headed down to transition area around 4:30, put my nutrition on the bike checked tire pressure, finalized preparations and made a couple bathroom stops before making my way down to the swim entrance.
Sara's family was out to support her, and i would ride her skirt tails in and enjoy their cheers of encouragement as well. got in the water around 6:55, and made my way towards the front a bit wide.
The gun went off, and the day's effort was underway. I put in a fair effort for a few hundred meters to work my way up towards the front of the pack and avoid much of the chaos. I settled into a good comfortable pace. The swim was fairly open, not much to mention, very little of the typical ironman battling. I wasn't able to find a pair of feet at all during the first lap. On the second loop i was able to find a pair of feet and enjoyed the benefit of the draft. On a couple of occassions i bridged up to a faster pair of feet. I came out of the water feeling pretty fresh and anxious to get on the bike and see how my back and leg where going to hold up. b pretty typical swim for me.
Transition in Wisconsin is entertaining, we exit the water, run ~150 yards, then proceed up 3 stories on the car ramp to the changing area and bikes. I jogged comfortably up the ramp and into the changing area, put my shoes on, sunscreen, helmet, race number, and off to find my bike. T1 0:6:13
The plan for the bike is to sit back, and hope to avoid the tightness and cramping i had in Canada. Things started out ok, not too crowded, a couple groups of cyclists which i proceeded to work up through. I had just over 2000 calories on the bike, a bit more than in Canada. The course was a suitable course, i sat up on the climbs and kept the effort to a moderate level. I could feel some tightness in my back and leg, but with the help of ibuprofen and some steady pacing i kept this from becoming too problematic. nutrition was good through mile 85 or so, then it became apparent, i was going to run low, so i began grabbing bananas from the aid stations. i heard sara's family several times on the bike course.
I slowed a bit on the 2nd loop (miles 40 - 83) and a bit more from 83 to 112. After completing the 2nd loop (mile 98ish), i made the turn back towards transition, and sat back a bit to let a couple guys ahead of me do the work. After several minutes of this, i decided i could push the pace a bit more, and passed them, i would be alone until mile 105 or so, when 2 other cyclists came around and i hung with them into T2. Bike 5:17:49 (21.14mph).
Transition 2 went pretty smoothly and quickly, we ride up the ramp again. It felt good to get off the bike, and i was ready to see what my legs had left in them. I quickly put my running shoes on, grabbed my nutrition, salt and amino tablets for the run and was out the door. T2 0:2:26
The run, will this be as miserable as 2 weeks prior? not so, i came out feeling pretty good, not going too hard, holding a steady pace with a decent effort, but not all out. I was able to hold this effort for the first 6 or 7 miles then things slowed pretty significantly. My legs got heavy, and i came close to walking a couple of times. Shortly after mile 12, i saw Sara on her way out for her 1st loop. I figured i was roughly 1 mile behind her, and should be able to make that up by mile 18 or so. Things got pretty bad for a bit, i was tempted to walk, and actually did for 10 or 20 yards a couple of times before pushing through it. After getting more food in, and a couple bathroom breaks, i was able to pick up the effort again, and again saw Sara on her way back from one of the out and back's (this is around mile 21).
I decided it's time to go, just over 4 miles to catch her, i quickened my pace, short quick steps, easy gear, 4 miles, just ofer 6km, i can do this. After about 1 mile, i caught another glimpse of Sara, she was definitely closer, so i put in a little extra effort, i caught her between miles 23 and 24 for me. At this point i ran with her for a bit, we walked through the aid station and continued walking to the next aid station. She opted to take a bathroom break, so i wished her well, and began my final push to the finish. Run 4:20:23 (9:56 / mile)
Not my best showing, but i'm definitely content with it under the circumstances, let see if this lights the fire again? I had a good time, and enjoyed most of the race. I was happy i had an opportuntity to run for a bit with Sara, and see her finish. a good race and good time all around.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
IM Canada
started out as a good day, clear skies, mild temperatures and the promise of some heat for the run. got up ate a little, then headed down to transition area. lined up for the swim at the front:
the 1st couple hundred meters went well, stayed out of congestion and thought i settled into a good spot, shortly thereafter several groups swam over me and put me back in my place. i found a couple more congested sections, needed to re-adjust my goggles once before the turn around. after the turn around, things went well, everything was open, i found a pair of feet, sat on them, and began feeling strong. could have pushed more and swam a little faster, next time. Swim split 1:05:02
into transition some sun screen a little vaseline and onto the bike. 1st 4 miles seemed to go very quickly, at which point i decided to hold back until the 1st climb (~45 miles into the bike). i was in a big group of people for a bit, doing some back and forth. at the base of the first climb, things opened up, my legs felt good and i rode comfortably to the top. then began picking my way up through the riders.
