibility. I ended up with my fastest time ever for the swim.BikeI worked hard to achieve a 20 mph average. I did not feel hot on the bike and did not feel the need to grab more than one bottle of water at the aid stations. In retrospect, my elevated effort, and the dry windy conditions may have significantly dehydrated me without my noticing.
The challenges of this course for me were two. Although there were some short hills, there was nothing major which I was happy for. The challenges came in other forms. The first challenge was the condition of the roads. Approximately half the course was on what I would consider rough roads. This obviously affects speed. When we would transition from rough to smooth road I would see as much as a 3 mph difference without changing effort output. Texas apparently is in the middle of the worst drought in recorded history and the roads are shrinking and cracking. The condition of the road made for tense riding. I discussed this with other athletes afterwards and was not alone its effects. My shoulders are still sore as I write this. I also encountered significant back ache which made riding in the aero position painful. The rough road would come back to haunt me in the run as well as other athletes that I spoke with after the race was over.
The second challenge was wind. Mostly cross wind. This slows everyone, but my weight actually keeps my on the road and from being blown around. I just envisioned myself cutting through the wind and did not let it bother me. I was determined to get my 20 mph average despite the wind. The wind was only a factor for about the last hour of the race. I turned in my fastest 56 miles ever. In fact I beat my best previous performance by 23 minutes! My goal for this race was to break the 6 hour mark and I was on my way to smashing that. When I completed the bike I calculated in my head that if I could run a 2 hour half marathon, I would come in at about 5 hours and 30 minutes. I had just run a 1:50 half marathon in Long beach two weeks ago and I have been running faster off the bike lately than just running fresh. I felt confident that I was on my way to a 5:30! Fate had other plans however.RunThis was the most grueling punishing run for me ever! I transitioned fast and could not wait to get out on the run course and get my 5:30. I felt great. I ran out of transition full of confidence and optimism. This is the best I have felt by far in a 70.3 going into the run. I was even smiling at the volunteers. I cruised the first mile effortlessly. All my bricks were paying off. My legs know they have to run after getting off the bike now. I was shocked when I looked down at my watch. I felt like I had taken the first mile pretty easy and I ran it in 8:30. I was feeling great. I was running the same pace as Long beach without even trying. I was definitely going to smash 6 hours and on my way to a sub 5:30.
With in a minute things changed. The course headed uphill and I felt the vastus medialis above my left knee threatening to cramp. It began to feel like someone had stabbed me in the leg. That is the muscle just above the knee on the inside of the leg. It alarmed me. I have never felt anything there before. As I pushed up the hill I gave into fear. If the muscle seized I didn’t know how to stretch it. I started to walk to see if I could relax it and get it under control. After a minute or so I started to run again. As I hit the first aid station and drank a cup of cold water I realized I was very thirsty. I drank another cup. I couldn’t stop and drank a third. After the aid station the course headed down hill. The combination of downhill running and the sloshing water in my stomach caused a severe side cramp. I couldn’t breathe and once again gave in and walked. This time I gave into pain. I was troubled. I was walking again and I hadn’t even reached mile 2. I looked at my watch and decided I could make up the time and get on track for 9 minute miles which would put the13.1 miles under 2 hours. My thoughts were that there was no need to panic. I just needed to deal with these cramping issues and get back to business. Things got worse not better.
The course was tough a tough one for me. It was mostly up or down. There were few flat steps. The hills weren’t super steep, but enough to make you work on the way up and cause shock damage on the way down. And speaking of flat steps, the running surface was often a bit rough also. I am a pansy when it comes to running and like my running surface flat and even. That is probably due to my weight. Landing 230 pounds on even surfaces can make the ankles tire.
Once you walk, it is far too easy to walk again. I wasn’t alone however. I have never seen so many people walking in a triathlon. It seemed as if 70% of the field was walking. This contributed to the “it’s ok to walk” voice in my head even more. I would run and then walk when I hit a hill.
To make things worse I was also overheating. I had gotten behind on my hydration and now I couldn’t make it up. They ran out of sponges on my second loop. It was a 3 loop course. I was drinking too much and suffering side cramps, especially running down hill. I would stop drinking for a while to eliminate the side cramps, but then the leg cramps would start again. I had to choose my poison. It was so hot that I couldn’t drink my Infinit. I finished 1 out of 4 bottles. I neglected my gels because of my internal heat. I could not stomach them in the condition I was in. I stuffed ice everywhere I could but couldn’t stop the heat. Unlike Hawaii where I was able to control it, here in Texas I had allowed myself to get dehydrated and there was no coming back from that once I hit the run. I learned that I have got to stay on top of that. Dehydration is not curable for me once the run begins given my sweat rate. I must have walked 11 times. It was brutal and for the first time in a triathlon I wanted to quit. Many other people were suffering and I spoke to some of them as I walked or ran next to them. Here is my analysis of what happened to me. The bike taxed my muscles in a way I had not trained for. The static tension due to the rough roads for nearly 3 hours put a strain on muscles that I was not accustomed to. Lots of athletes suffered back issues because of this. While personally, my back did suffer on the bike, it did not bother me once I hit the run like so many other athletes I encountered. I do think that this static stress contributed to my leg cramping. This coupled with the fact that I allowed myself to dehydrate worked as a double punch setting my muscles up for cramping issues. Then on top of that, psychologically I let the group mentality influence my decision making process. Since so many others were walking I convinced myself that it was ok and I was just adopting a strategy to finish. My run ended up being 2:30:46. That is 40 minutes longer than the last half marathon I did. My time total time was 6:02:36. Almost 20 minutes faster than my previous 70.3 record. I could have easily made up that 2:36 and finished under 6 hours. I gave in. I let pain and fear rule the day for me and I came away from this race upset with myself. I am upset that I wasn’t smarter. I am upset that I wasn’t stronger. I should not have given in.
