So I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon this weekend. It was tough. But I didn’t really know what to expect. It was my first triathlon since 2009 and my first triathlon at the Olympic distance. I had a great time and despite my first ever Dead Last Finish I was able to find some positives and know what I need to work on for improvement.
I arrived around 5:45 am only to find that my water bottles were still in the freezer at home. Fortunately, this is the closest I’ve ever had a triathlon so Adam was able to drive home and grab them (and his bike) before it was even close to time to get in the water. I was able to use the time to reset my bike computer. Thursday night I took it in to Trek and replaced the battery. I was just getting body marked when Adam called to let me know he was back at the park. I put my bottles in their cages and we headed out to the beach.
As the swim caps started heading in to the water by color, I started getting anxious. The last time I swam, I felt like I was being choked by my wetsuit. I did not want a repeat of the swim from my aquathon. The purple swim caps (women ages 15 – 29) entered the water, and we took off at our signal. I tried to start swimming slow towards the back of the pack when I realized everyone was running. Ummm, ok? I started running too as it was much faster than swimming. Once it was deep, I resumed swimming again and started to get caught up with the middle of the pack. I was having a hard time getting my heart rate under control though so I kept flipping back and forth between backstroke and freestyle. I probably did half of the swim with a backstroke. I got out the water, somewhat impressed with my time – it was only a hair slower than my pool swim times. I then took my time in transition as I wasn’t really looking to win a race.
The bike course for this tri consists of hills – lots of hills. Fortunately I drove the course Wednesday night so I was somewhat prepared. Unfortunately, you don’t always notice gradual inclines in a vehicle the way you might on your bike. The hills I thought would be the most work, turned out pretty nice since I was able to pick up speed on my downhills. I think I may have hit close to 35 mph (fast for me) on a downhill so that I managed about 22 mph on the subsequent uphill. Kelly was waiting for me around mile 14.5 and was a welcomed surprise. We almost missed each other because she was looking for my neon running pants, not my black bike shorts. Heading back in should have been nice on a long gradual incline, but now I was faced with a headwind. I ended up having to walk two hills and for whatever reason, instead of having 7 gears on my right shifter, I was reduced to 3. I finished the bike in a time I was happy with. Adam seemed impressed. Apparently both Adam and Kelly said I looked good and fresh compared to other people they saw on the course. Again, in transition I didn’t really care about being speedy, but more so being prepared for the run. I changed my shoes, my shorts, grabbed my spi belt which doubled as my race bib belt and some water. I also stopped outside of transition to use the porto.
The run was brutal for me. I knew I was one of the last on the course. Two women passed me. At the first water stop after Mile 1, a woman on an ATV confirmed that I was indeed the last person. I was perfectly okay with this. I walked most of the course. For whatever reason, my brain was telling me I really did not want to run. I did manage to run the downhills and there were lots of those. Every now and then I would push myself to dig deep and run but I usually gave out after 5 minutes or once I got to a landmark – tree, bush, sign, pole, etc. I couldn’t see the women ahead of me and because of all the turns, I was usually surprised when I found volunteers directing me on the paths. I could occasionally hear the motor of the ATV. I asked if there was a time limit and she informed there was not, but that she hoped I was at least enjoying myself. I was, actually. I just didn’t want to run. I knew I could walk it and I aimed for 15-minute miles. I was just really tired and spent and my mind had given up on me. I eventually crossed the finish line, dead last (somebody has to be) and 4 minutes over my desired goal. Could I have met my goal if I tried? No doubt. Did I? No.
Learning experiences: 1) I definitely need to get on the bike more. This was my first long bike ride that wasn’t in the gym and didn’t involve stopping downtown to meet friends or at a restaurant. 2) Bricks need to become my best friends. I definitely need to get used to being tired and motivating myself to complete the run to the best of my ability. 3) I need to go to the next aquathon. I think a lot of my anxiety pre-swim came from limited open water swims, despite an aquathon and swimming in Aruba in the weeks beforehand. Rather than go see Madison County play a free concert at Monona Terrace this Thursday, it looks as though I’ll be doing the aquathon. Fortunately, Adam has volunteered to tackle the 5k run so I can focus on the swim. 4) At the end of the day, I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon, and I should definitely be proud of myself.
Pre Race day…
The best word I can use to describe this weekend’s half marathon is this: deflated. I have seen so many great improvements in the month leading up to the run that I was sure I was going to do well and PR. I had a goal of 2:45 in mind, besting my personal record of 2:57.
I arrived in Maryland Friday afternoon after a minor glitch in flights. We were too early for check-in so we checked out the neighborhood of Eastport, and upon stepping out of the car, I knew I was in trouble for the weekend. It was HOT. Over a beer and crab (have to carbload somehow, right?) I decided then that I would most likely not meet my goal, but I could still strive for a PR. I was absolutely okay with this. I did not feel defeated or weak. I knew I had put in long runs and that this would be good training for July’s half-Ironman.
The packet pick-up at the Loews hotel was a bit different from that in Texas. For starters, we only received our bib and t-shirt. I couldn’t understand why we weren’t receiving the other items (yoga mat and water bottle), but I just went with it. The vendors there are pretty lackluster compared to other “expos” but it’s not a huge race, so it’s no real big complaint. The one bummer moment was that the Barefoot table wasn’t giving out samples of wine. I’m not sure if tables were stocked with Luna Bars before we arrived, but they weren’t out when we got there but when we were leaving, a woman was unloading them by boxes all over empty tables.
