This year BSLT 70.3 was a way for me to try and redeem myself from Ironman Texas. Since I really didn’t race IMTX. my recovery was fairly quick as far as soreness. Because I raced while ill had lingering fatigue for almost 10 days after. Going into the next weekend I felt okay. I had a pretty good built and was starting to regain some of the power in my legs that I lost. I still was not happy with the power numbers I was putting up but at least they were getting closer to where I wanted them. My run was getting better. Life gets in the way and I was not able to get any long runs in. My brick runs felt good and I made the most of my short amount of training time. The one area I did feel good about was my swim. After a bad week that I attribute to fatigue from IMTX, I was started to feel as good about my swim as I did going into IMTX
The RoadTrip
It is a long boring drive from San Antonio to Lubbock, Texas. It is especially so if you are driving alone. Throw in alot of caffeine and you have yourself a 7 hour trip. I can now tell you every convenient store there is on HWY 87 and which ones are the cleanest. (Do NOT stop in Lamesa. EVER!)
Prep and Recon
The Recon
The day before a race I usually like to go out for a swim as close to race time as possible. This way I can get a feel for the water temps and location of the sun. On this day there was a sprint and kids tri going on so Rob and I were were unable to get in the lake until it was over. As we waited I felt like I was in a scene from the movie Twister. We watched a storm roll in. It picked up all the red dirt and pushed it like a tidal wave with thunder, lightening, and driving rain following close behind. All I could think is those poor athletes are stuck out there on the course and the officials started to pull them of the course and bring them in. I would have offered to help but I didn’t want to get wet.
As the storm passed we finally got a chance to swim and the water was perfect for a wetsuit swim.
Final Tune up.
Just before dinner most of us decided to take the rigs on a final spin to make sure all gears are in working order. I think the dry climate finally got to me. As I finished my 1 block spin I turned to a fellow athlete and said My legs are starting to cramp and feel very fatigue for a half mile spin. I was hoping I just wasn’t warmed up.
I told myself to just stay hydrated and I would be fine come race day.
Race Day
Wake up call 4:15am. time to eat. This is the first time I have done a race and stayed with several other athletes. It was interesting and amusing to see everyone’s different race day meal rituals. 5 athletes and 5 different meals. After breakfast we checked the forecast and it was raining and 68. It might be a decent day for a race. Getting to race wasn’t too bad. Packed my things, got body marked and went to find my bike rack. I was sitting on the second row next to the Pro’s. That was pretty cool. I think my team actually had a better spot than the pro’s. We were right next to the bike exit. Literally about 15 feet away from the exit.
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| PR Swim 33:01 |
Swim
This swim is a beach start. This start has a very shallow bay like area that allows for a good bit of walking or running. I did the calculations and you can easily gain one or two minutes in this race due to this aspect.
I knew is was a bit more shallow to the right so I lined myself up as far right as the officials allowed. I started at the front and did my best to stay with the leaders. I typically takes me a little longer to warm up than most people so I knew my fast start wasn’t going to last long. I made the first turn and started to fall back. I decided to stay far to the right out of traffic and swim my own race. I got relaxed and was able to pick up my pace. Something to note if you are thinking of doing this race. You will be swimming directly into the sun for about 400 meters. This makes it very hard to site if you do not have mirrored or dark tinted goggles. Because the water is very murky I used clear goggles. As chose to just follow the general direction of the large that was in front of me until I got to where I could see the next turn buoy. Rookie mistake. Don’t assume others are siting correctly. Turns out this group was swimming WAY inside the bouy. I essentially swam in a zig zag. I knew I had to make up some time so I pushed my pace a little more. I felt good so I kept my pace. I was catching the two groups that started 5 and 10 minutes ahead of me. Before I know it I was nearing the final turn. I felt good and picked up my pace and increased my kick. Maybe I kicked a little too much because I was beginning to feel soreness setting in my legs. I exit the water and look at my watch. 33:01 PR by 2 minutes and 6 minutes faster than my 70.3 in April. I was so ecstatic I forgot to stop for the strippers. I went back to get help taking off my wetsuit.
T1
I ran up to my bike and saw fellow teammates. I was still excited about my swim and I forgot to put on my socks but didn't realize it until I was already starting up the first hill. This was my first time to go this distance without socks. I am too far committed to stop and go back for socks, besides, I don't think they will let you go back into transition. I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me. I made my way up the first hill and my legs were already sore for some unexplained reason so I just kept it easy and pushed as hard as I could without cramping up. I handled all the hills pretty well. I would have to say that the cross wind was my biggest challenge and where I lost most of my time. Being conservative was a good call I was able to push my pace the last 15 miles into the park at 23-25mph. Then I just died before making the last turn to the dam. That last climb before T2 killed me.
