My second half-ironman

This was step 1 of the Grand Plan.

The plan? Ironman Louisville 2011, on my 50th birthday.

Part of the Grand Plan is to do two 70.3 races this year. A Half-Ironman consists of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike, and a 13.1-mile run. This was the first of the two. The second is the Steelhead 70.3 in Michigan at the end of July, which I am doing with Team in Training.

While I would have loved to finish in 7 hours, my goal was really to relax, enjoy the experience, and see where I stood in my training. In addition, I only had one day to adjust to being out of the car after an 1100-mile ride. This was my first tri of the race season, so there was no good reason to risk blowing up and paying for it the rest of the summer.

Once again, two very special people were there to support me, Paula and Shirley. Shirley drove down from Houston and was my unofficial photographer. Paula was my co-driver from Indianapolis, and we actually managed to enjoy the ride. (She laughed at the "Arkadelphia" sign for some strange reason.)

At the pre-race meeting Saturday afternoon, we learned that the morning's sprint and olympic distance tris had cancelled the swim due to high winds. Even though we were swimming in a harbor, apparently the winds were so stiff that the water was unsafe. I really hoped that wouldn't happen Sunday...then it wouldn't be a tri, would it?

Checked in the bike and found that I had a very nice spot in transition: right at the end of a row, equidistant from both the bike in/out and run out, very easy to find.

The alarm went off at 5 a.m. Ate instant oatmeal and a banana, and drank a Costco-brand slim-fast. I briefly wondered what I had gotten myself into (once again) and how it would go, despite visualizing a strong happy finish.

The Swim

Turned out the weather was perfect. There was the usual coastal wind, but otherwise the water was fine. The temperature was 72.7...wear the wetsuit or not? I went the lemming route, and chose to wear the sleeveless suit. Turned out to be perfect. I was in Wave 12, with all the other women 45 and up. One woman confessed that she had never done a tri, and had only done pool swims, clear evidence that she was certifiable. I just listened as another woman tried to give her swim advice. Oy. I don't know if she finished or not, but I wouldn't want to be introduced to open-water swimming in a 1.2 mile race.

Water had some swells, but nothing too bad. Typical chop. Typical thrashing and whacking and kicking from other swimmers. The woman that grabbed my ankle several times was annoying, once I realised she wasn't in trouble, just obnoxious.

T1

Took a few seconds to get used to being vertical again. Was a little lightheaded upon standing, but managed to keep moving forward. And this race had wetsuit strippers. Cool! Sure made getting that darned thing off a lot easier. Just unzip, pull it down to your waist, flop on the ground, and let them do the rest. Sweet!

The Bike

Ah, the coastal winds. Because my swim didn't even start until an hour after the pros/elites, and my swim was slow (57 minutes), the leaders were at the bike turnaround while I was in T1. We could hear the announcers talking about how the leaders now had a tailwind. Oh good! We actually get a tailwind? Awesome. Something to look forward to.

The ride was fine, but my crotch gave out long before the legs. There were four aid stations, and I stopped and stood up at each one. I'm a total slug on the bike, and don't train nearly as much as I should (this is not a good thing). This race was my third ride of the season, and I had a painful reminder of why I need to spend more time in the saddle. Ouch!

The third aid station was a stark reminder of how badly a day can go wrong. I was standing, taking some water and chatting with a volunteer, when a young lady came through. She was going very slowly, reaching out to grab a bottle of water. Next thing I knew her bike was sliding out from under her, and she was on the ground. I fully expected to see her trying to sit up, but it was much worse. She was lying face down, hands down by her sides, very still. There was an ambulance at each station, so paramedics were there before I could even get going again.

I left with an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach, somewhat shaken. I never did see her move at all. It looked like she hadn't even tried to stop her fall. Not good. I was finally getting back in the rythm around mile 32 when I saw the life flight chopper coming. A few miles later it passed me again, on the way to the hospital. Damn. Her race ended in the worst possible way.

Mile 55. Still looking for that effing tailwind. Westerly crosswinds never did let up, ever. I think I had maybe a quarter mile of relief, somewhere in the last 3 miles. Actually got up to 20mph with no effort...a sharp contrast to the average of 15mph. Ugh.

T2

The winds were particularly brutal for mile 56. I was very happy to ride up to the dismount line and get off the bike. Took my time in transition, sucked down a warm gel and some warmer Gatorade, and headed out for the run. Or rather, the trudge.

The Run

Surprisingly enough, the run didn't feel too bad. I was tired, but nothing hurt, and when I was actually able to try to run, it wasn't too pitiful. The run consisted of four loops, which did get a bit tiresome, and the entire run was on concrete, the worst possible surface. It was especially cruel when the course went right by the water park (Schlitterbahn), and you could not only see the rides (and cooling water), but could also hear the screams of people that were much more comfortable.

But there were more than enough water stops, complete with gels and sponges soaked in ice water. Those are heaven on a warm day. Since I'm so slow on the bike, my run started in the heat of the day, around 12:30. I think it was only 82 or something and blissfully humidity-free, but I'm not used to that yet, so it felt pretty hot.

Finally got through loop 4, and was able to head straight to the finish line. There was a 53-year-old ahead of me though. Oh hell no. I sprinted to the finish and was able to pass her. Ha! Take that!

Collected my hug from Paula, then wandered over to the food tent. Not like I could eat anything for a while; the food was for later. Found a grassy shady place to sit down, and took off the shoes. Bliss. Paula and Shirley returned with very comfortable flip flops, we checked the time, and headed over to the paddle boat for a cruise. The race was at Moody Gardens, and the previous day we bought tickets that included a boat ride in the harbor. What the heck, there's beer on the boat, it was a beautiful day, I felt great, and Shirley and Paula HAD to be bored from standing around for over 7 hours.

Overall, the race was a raging success. While there were a few "what the hell am I doing" moments, there was no suckage. I got tired on the run (lesson: eat ALL of the solid food you took with you on the bike!), but it wasn't painful or awful. I left gas in the tank at each phase. This was an assessment race, so I took it easy and focused on form. Felt really good at the finish and had absolutely no soreness later. Am extremely pleased that, though slow, I am now much more consistent with my times: I don't really slow down during the course of the race. Had a wonderful visit with my parents the next day in Austin, and headed back to Indianapolis Tuesday.

Most importantly: the volunteers were not only plentiful and helpful, they were very pleasant. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces throughout the course!

Pictures can be found here.

Times

Total 7:20:22
Swim 57:56
T1 5:37
Bike 3:37:24
(splits 1:50:15/1:47:12)
T2 3:07
Run 2:36:18
(splits 4 loops 38:58/38:44/39:47/39:39)