Race day…
Race morning arrives and it is early. Parking was close to the start/finish area so the fact there was no bag check was manageable. I did take a bag with me for flipflops and a place to hide my cell phone in the car while I was running. I decided not to run with my phone or any music since I haven’t been running with that recently and I can’t have it during the triathlons so I need to get used to it.
I ran into an online friend pre-race. She is new to running and her enthusiasm towards running and improvement is motivating. It was also a nice way to spend the long stretch of waiting before the start. We eventually walked to the start corrals and I left her with the 2:10 pace group. I moved back with my mom towards the 2:30 pace group. My mom was going to drop down to the 10k because her training hadn’t gone as planned and it’s better to be safe than injured.
After about a minute of running, we were out of the shade of Navy Memorial Stadium and in the heat. After about five minutes of running, I was drenched. Sweat covered my body head to toe. I ran the first mile with my mom but at 19 minutes, I turned to my 9:1 intervals and she kept going. The first water stop was shortly after that, so just shy of 2 miles. I was previously told water would be every 3 miles so I was happy seeing that due to the weather, they increased aid stations. I would later find this out to be wishful thinking.
It wasn’t until after mile 4 that there was a second water stop. I had my own water bottle so I was ok, but I did feel badly for people that were desperately happy seeing the aid station. I refilled my bottle and took a cup to splash over my head. I regretted this only because my shirt started sticking to me (gross, so gross). I then made my way up the USNA Bridge. The sights were incredible from the top which made the climb worth it. I was down the backside when the first runner was headed back in.
Around mile 5 I noticed that the miles no longer matched my watch. I passed the markers, but my watch showed to be a bit short. I wasn’t sure if maybe my watch accidentally paused or what, so I kept going. After mile 8, I was walking near a woman, and I heard her watch time. It was relatively close to the time on my watch, so I knew my timing hadn’t stopped. Maybe my GPS got caught up somewhere? I don’t know. I was making good time based on the mile markers so I just kept going with it.
After I had to cross the USNA Bridge again, I was toast. I was so hot that I had stopped sweating, my fingers were swollen, and the ever slight breeze was starting to give me chills. I decided to walk for awhile and made conversations with some of the ladies around me. I went through the water stop around mile marker 11 and finally took some Cytomax. I had never tried the samples Zooma mailed out previously, but I figured some extra electrolytes couldn’t hurt. I made my way down yet another out-and-back loop and hit the same water station. This time I only took water because my stomach wasn’t feeling great after the Cytomax. After my first gulp, I decided to find a trash can and puke out whatever I could. Not getting a lot of relief but knowing I was less than 2 miles from the finish, I kept going. At mile marker 12, I checked my watch again. I had 17 minutes to go 1.1 mile to beat my time. I stepped up my game and decided to run everything but the uphills. I even played mental games telling myself to run to a certain post up a hill.
Once I saw the stadium, I was beat. I saw the 13 mile marker and my mom. I yelled, “I don’t want to run anymore!” because I wanted to walk and knew I was safe to make a new PR. Once I got into the corrals, I took sprinted and passed the woman ahead of me. I crossed the finish – clock time showed 2:56, my watch showed 2:53. I was dead. I was hot. I wanted to jump in a body of cold water. But no. First I had to go pick up the rest of my swag. Sweating hot, I now had my arms full of yoga mat, water bottle, and then I was supposed to carry everything to find food and wine? No, thank you.
Then I heard the crushing blow. My sister thought she had PR’d and waited in a ridiculously long line. She was denied her medal because the course was inaccurate. Excuse me, what? I was so happy about shaving off a little of my time that now I feel unaccomplished about running in the heat. Had I known that I needed to step it up, I could have. My tank wasn’t running on fumes, but on a reserve I had, knowing I could do what was necessary to make a PR. I guess I can’t truly say I PR’d in a half-marathon, but I did PR in a 12.85 race. Medals for everyone!
Takeaways…
What did I learn from this run? Running a half-marathon after Memorial Day is nuts unless it’s in a climate that will not get over 75 degrees. Wisconsin had a somewhat long spring so while I was enjoying running in 40/50 degree weather, it was not good practice for facing an 80+ degree race day. Nothing new on race day is a true statement. The Cytomax did not sit well with me at all. Go by my watch. There’s a reason it costs so much. Trust the GPS and its satellites, not mile markers set up by course officials (sad, right?)
What changes would I recommend?
– I would start with an accurate course. People claiming that people running this race aren’t elite runners and it’s not like running Boston or New York so really a shortened course shouldn’t matter, doesn’t help to change the situation. They’re right that I’m not elite and it’s not Boston or New York. But that doesn’t make it any less of an accomplishment. With the price of the race, it should be accurate. Note: The person stating this was not a Zooma representative.
– I also feel like having legs of out-and-back, while it is encouraging to see other runners, it is monotonous seeing the same thing coming and going.
– I do not think there were sufficient aid stations. At most stations I had to serve myself. I passed through one, and heard the volunteers saying how they had reserved gallons of water to take home when there was only a small amount of water left on the table yet plenty of runners behind me.
– Hand out the swag bag at packet-pickup. I am hot and sweaty after a run and I do not want my arms full of stuff to carry – especially with no gear check bag to put it in. I couldn’t grab anything else the post-race festival had to offer because my hands were full.
– Limit the massages to half-marathoners. I’m not trying to discriminate against the people that ran the 10k. It can be a tough race, and I have no doubt that it was difficult in the heat and with the hills. The wait for massages and the limited availability made it useless to runners coming in towards the end.
Your Pace or Mine? 