Ok, so it's been 9 days since I finished this race. Don't worry I have every little detail of the day burned into my memory. Not for good reasons. Let's just say it wasn't my day, which is tough when your day is as long as an ironman distance race. Anyway enough complaining, let's get to the race.
First off, this was another great race from Jeremy Davis and his Set Up team. It was a first year race, but you would have thought it had been around for years. Great organization, FABULOUS volunteers, and overall a great venue for this race.
The city of Wilmington is beautiful. We stayed at Wrightsville Beach, about 30 minutes from the race sight. We were right on the beach, so it was nice. We arrived on Friday afternoon. I checked in, checked the bike and transition bags in, checked into the hotel, and we were all set. We met with some friends for dinner at Carraba's which was also nice. Good company...Cam Dorn and his family, Dr. David Bridges with his wife, and the cycling maniac Bob Cambers. Cam, David, and Bob were all on a relay team for the iron distance race. They smoked an 8:39 the next day...wish I was there : )
My #1 fan!!!
Saturday morning was like all the previous mornings...freakin' cold. The air temp was around 40* while the water temp was barely over 60*. I was not looking forward to this swim. Anyway, as soon as the sun was up, we were off.
Swim: As mentioned, cold. I felt pretty strong in the water. The swim was point to point, with the incoming tide helping us out a bit. I couldn't tell where I was, but I could see plenty of green swim caps ahead of me. I pushed hard trying to get on some feet, but there was one lead group, then me, then a group following me. I was in no mans land...all alone with no one to draft. Oh well. I put in a few surges to catch a guy in front of me, but I couldn't make up any ground. I decided to just settle in and swim. Towards the end of the swim the cold water and air was really starting to bother me. I as not warming up. I could feel my lips kind of stuck in position, and my jaw was locking up...weird. I couldn't wait to get out of the water...so I thought. Swim :48:11 did I mention we were pushed a bit by the incoming tide. Swim was a bit fast, but I was only 3 minutes behind the fastest swimmer, so I'm happy with that.
T1: We had about a quarter mile run to T1. It felt like a mile. I was shivering the whole way to the tent. When I got my bag, I toweled off, and tried to put on a skinsuit over my trisuit along with socks and arm warmers. My hands were so cold I couldn't hardly make any progress. I felt like I was in the tent for 5 minutes fumbling around with my clothes. It was miserable...I wanted some heat. Ok, so I ran out of the tent and to my bike. The air temp was still very cold and my core temp was very very cold. I just wanted to get on my hog and start smashing the pedals.
Bike: I know I keep mentioning that I was cold, but damn...I was cold. During the bike, I froze even more. I tried out my clothes that I was going to wear a week ago, knowing it was going to be cold...but I didn't consider the fact that I would be starting the bike freezing to death. I simply never warmed up. Every 5-10 minutes I would get out of the aero bars and rub my chest hoping to just stop shivering. I tried to block it out of my mind, but I was starting to worry about hypothermia. I just tried to stay down on the bars and move the legs. My legs actually felt pretty good, so I took it easy for the first hour, trying not to push it too hard, especially considering I was using a ton of energy trying to get warm. I exited the water in 8th place. By mile 30 I was in 2nd. I was confident despite my low power output. It wasn't until around mile 60 that I finally started to warm up. It was also around mile 60 that I started to get tired. I felt like I was staying on top of my calories, but my power was slowly fading. The plan at this point was just to stay as aero as possible and keep steady. As the miles rolled on, I was continuing to lose power. In a training ride a few weeks ago I was able to average 240 watts for 110 miles, which felt rather good...today I was averaging around 210 and fading...I didn't know what was wrong with me. I just couldn't push the pedals as hard as I was used to in training. By mile 80 I was pretty tired and wanted off the bike. I pee'd...on my bike...nasty, but it was better than stopping. Don't worry, I've bleached the shoes and scrubbed the bike since the race. Anyway, I just wanted to get to T2 with some energy to run. I wasn't going to try and push the watts, but rather just pedal as hard as I felt I could comfortably handle. One of the buys I caught earlier had caught me and repassed. He was obviously feeling better than me, and I had no intentions of pushing too hard so I let him go. Ok, I survived the 112 mile ride and was ready to get that small saddle out of my butt! My back was a bit sore too..waaaa. Bike 5:03:47 I thought I was in shape to roll a sub 4:45, but that didn't happen.
T2: Passed off the bike to some stranger, grabbed my bag and headed into the tent. Right as I entered T2, I was caught by another guy. At this point I was grouped with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place in the tent. Two of us headed out quickly and we were off for a marathon. The last guy was busy putting on some compression socks that he couldn't seem to get on too well ; ) See ya!
Heading out of T2. That's me in the blue.Run: Legs felt good exiting T2. My plan was to find a steady pace and stick it. Immediately I noticed the guy I ran out of the tent with was gonna take a slower pace, so I left him. Well, I then stopped at the portapotty and caught him, spoke kind words, then left him again. I was feelin' good. First mile was 7min, second was 7min. I was in my rhythm. After the second mile, you run through downtown Wilmington which was lined with people. I was feelin' the love. People were cheering...it was great. My legs felt good. Through the next few miles I made sure to get in some calories and hydration. I was still able to hold the 7min/mile pace rather easily. I was really starting to think taking it easy on the bike was the right idea. I was figuring all the times in my head and figuring what I need to run for a 9:20-9:30. I was right on schedule for my best race, and I felt strong. I hit the 7 mile mark in 49 minutes...still smooth. Then it happened. End of day. End of race. End of my perfect existence at this nice race. I crashed. It came out of nowhere. I suddenly felt pain like I had never felt before in a race. My legs ached with every step, and I was slowing down...fast. I knew I was in trouble, but I was hoping this was just a "low point" in my day. When you race long distance you will have plenty of "low points" that you just have to ride out and you will be back feeling strong again. I was not feeling like this was going away. Not this time. By mile 9, I was really hurting. The guy I passed on the run course flew by me. Goodbye second place. I tried to hold it together until the end of the first lap, but I was no longer having fun and I really didn't want to be doing this anymore. When I hit the turnaround I looked for my family for support, or for a good excuse to drop out. I couldn't find them , so I pressed on. I stopped to walk to try and regain some strength. I saw 4th place approaching. It was George Worrel, runner extraordinaire, I knew he was going to catch me. Damn I'm not liking this. I seriously thought about dropping out at mile 15, but I promised myself I would never DNF unless it was a risk to my health. I was just in pain and didn't want to run another 11 miles. I had to HTFU. I stumbled through the next few miles stopping at each aid station to drink and eat. I'd walk a bit further than I wanted hoping to get some surge of energy. I don't know how far I walked all together, but it was a lot. At mile 20, i had a banana...must have been one of those super bananas, because I all of a sudden had some strength. I started to pick up the pace. I didn't know what place I was in, but knew I was far off the podium. Honestly at this point I wanted to carry this strength in order to get me to the finish as soon as possible so I can be done with this thing. I looked at my watch and saw I could still finish under 10 hours. I pressed on. Anyway, over the next few miles, I experienced a few more "lows", but continued to run. I wanted to see the finish line, my family, and a cold beer...in that order. When I was a mile away I noticed a guy coming from behind and quick. Crap, I'm going to have to haul it in. I managed to hold him off, I managed to finish, I managed to finish under 10 hours. 9:55:19. 6th place. A far cry from the sub 9:30 that I hoped for, but I was done.
I'm hoping this race report was not too painful to read. I hope you're not depressed now. All I know is it will be a while until I do another full distance race again. I just didn't have any fun, and that's not why I do these races. I love to be competitive. I find that I can get past the pain in a race, but this pain was like no other. I'm glad it's over. I've enjoyed tons of junk food since the race. I think I've gained 5 pounds already. I look forward to more break time, then getting back on the bike and in the water in a week or two. No hurry, I'm enjoying myself.
Special thanks to my lovely wife for putting up with my crazy racing and training schedule all year!! Long races like this are tough especially when you're juggling a little one, but she always hangs tough. If it was not for her, I would not be racing.