Things I learned from this race:
1) I need to stay on top of hydration and nutrition regardless of how I feel.
2) Don’t start walking.
3) I need to run and bike hills in my training.
4) Don’t neglect heat tolerance training.
5) And last but not least:
The challenges of this course for me were two. Although there were some short hills, there was nothing major which I was happy for. The challenges came in other forms. The first challenge was the condition of the roads. Approximately half the course was on what I would consider rough roads. This obviously affects speed. When we would transition from rough to smooth road I would see as much as a 3 mph difference without changing effort output. Texas apparently is in the middle of the worst drought in recorded history and the roads are shrinking and cracking. The condition of the road made for tense riding. I discussed this with other athletes afterwards and was not alone its effects. My shoulders are still sore as I write this. I also encountered significant back ache which made riding in the aero position painful. The rough road would come back to haunt me in the run as well as other athletes that I spoke with after the race was over.
The second challenge was wind. Mostly cross wind. This slows everyone, but my weight actually keeps my on the road and from being blown around. I just envisioned myself cutting through the wind and did not let it bother me. I was determined to get my 20 mph average despite the wind. The wind was only a factor for about the last hour of the race. I turned in my fastest 56 miles ever. In fact I beat my best previous performance by 23 minutes! My goal for this race was to break the 6 hour mark and I was on my way to smashing that. When I completed the bike I calculated in my head that if I could run a 2 hour half marathon, I would come in at about 5 hours and 30 minutes. I had just run a 1:50 half marathon in Long beach two weeks ago and I have been running faster off the bike lately than just running fresh. I felt confident that I was on my way to a 5:30! Fate had other plans however.RunThis was the most grueling punishing run for me ever! I transitioned fast and could not wait to get out on the run course and get my 5:30. I felt great. I ran out of transition full of confidence and optimism. This is the best I have felt by far in a 70.3 going into the run. I was even smiling at the volunteers. I cruised the first mile effortlessly. All my bricks were paying off. My legs know they have to run after getting off the bike now. I was shocked when I looked down at my watch. I felt like I had taken the first mile pretty easy and I ran it in 8:30. I was feeling great. I was running the same pace as Long beach without even trying. I was definitely going to smash 6 hours and on my way to a sub 5:30.
The course was tough a tough one for me. It was mostly up or down. There were few flat steps. The hills weren’t super steep, but enough to make you work on the way up and cause shock damage on the way down. And speaking of flat steps, the running surface was often a bit rough also. I am a pansy when it comes to running and like my running surface flat and even. That is probably due to my weight. Landing 230 pounds on even surfaces can make the ankles tire.
Once you walk, it is far too easy to walk again. I wasn’t alone however. I have never seen so many people walking in a triathlon. It seemed as if 70% of the field was walking. This contributed to the “it’s ok to walk” voice in my head even more. I would run and then walk when I hit a hill.
To make things worse I was also overheating. I had gotten behind on my hydration and now I couldn’t make it up. They ran out of sponges on my second loop. It was a 3 loop course. I was drinking too much and suffering side cramps, especially running down hill. I would stop drinking for a while to eliminate the side cramps, but then the leg cramps would start again. I had to choose my poison. It was so hot that I couldn’t drink my Infinit. I finished 1 out of 4 bottles. I neglected my gels because of my internal heat. I could not stomach them in the condition I was in. I stuffed ice everywhere I could but couldn’t stop the heat. Unlike Hawaii where I was able to control it, here in Texas I had allowed myself to get dehydrated and there was no coming back from that once I hit the run. I learned that I have got to stay on top of that. Dehydration is not curable for me once the run begins given my sweat rate. I must have walked 11 times. It was brutal and for the first time in a triathlon I wanted to quit. Many other people were suffering and I spoke to some of them as I walked or ran next to them. Here is my analysis of what happened to me. The bike taxed my muscles in a way I had not trained for. The static tension due to the rough roads for nearly 3 hours put a strain on muscles that I was not accustomed to. Lots of athletes suffered back issues because of this. While personally, my back did suffer on the bike, it did not bother me once I hit the run like so many other athletes I encountered. I do think that this static stress contributed to my leg cramping. This coupled with the fact that I allowed myself to dehydrate worked as a double punch setting my muscles up for cramping issues. Then on top of that, psychologically I let the group mentality influence my decision making process. Since so many others were walking I convinced myself that it was ok and I was just adopting a strategy to finish. My run ended up being 2:30:46. That is 40 minutes longer than the last half marathon I did. My time total time was 6:02:36. Almost 20 minutes faster than my previous 70.3 record. I could have easily made up that 2:36 and finished under 6 hours. I gave in. I let pain and fear rule the day for me and I came away from this race upset with myself. I am upset that I wasn’t smarter. I am upset that I wasn’t stronger. I should not have given in.
Things I learned from this race:
1) I need to stay on top of hydration and nutrition regardless of how I feel.
2) Don’t start walking.
3) I need to run and bike hills in my training.
4) Don’t neglect heat tolerance training.
5) And last but not least:
