I'll go backwards a bit. I got to the Miami area last Thursday night, and have been staying with a man I met in Brazil. Peter lives in Hallandale, which is really close to Ft. Lauderdale, and he's been a most gracious host. Peter has only been doing triathlons for 2 years, and generally races Clydesdale division (and he doesn't get upset with me ragging on him to lose weight).
Peter did this race last year as his first HIM in a time of 6:01, so he was looking to PR. I, theoretically, was set to PR, as my running had been going very well. The thing that was different for me this time, about my training preparation was a very steep run taper, which I've never done before. Well, you never know until you try something, so it was game on.
My wave went off at 7:15AM, and Peter's at 7:30AM. Before we started, Peter said he was going to try and catch me on the bike. I knew he's a better swimmer than me, but not by 10 minutes, and then he'd need to really haul ass to catch me on the bike. The day called for light winds and a high of maybe 82, on a pancake flat bike course, and I mean flatter than the flattest areas in Illinois (except, perhaps for the area right around Champaign-Urbana), and even though I hadn't been outside on my bike since October 1, I figured I'd be in good bike shape. But I figured, more power to Peter if he can catch me.
My wave was all women 40+. The swim was in a small man-made freshwater lake of normal colored water, I mean not that black coffee stuff you see in many Florida lakes. No gators, either! We took off, and I just swam. There wasn't much pushing or shoving. There was a woman in my wave who tried to draft off me for the first lap, staying on my left. She smacked me a few times, but not hard, and for awhile I thought "she's my buddy." But on the second lap, I decided I'd had enough of her and kicked hard to move ahead. In between laps, we had to run up on the beach for a really short jaunt before heading back into the water. When I was getting in for lap #2, a big guy from an earlier wave was coming in, too. He bounded in with knees high, did a nice dive in, and then proceeded to breaststroke! My second lap went just fine, and I was out in :37. Not a stellar swim, but hey, I can swim at that pace all day, so life was good.
T1 was a rather long run from the lake back to the transition area, so smart folks (me included) had left flip-flops or other slip-on shoes at the swim exit to wear for that run. We ran on asphalt and some grass and roots, and I was glad for the extra foot protection. I had used my one-piece Orca wetsuit, as I didn't want to have to test my shoulder flexibility using the two-piece DeSoto T1 that has the slip-on top without a zipper. Still, I wasn't exactly hurried in T1, but my total time was I think 5:30 or something.
Onto the bike, and the weather is here--I wish you were beautiful! It was low-70's and nice. There was noticeable humidity, but I wasn't concerned. I had established power zones on the lower end of wattages I have used before at HIM distance, because I wanted to have a good run. Nonetheless, for the first :30, I rode easy, easy, easy, in the small chainring and at or below 70% of FT, which is a typical warm-up pace for a training ride.
After 30', it was time to move up a bit in power, and I did, and I noticed how exceedingly flat the terrain was. All good, no worries. I had tilted my aerobars a little bit down from where I usually position them and had raised my saddle a hair, which put me in a pretty aggressive aero position that seemed to be working like a charm. Note to self: get this measured and implemented professionally. I am flexible enough and my core is strong enough that I can do this now, and so I should!
I was sure I didn't have the fastest swim time in my age group, so it was time to look for the ladies on the bike, and I passed 3 of them strongly. That was fine--all I wanted to do was place top 3 in my age group.
I absolutely FLEW on the bike in 2:39, and could have gone faster. I held back on my watts even more than my coach and I agreed to because I knew I'd still have a good split and hoped I would be able to run well. I even had to stop twice--once to remove a flapping sticker from my rear wheel stay, and dropped my chain once. I only used my small chainring (11-23 on the disk) for the first :30 and also the last 10 miles. Needless to say, there were some VERY fast bike splits, but I'm happy with what I did there, and believe the taper was spot on. There was also some blatant drafting, but that is bound to happen in many races, especially flat ones. I only saw the draft marshall twice.
The only problem on the bike other than the 2 stops was that they served Amino Vital and not Gatorade. I didn't think the Amino crap would bother me, but as it turns out I was wrong. I should have added to my nutrition article that sometimes you can be fine on race day taking in something you aren't used to, other times not. Note to self: carry my own Gatorade, since I only need 2.5 bottles, or start using Infinit Nutrition again.
It started out nice and cool on the bike, but the heat and some wind picked up about halfway through. The heat didn't seem to bother me on the bike except for the Amino shit not sitting well in my gut. I felt a little bloated on the bike and at around 35 miles I really wanted to pee. But I could only get a little out. That may have been due to the salt loading I'd done in the days leading up to the race, which was another shock to my system, not to mention going from 30's and 40's to 80's.
I think the bike course was short by a mile, too, but I can't download my power data until I get home tomorrow.
In T2 after I dismounted, I slammed my right shin into the left pedal, which hurt and drew blood, but I wasn't worried about it. I got through T2 and headed out to the run, but wasn't sure where was the end of T2 and the start of the run. In the end, it doesn't matter, right?
