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.
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