My first half-iron of the season happened to fall the day after a massive line of tornadoes stormed across Oklahoma and Missouri. This same system was expected to hit Indiana right about race start-time. Driving to the race site that day, lightning was visible on the horizon at 5:30am. At 6:15am, radar was still showing a scary red line approaching. The race was due to start at 7am, and it was NOT looking promising. The best anyone was hoping for was that it would become a duathlon, with a short run replacing the swim leg. What most were expecting was complete cancellation.
At 6:30am, after everyone was set up in transition, a ten-minute torrential downpour had many of us thinking we likely weren't going to be doing the race at all. All night, the weather pattern had been torrential rain followed by truly nasty weather, including hail, lightning, and yes, tornadoes. Several of us were beginning to think we really were being stupid for contemplating being outside at all, simply for our own safety's sake.
The rain passed quickly, after leaving large puddles in the transition area, and the sky actually appeared to be...can it be...lighter! The scary dark clouds broke apart and moved away quickly, and it looked like it was just going to be a typical rainy day. The race was on! And we were going to swim!
The swim was in a small reservoir, basically down to one end and back. The water temp was 73, so wetsuit-legal but not numbingly cold. It turned out to be quite pleasant. The really fast people (who actually have a chance at winning this thing) went out in a mass start at 7:00am, then the rest of us lined up to go in one-by-one. It was self-seeding, so I put myself near the back in the "swim like a rock" group. I don't mind being last out of the water -- it means I don't get kicked or punched as much. And besides, someone's gotta be last.
I actually wasn't the last out, but pretty close. Given that I have been following the Happel-hardly-ever-do-a-serious-swim-workout plan, I did ok. I made it about halfway before the bum shoulder started complaining. It was tweaking, and explicitly letting me know that if I continued to reach and didn't remember to keep my elbow high, it would quite likely dislocate. This isn't a fun thing to have happen in water, and has the potential to really slow down the swim. Ok ok, I get it. Shorten the stroke on that side, pay more attention to the elbow. Got it. 1.2 miles in 47 minutes is typical, so I was satisfied with that.
It was easy to find my bike, since there were only three or four bikes left in transition. Took my time, wrung out my socks, and got ready for the next three hours. Was pleased to later find that my T1 time was 3:00. Felt like 5:00. I'll take it!
The bike course was very nice, not nearly has hilly as advertised. There were nice rollers that were just hard enough to make it challenging, but not a suckfest. The course was two loops, and around mile 45 (on the second loop), I discovered that bonus that often awaits us slower competitors: a ferocious headwind. This part of the course had not been windy the first time through, but this time...wow. It really slowed me down, even more than my world's-longest-ever-pee-stop in loop 1 (have you ever peed so long you got bored?). However, I was encouraged by the fact that I was actually able to catch and pass three people in the worst of the headwinds, and just kept plugging along. I finally passed #57 for the last time and managed to finish just slightly ahead of her. (We played leapfrog for the entire bike and run.) Finished the bike in 3:25:08, slower than I had hoped, but feeling strong.
T2 was uneventful but leisurely. Chatted with Paula while I changed (she had finished her sprint tri earlier that day), and headed out for the run. Once again I was surprised that I was only in there for 2:28. A long time, but not bad when you're not paying any particular attention to how fast you're moving! By now the streets had totally dried off, and the sun was starting to peek out. Quite a change from the dire predictions of a few hours earlier.
The run was also a two-loop course, and most of it was quite pretty. I did my usual walk/jog combo, played leapfrog with #57 again until the final pass around mile 10 or 11, and managed to pass quite a few other people...always good for the confidence. Ran through the finish at 2:28:28, a decent time for me even without riding 56 miles first. Total race time was 6:46:17, which is quite good for me. I'm thrilled with anything under 7 hours. This was half-iron number 8-and-a-half (Muncie last year was shortened due to heat), and this was my third time to beat 7 hours -- a successful day!
Won my age group. Helps when I'm the only one in my age group. In the photo above, I'm asking why they gave me an empty pint glass...they forgot the beer.
Nutrition
This was an experiment in nutrition, and it worked.
- Breakfast was a 20g protein bar. I had brought some Greek yogurt/honey, but in the downpour/lightning/are-we-swimming? confusion, I forgot to eat it at the race site. I did eat a banana in the car while we were watching it rain.
- Sucked down a gel after the swim. It was nasty. I think it was Gu Roctane. Yuck.
- On the bike I had two water bottles with Infinit Go Far, a ready-made carb/protein mix that has more protein than the usual race fuel. I drank both bottles, and didn't take anything else at the aid stations.
- Had a gel before leaving on the run, and three more on the course. Took mostly Gatorade and poured the water over my head/shoulders.
Conclusion: I have successfully weaned myself off of being so dependent on the carb fuels, and can do ok even when I screw up and forget to eat something. Good information to know. I remembered the yogurt while I was on the bike. If I had eaten it pre-race, I probably would not have had quite so many gels on the run, but I didn't want to get behind on my fuel and bonk. Better safe than sorry. Overall I felt fine, and didn't feel anything other than the usual tiredness. Had gas in the tank, had a strong finish, felt fine afterwards, absolutely no soreness the next day. Works for me!
Prologue
Sunday we went for a fundraising bike ride, the Junebug Ride. My bike totally self-destructed at mile 15.87, thankfully while I was going fairly slow (~15mph) and on a quiet road with no traffic. I was going up a small incline, tried to shift up, and heard an awful grinding noise. Heard another grinding noise, and was stopped dead, struggling to get my feet free. Paula was in front of me and was completely confused at what she was hearing behind her (there were some choice words in addition to the grinding noises). Was fully prepared to fall over when I finally got one foot free...almost fell over before getting the other free, but managed to remain standing. Turned around to see what the heck was going on and was stunned. The rear derailleur sheared completely off the bike, massively fouled the chain, and jammed itself into my rear wheel, locking it up. It was quite impressive.
I was immediately overwhelmed with gratitude that this hadn't happened a mere 20 miles earlier, during Saturday's race. There were a couple of hills that I really bombed down, probably around 35mph, and if that had happened then, it could have been catastrophic. No helmet in the world would have helped me. I was incredibly fortunate it happened when and where it did.
Dropped the bike off at a local shop, where the mechanics gathered around to ooh and aaah at it. Apparently this happens, but not frequently. While I hadn't snapped any spokes, it did ruin the wheel for anything but for use on a trainer. It may still snap spokes, but at least I won't fall. Since the bike had other issues that I was living with, this was a perfect excuse to give up on it and replace it with a new one. Monday I went for a nice ride on the new one, and am anxious to ride it in a race!
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