at 70 miles i was feeling really good, and opened it up a bit more, this was a very fast section of the course, i put in a bit of time on the other riders. shortly thereafter, at about 85 or 90 miles, things went south, what's this back tightness, oh bother, that's gonna affect the next 25ish miles.
all the work i'd done up to that point began undoing, many of the riders i went by between miles 70 and 80 would pass me in the final 20 miles of the ride.
i struggled a bit up to the top of the final climb and couldn't seem to find either a comfortable position on the bike, or any power in my legs for the final section (predominantly downhill). bike split: 5:16:56
time to see how that shapes the run up to be. into transition, re-apply sunscreen, and hope things loosen up for the run. 3/4 of a mile in, nothing good is happening today, my legs are blasted, my back is tight, and quads are cramping. i laid down for a bit and tried to wait it out, a couple spectators came by and helped me rub things out a bit, then medical comes over. i'm doing all right, just taking a break, waiting for the cramps to subside. ok, back up and time to plod along. ate pretzels, drank gatorade, and kept thinking, 25 miles is totally fakable. turns out it is, but fake is very slow. i did what i could to feign running for the rest of it, many interesting thought running through my head.
"if this was a 2 loop course, i'd drop after the first loop"
"once mike comes along, i'll grab on and hold his pace as long as i can"
"irony: wishing so hard for the last 25miles of the bike to be off that cursed contraption and onto the run. only to get to the run and find out i'm bound to be stuck in slow motion for an insufferable duration"
i even tried to pace with passing runners, knowing they were going slowly, but there wasn't anything there, my legs weren't sore, they weren't beat up, just flat, rebelling. shortly after the turn around, mike was running by my side. we laughed about both our situations, but after a couple miles, mike was unable to bear my slowness, and had to leave me behind so he could minimize his suffering (i told you my pace was insufferable). run split 5:15:46
had i known it was that slow, i would have drug it out for another minute and 10 seconds and had the same run and bike split. maybe next time.
back to the drawing board. see what comes of the next event.
the 1st couple hundred meters went well, stayed out of congestion and thought i settled into a good spot, shortly thereafter several groups swam over me and put me back in my place. i found a couple more congested sections, needed to re-adjust my goggles once before the turn around. after the turn around, things went well, everything was open, i found a pair of feet, sat on them, and began feeling strong. could have pushed more and swam a little faster, next time. Swim split 1:05:02
into transition some sun screen a little vaseline and onto the bike. 1st 4 miles seemed to go very quickly, at which point i decided to hold back until the 1st climb (~45 miles into the bike). i was in a big group of people for a bit, doing some back and forth. at the base of the first climb, things opened up, my legs felt good and i rode comfortably to the top. then began picking my way up through the riders.
at 70 miles i was feeling really good, and opened it up a bit more, this was a very fast section of the course, i put in a bit of time on the other riders. shortly thereafter, at about 85 or 90 miles, things went south, what's this back tightness, oh bother, that's gonna affect the next 25ish miles.
all the work i'd done up to that point began undoing, many of the riders i went by between miles 70 and 80 would pass me in the final 20 miles of the ride.
i struggled a bit up to the top of the final climb and couldn't seem to find either a comfortable position on the bike, or any power in my legs for the final section (predominantly downhill). bike split: 5:16:56
time to see how that shapes the run up to be. into transition, re-apply sunscreen, and hope things loosen up for the run. 3/4 of a mile in, nothing good is happening today, my legs are blasted, my back is tight, and quads are cramping. i laid down for a bit and tried to wait it out, a couple spectators came by and helped me rub things out a bit, then medical comes over. i'm doing all right, just taking a break, waiting for the cramps to subside. ok, back up and time to plod along. ate pretzels, drank gatorade, and kept thinking, 25 miles is totally fakable. turns out it is, but fake is very slow. i did what i could to feign running for the rest of it, many interesting thought running through my head.
"if this was a 2 loop course, i'd drop after the first loop"
"once mike comes along, i'll grab on and hold his pace as long as i can"
"irony: wishing so hard for the last 25miles of the bike to be off that cursed contraption and onto the run. only to get to the run and find out i'm bound to be stuck in slow motion for an insufferable duration"
i even tried to pace with passing runners, knowing they were going slowly, but there wasn't anything there, my legs weren't sore, they weren't beat up, just flat, rebelling. shortly after the turn around, mike was running by my side. we laughed about both our situations, but after a couple miles, mike was unable to bear my slowness, and had to leave me behind so he could minimize his suffering (i told you my pace was insufferable). run split 5:15:46
had i known it was that slow, i would have drug it out for another minute and 10 seconds and had the same run and bike split. maybe next time.
back to the drawing board. see what comes of the next event.
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