Two years ago, I did this race with Team in Training, in honor of Jim Armstrong. This time, I did it in his memory, and thought of him several times as the day unwound. It really meant a lot to him the first time, so I dedicated this day to his memory.
...and despite a horrendously crappy swim, I still set a PR by almost 30 minutes. Thanks, Jim!
Previous 70.3 PR: 7:12:04.
Sunday's time: 6:45:59
Even if I hadn't set a PR, I'd still be happy. I managed to improve my rankings with every leg of the race, meaning I didn't slow down. I actually got faster as the day went on, which is a first. In fact, there were several firsts in this race.
First #1: Since dropping about 6 pounds of body fat, my already-low blood pressure is even lower. Like hold-a-mirror-to-my-mouth-to-check-if-I'm-still-breathing low. I'm used to it, so rarely notice it anymore. I noticed it Sunday during the swim. My "technique" is to do sidestroke when I want to take a break to clear my goggles, ride out a patch of thrashing (faster swimmers who have caught up), look around, or just pant for a while. Apparently my BP was so low that even lifting my head up to sidestroke caused immediate vertigo. Oh great. Are you kidding me? This was in addition to my mind just refusing to get into the idea of swimming. The body was definitely dragging the brain along for the ride, so it was a truly pitiful swim. Oh well, I made it, and didn't fall down and embarrass myself getting out of the water. Sheesh.
Swim time (including the slog through sand at the end): 54:47
[The air temp was 58, they said the water was 67, but if felt much warmer than that. Couldn't ask for better conditions.]
Transition was a long slog through deep sand, then a very long slog down to the very end of the long transition area. Transition is only four rows, about .15 miles long. Easy to find your bike, but it takes a while. Finally got to my stuff, wiped the sand off my feet and got ready to spend some bonding time with the bike. For as long as it took to get out of there, I could have ordered a sub from Jimmy John's.
T1 time (really didn't think I was walking THAT slowly): 7:33
First #2: I went the entire 56 miles without stopping to stand up. Typically, I can't take it anymore after around 25 miles, and pull in to the second or third aid station to simply stop and stand up for a minute. This time, I gave it hard thought as I approached aid station #2, but when I got there decided I really didn't feel the need to pull over. Did the same thing at station #3, just slowed down to grab a Gatorade and refill my bottle. Aid station #4 was only about 10 miles from the end, so stopping there would be, well, just plain silly. Had great ride, passed four women in my age group, and played tag with another. She and I just kept leapfrogging each other. We laughed about that after the finish. She finished the race about 25 seconds before I did. Thanks #65, for keeping me honest!
Bike time (best by 13 minutes): 3:12:09
Walked the bike down the .15 mile transition back to my spot, while seriously considering walking in my socks. Threw out that idea; didn't want to shove socks with sand on/in them into my running shoes and live it for the next 13.1 miles. Several of us that were racked near each other came in at the same time, so we had a shot together to celebrate. Or maybe we just took enough time for a shot. Whatever.
T2 time: 4:06
Left on the run...as the first female finisher was coming in! Was impressed at her form, then reminded of how dreadfully slow I really am. Watched the next three women come by as I trudged past, cheered for them, shook my head, and kept moving. Absolutely loved the spectators holding the sign that said, "Forward is a pace!"
First #3: My run time was no worse than typical standalone half-marathon pace on a hot day. Huzzah! In a triathlon, I usually slow down considerably from my typical half pace: today I managed to salvage a decent speed. Started with my usual walk/trudge plan. After a couple of miles, the legs started to realize they were no longer going in a circular motion, and I was able to trudge for longer and longer. I actually managed to pick up speed for the first 9 miles, then level off for the final four without too much drop-off. At least now I've got the trudge developed pretty well, so that I actually pass a lot of people when I move faster than a fast walk. That helps considerably with motivation.
Around mile 7, a young lady was having severe stomach problems, and wasn't sure how she was going to finish. I told her the worst was done (as we were trudging past a hill we had to do later for the 2nd time). She just groaned. She was able to laugh when I said, "We don't have to look at this again! This is our last time to deal with it." Poor thing had been wanting to puke since mile 10 on the bike, and was struggling to take water. I strongly encouraged her to drink more water, then go ahead and give in to the urge to puke. She'd have something to puke and would instantly feel better. I hope she did. I know she finished (faster than me - she was in a later swim start wave), but I don't know if it was a horrible experience for her or not.
As I was on some of my final spurts of trudging, after mile 12, I saw two people just starting out on their run. Oh my. That's a heck of a long day for them. Means they were on the bike at least five hours. Yikes. Forced a reasonable facsimile of running to the finish line, collected my medal, hat, water, and Gatorade, and chatted with some folks from Team In Training that I knew from Indianapolis. Ran into a few other people I knew, relaxed, got a plate of food, and got ready for the ride home.
Run time: 2:27:24
First #4: Nutrition. I don't know why, but I've been winging it this year with nutrition. My subconscious is trying to tell me something, but I haven't figured out just what, exactly. Anyway, this time I went relatively light, and it worked. Breakfast (4:30am) was a blueberry Chobani yogurt and an EAS Lite (22 grams or so of protein) drink. Drank another EAS after I got all set up in transition, around 6:30am, before heading down to the swim start.
Did my usual protein/carb powder mix on the bike, and made sure to drink all of it before the second aid station, around mile 26-28 or so. Refilled the bottle with Gatorade and drank most of that.
Took three gels on the run, at miles 3.5, 6-ish, and 10-ish. Drank water at every aid station, Gatorade at a few, and poured the ice down my bra (where it announced every step I took when I jogged).
I'm sure the cooler day greatly contributed to the success of the above nutrition plan. It was very nice not to be soaked in sweat from simply breathing. Between the clouds and lots of shade on the run, there were only 2-3 miles that were truly hot. I was just pleased to feel good and sufficiently fueled throughout. It was nice to feel tired from simply being...tired, not running on empty.
All in all, it was a great day. Even the drive back to Indianapolis wasn't too painfully boring...despite getting eyeballed by the Bubba pumping gas when I stopped to fill up. Guess he's never seen a white-haired woman in a tri-suit with magic marker all over her arms.
Final results
Overall time: 6:45:59
| Total Distance | Split | Time | Pace | F5054 | Overall | Women |
| Swim | ||||||
| 1.2 mile | 54:47 | SLOW | 24/28 | 1166/1499 | 334/442 | |
| Bike | ||||||
| 36.6 mile | 2:07:00 | 17.27mph | ||||
| 56 mile | 19.5 mile | 1:05:09 | 17.91mph | |||
| Total | 3:12:09 | 17.49mph | 20/28 | 1086/1499 | 292/442 | |
| Run | ||||||
| 4.5 mile | 51:38 | 11.28/mile | ||||
| 9.6 mile | 5.1 mile | 56:01 | 10:59/mile | |||
| 13.1 mile | 3.5 mile | 39:45 | 11.21/mile | |||
| Total | 2:27:24 | 11.15/mile | 17/28 | 1020/1499 | 264/442 | |
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