As soon as I started running, my gut didn't feel right. Probably a combination of factors--heat, humidity, Amino Vital, but I was pretty sure that I didn't go too hard on the bike. At any rate, right away I needed a potty stop and there were no porta-potties in sight. We were going into the Miami Zoo, and I found a small area of vegetation that would work. I felt a bit better right away, but then about another .5 mile later I had to pee. This time, I really emptied my bladder well, and thought that now maybe I'd start running like I knew I could.
Nope--I never did feel normal and couldn't get below 10mpm. It was hot, and about 4 miles in I started asking for ice at the aid stations. Believe it or not, they didn't have cups of ice ready for us, but I got some anyway, and then I guess the aid stations wised up and started preparing cups of ice for us. I loaded my visor, my bra top, and even my bottom with ice in an effort to bring my core temperature down. It made me feel at least not so crappy. I had no choice but to drink the Amino Vital, and while the taste didn't bother me in the least, I guess it just didn't do the trick for me. Oh well.
The run goes through the zoo, and that at least lent an air of festivity to the run! On the first loop, I noticed the elephants, only it was confusing as they were a clay red. I had never seen elephants that color--it turns out they had been rolling around in red clay soil. And then one of them was taking a shower! I saw various African ungulates--addax, oryx, kudu and some others, which is not your usual run scenery. On the first loop, the chimps and gorillas were making a bunch of noise and running around, almost like a cheering section. On the second loop, I finally saw the zebras, and I had a few words for them, as I was wearing a zebra-striped top, although sadly there was no race photographer available to get a photo with me and my namesakes.
My run time was 2:18, which I think is a personal worst for a 1/2 marathon, although I have been slower in a HIM run. At any rate, I was a bit PO'ed, but at least in the last 4 miles I made myself just run continuously, as I wanted to at least beat my 2006 Racine HIM time of 5:48.
When I finished, of course I looked around to see if I saw any other women in my age group, and I didn't, but there was no way I figured I did well given my crappy run. Oh well, some days it's just not your day. I figured I had some time before Peter finished, so I went back to my transition area and got out of my wet running shoes and changed my hat.
I saw Peter come down the chute, and that was exciting as he looked really happy, and I was sure he had set a PR. He may even have beat me. He thought he had gone 5:34, but inside my head I was thinking he would have needed to finish really close after me, and it was at least 10 minutes later. But, I was happy for him and he said he could tell I was a little bummed out about my race. But I couldn't complain that much--it was still my 2nd fastest HIM time, and I had come from the North and raced in Miami heat and humidity. It is what it is.
Results weren't posted for the 5:15+ finishers for a bit, so we got some (bad) post-race food and cleaned out our transition areas and put everything back in Peter's car and loaded the bikes on the back. Then we went back to see the results.
There were 2 surprises waiting for us: first, I saw that I had won my age group. Even though I was and am still disappointed with my finishing time, I think I jumped about 6 feet into the air and pumped my fists when I saw this. A win is a win! Seriously, though, the day before the race I had stalked all the women in my age group and there was only one that I was concerned about (assuming I did 5:45 or less). Turns out she won female masters overall! She even beat someone I know from back home who is a really strong, fast athlete. The winning masters woman is 50 years old, and she beat my fast 44 year old friend! I was duly impressed. Because of that woman's placement in the masters, she was left out of the age group awards, which meant I got first instead of second.
The second surprise was that Peter's time was not what he had thought it was. It was actually 5:47, and it was still a PR for him, but I could tell a bit of the wind went out of his sails. But he was, in true friendship form, happy for me, and we stuck around so I could collect a cute little plaque. Unfortunately, it doesn't say the age group, just 1st place. But still it will be a nice memento of this experience.
So, if I am going to be disappointed in my time, I need to learn some lessons, and here are the ones I have so far:
- It's tough for me (not everyone, but me) to go from 30's and 40's to 80's in 2 days and run effectively.
- Amino Vital is not my cup of tea, and I should ALWAYS bring my own nutrition for a HIM. I only need 2 bike bottles, so it's not like I would be paying a weight penalty for carrying them.
- Steep run tapers do not work for me. That is something I will discuss with my coach.
- I can handle a more aggressive position on my bike, and will get that adjusted before next year's racing season begins. Thing is, when I ride on the trainer, I do not spend a lot of time in the aerobars, at least I haven't been yet. I will do more of that, and maybe a new position will encourage it even more.
Side note: at the expo/packet pickup, I met Michael Hanreck, who took 2nd overall at Ultraman in 2005. I told him I had that race in the back of my mind, and we got to chatting and well, maybe 2008? Whenever I have had encounters like this, they have been omens. After all, I only ended up getting into triathlon in the first place because a man in Kona told me I should, and he also told me that I would do an Ironman. That was in 1999, and look what happened! So, I'm a bit tingly that I met one of the top Ultraman competitors, and that he told me that he thought I could do it. I know that a huge component of these things is your DESIRE to do it. And I know that once my desire for something is strong enough, that I will go after it and get it done. Next comes DEDICATION, then DISCIPLINE, and I know about those things.
So even though I said I was disappointed, that is a very temporary state of mind. I am happy that I am healthy enough to have done this, I am enjoying a little R&R today and tomorrow, and I may have been blessed with desire for my next major athletic challenge.