T1
I ran up to my bike and saw fellow teammates. I was still excited about my swim and I forgot to put on my socks but didn't realize it until I was already starting up the first hill. This was my first time to go this distance without socks. I am too far committed to stop and go back for socks, besides, I don't think they will let you go back into transition. I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me. I made my way up the first hill and my legs were already sore for some unexplained reason so I just kept it easy and pushed as hard as I could without cramping up. I handled all the hills pretty well. I would have to say that the cross wind was my biggest challenge and where I lost most of my time. Being conservative was a good call I was able to push my pace the last 15 miles into the park at 23-25mph. Then I just died before making the last turn to the dam. That last climb before T2 killed me.
T2
I dismounted and took about 10 steps and I was racking my bike. Sweet! Since I gained so much time due to my rack position I thought I would use the extra time to put on my compression socks. I headed out of T2 and was holding a 7min. pace. But wanted to run the first mile or two at 9ish and then pick it up. I was feeling good but didn’t want to risk bonking in the last miles.
I forced myself to walk and get my heart rate and pace down. Heading out of the park I started to get my running legs and let fly. Run was going pretty good at this point. This run doesn’t have much shade after you exit the park. Then you turn into the energy lab and there is nothing to protect you from the sun. This is where I wanted to make my move. I started to increase my pace every two minutes. I was dumping as much water and ice as I could at each aid station. I started to get a blister from my feet staying wet. I said to hold your pace until the turn around and then I could stop and put vasoline on my feet. Another lesson I learned. It is really hard to take off compressions socks when you are wet, sweaty, and tired. It is even harder to put them back on. I think I lost almost 10 minutes at that aid station. Once I stood up I felt like everything just shut down. I tried to make up my lost time by running a hard pace and hoping my body adjust. This pace only lasted about 1 mile. The wheels fell off at this point and I just wanted to continue a motion that resembled a run. I felt that I could catch most of the pack I was running with but as the miles tick off this was proving to be a much hard task than I was anticipating. Turning into the park I was in the hurt box but needed to at least keep running in order catch my group. I started to reel in a few people but I was hurting. 1 mile to go. I told myself “You can go 1 hard mile. You do it all the time and it will be over before you know it.”
I finished with the second slowest bike and run split for this distance. Overall it was a slower than average race for me. I knew I was lacking in my run training and it was going to hurt but I could not predict this kind of suffering. I spent my run training improving my swim so I traded one for the other and there needs to be a balance. Back to work and don’t neglect the other portions of the race. To finish on a light note, because of some stellar performance by the rest of the team E2MULTISPORTS took first place in the Ironman triclub competition. Way to go Team I will see you all at the next start line.
I dismounted and took about 10 steps and I was racking my bike. Sweet! Since I gained so much time due to my rack position I thought I would use the extra time to put on my compression socks. I headed out of T2 and was holding a 7min. pace. But wanted to run the first mile or two at 9ish and then pick it up. I was feeling good but didn’t want to risk bonking in the last miles.
I forced myself to walk and get my heart rate and pace down. Heading out of the park I started to get my running legs and let fly. Run was going pretty good at this point. This run doesn’t have much shade after you exit the park. Then you turn into the energy lab and there is nothing to protect you from the sun. This is where I wanted to make my move. I started to increase my pace every two minutes. I was dumping as much water and ice as I could at each aid station. I started to get a blister from my feet staying wet. I said to hold your pace until the turn around and then I could stop and put vasoline on my feet. Another lesson I learned. It is really hard to take off compressions socks when you are wet, sweaty, and tired. It is even harder to put them back on. I think I lost almost 10 minutes at that aid station. Once I stood up I felt like everything just shut down. I tried to make up my lost time by running a hard pace and hoping my body adjust. This pace only lasted about 1 mile. The wheels fell off at this point and I just wanted to continue a motion that resembled a run. I felt that I could catch most of the pack I was running with but as the miles tick off this was proving to be a much hard task than I was anticipating. Turning into the park I was in the hurt box but needed to at least keep running in order catch my group. I started to reel in a few people but I was hurting. 1 mile to go. I told myself “You can go 1 hard mile. You do it all the time and it will be over before you know it.”
I finished with the second slowest bike and run split for this distance. Overall it was a slower than average race for me. I knew I was lacking in my run training and it was going to hurt but I could not predict this kind of suffering. I spent my run training improving my swim so I traded one for the other and there needs to be a balance. Back to work and don’t neglect the other portions of the race. To finish on a light note, because of some stellar performance by the rest of the team E2MULTISPORTS took first place in the Ironman triclub competition. Way to go Team I will see you all at the next start line.
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