I had been looking forward to this race for quite a while. Unlike Quassy where I just wanted to finish, I had some fairly aggressive goals for Timberman 2014. I had done this race in 2011 as my first HIM so I had high expectations for big improvements. Packed up and off to NH Sat. morning. Races that require travel and overnight stays always require a lot more effort/diligence in packing but I’m pretty organized with checklists so I was pretty sure I had everything…… I drove most of the course on the way up and arrived at Lake Opechee Inn around 1:00 and met up with my parents. The rooms weren’t ready so I transferred my stuff to their car and we all headed out for a quick lunch then to packet pickup/bike drop-off. Got all that done, then back to the inn. I had wanted to get an early dinner but I was still full from lunch. We ended up waiting too late and ended up with a long wait for a table at Fratello's. Lucky I wasn’t hungry! Had some plain pasta, then back to the room to organize my gear and head to bed. Slept so-so even though the feather bed with down pillows was awesome! Up at 3:30 and got ready and packed up and out by 4:15. Brought b-fast w/ me since I would have about 3 hours to kill before my wave start. Got out my bagel and what is this? I left the peanut butter in my room? Ugh. For anyone who knows me, peanut butter is one of my staples. I decided I couldn’t really do much about it at that point so I ate my bagel with honey and had a banana then a Stinger waffle later to make sure I got in enough calories. It rained a little but I really wasn’t concerned. I didn’t think any lightning was in the forecast so the swim was probably not at risk of being canceled. All set up and ready to go!
Watched the pros go off at 7 then the other waves before me. I was pretty calm but still excited. The buoys always look SO far! It was quite overcast so I had on clear goggles and they were perfect. (I love the TYR T-72 women’s goggles! I think these are my 4th or 5th pair!) Swim was crowded but opened up pretty quickly. My watch alerted me to when I had reached 50% of my estimated time, and it looked like I was more than 50% done, so that was a good sign! I was actually passing people in the waves before me! (And also getting passed by fast ones behind me!) I came up to a guy doing the side stroke so I tried to stay far away to avoid getting kicked but he got me anyway. Heel right in the calf. Ouch. Cramped a little but not bad. Exited the swim in 42:42, ahead of my 45 min target. Ran up and pulled down the wetsuit so the strippers could rip it off quick. Got to transition and got ready to ride.
My setup was a bit different as I had everything in a giant Ziploc bag to avoid getting wet should it start to rain again. Left my sunglasses, which wasn’t the best idea. Also left my caffeinated GUs in my regular bag which I had brought back to the car. No worries, I could get some on the course.
The bike starts with a climb and I did my best to stay in my targeted watts but it was hard to do. Eventually got a downhill before the climbs started. They really aren’t so bad compared to Quassy! A nice chunk of the course is pretty flat so I got some speed there, still trying to stay within my zone and trying not to be tempted to pass people in my age group if it meant getting too far out of my zone. My goal on the bike was to set myself up for a good run. I saw my parents along the way (they almost missed seeing me while trying to find me on the tracker app!) I was coming down a hill with a left turn at the bottom so I couldn’t really wave. All I was thinking was “This would be a REALLY bad time to crash!”
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I was going so fast, my Dad couldn't even get a pic in time!  |
Bike was not super comfy since my saddle had come loose a few weeks prior and have yet to find that sweet spot. Despite that, I finished the bike a couple of minutes ahead of target so thrilled again! .77IF (target of .78) I had left a few watts out there anticipating more hills at the end. Quick change and off to run! This is where things were a crapshoot. Based on prior Half Ironman runs, I haven’t had great success with the runs, but today was going to be different. I had been discussing my target pace/time with some EN teammates and felt 12:00 pace was realistic and maybe even faster. We would see…
Grabbed a GU Roctane as I headed out for that caffeine boost I had forgotten. First mile was 11:06. Woohoo! That didn’t last. I did manage to run a lot more than I had during HIMs in the past, just walking the steeper hills. Took Perform at each aid station and dumped water over my head. It wasn’t super hot or sunny but it still felt good. Saw the parents at the halfway mark. The run is two loops so you run right alongside people who are heading to the finish. Mean!
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| You mean I have to do this again?? |
Waved to my fan club and set off on lap 2. The support on the run was really great. Since we had our names on our bibs, people were cheering for runners by name, which doesn’t sound like a big deal but it really is. I was noticing that my Garmin was buzzing the mile splits about .3mi sooner than the mile marker signs. That was throwing off my “running math” as it was going to be tight to hit my goal of sub-7 hours…. I picked it up a bit for the last mile (just in case) and safely made it across the line in 6:57:28. Pro triathlete Andy Potts was giving medals at the finish which was awesome. Super nice guy! After I got my medal and water, I went over to my parents and almost burst into tears and started hyperventilating. I was so happy that I had hit my goal and happy they were there and exhausted! I got myself together and got a pic with Andy and we headed back to get my stuff together. That is one of my least favorite things…. Going back to transition always looks like a gym bag exploded and you have to gather everything up. It never gets put in the bag as neatly as it went it, that’s for sure.
Note on the pics…. Apparently, my head shrunk somewhere along the run course and my visor was falling down for the last few miles. Weird. Doesn’t make for great pics. Oh well!
Here is a recap of my HIM history:
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Swim
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T1
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Bike
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T2
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Run
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TOTAL
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Timberman 2011
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56:59
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5:06
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3:48
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3:53
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3:02
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7:56:29
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Rev3 Maine 2012
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45:46
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4:29
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3:29
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7:28
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3:12
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7:39:08
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Quassy 2014
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45:08
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6:45
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4:02
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3:49
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2:56
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7:54:23
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Timberman 2014
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42:42
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4:57
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3:27
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3:03
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2:39
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6:57:28
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Prior PR
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New PR
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Very excited at the progress I have made. I’m still pretty slow, especially in longer distance races, but I enjoy doing it and pushing myself to keep on improving. (Which isn’t always easy, especially since I’m getting older!)
Next up: A few days off, then back to training. It will be a little more run focused as I prep for the Gulf Beach Half Marathon 9/13, then switch to a bike focus in preparation for my first bike race in Oct
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