Brenda Ross - Tinman Half Ironman
Tinman RR (3 weeks after my last HIM and feeling better)
Drove down on Friday morning. A old injury in my collarbone had been bothering me all week, after doing butterfly in the pool earlier that week, so decided not to swim on Friday and just stretch the sheat out of it. Drive was uneventful (2.5hrs). Picked up race kit and headed to hotel room to put my feet up and get some work done for EN. After 2 hours of work I contacted some peeps from Ottawa and went to dinner. TY Julie Pearson and Andrew Weston for sharing your evening with me. After dinner, got all my gear out and settled down for the night. Another peep from Ottawa stopped by to catch up (Graeme) and then I decided it was time to get some sleep. My sleep was horrible. It is rare that I do not sleep well before a race, so maybe it was because I was a bit nervous about the race, because I have been feeling better health wise and was thinking that I just might be able to race. Woke up at 4:15am with stomach cramps (eek) – after a quick bathroom break cramps were gone. Had my 750ml of water and then some oatmeal with a mashed up banana. Got sunscreened up, dressed and off to race I go.
Goals: try to find some feet to catch in the swim, ride Zone 3 in the bike and just run, as my running is just starting to feel normal.
It was a warm morning, which was nice, with some sun/cloud. Hotel was close to the race venue, so left the hotel room around 6:30 and was in transition with plenty of time to set up. Bike racks were numbered and I scored an end rack placement. Suhwheat. Set out my kit and then chatted with peeps from Ottawa and even got to see fellow team mate Edwin before the race.
My wave was #3 and we were starting at 8:15, so I started to make my way over to the water at 7:45 to check out the buoy situation and hopefully get a warmup in. When I got there the wave one was just minutes away from starting, so all I had time to do is get my body wet and get out. Waves where set 10minutes apart. I was given some advice on what to sight off of on my way back, because the sun would be in my eyes and then in the water I got and off we went. I did not do my usual wait until everyone gets in the water and then go. I was here to race, so I got in with everyone and spent the first 100 meters trying to find my water and stay on mark for the first buoy. I would say within about 200 meters I was in my groove and feeling fine. Swim was uneventful and went by smoothly.
Out of the water in: 46:44 (7/10 in my AG)
T1 – 3:11 – should have been faster. Took time to put my socks on wet feet. Next time I will put them on when I get off the bike instead.
Bike – goal was to ride in my Z3 for the entire ride. I was pretty sure I would be able to do this, as my last 2.5hr ride I was able to and all my other bike workouts were showing me it was possible. Bike was hilly, but whats new. I always choose hilly courses. We had a nice headwind on the way back which made this a bit tougher, but the bike was uneventful overall. Passed lots of peeps and stayed on track.
Off bike in 2:58:57/18.78mph (4/10 in my AG)
Run – this is where I have a tendency to catch people in my age category, and as soon as I started to run I knew I was going to have a good run. My legs felt amazing. My breathing was steady and I was excited. This was true for the first 6 miles of the run and then I got some severe diaphramic cramping. It stopped me in my tracks. I literally could not stand up. Fook. I had to figure this out, or I would be walking the next 6 miles of the run. Disappointment set in. Even cried a bit, but then decided that I had to change things up. I remember the coaches saying “change things up if you get nutritional issues”, so I switched from powerade to coke at the aid stations. It took me 1 mile to work out the cramps but then if I just ran slowly (at least I was not walking) I could keep the cramping under control. Because my legs were feeling so good I would forget and then my pace would pick up and then the cramping would come back. Ugh!!!!! With 1 mile to go it is just in me to speed up and I ended up doubled over with 200 meters to go to the finish line. Damn, it was hard to stand upright, and run over the finish line.
Run time: 2:13:51 (5/10 in my AG) Although I am disappointed by this time, as my watch would have had me coming in around 2hrs, I am happy that I did not quit and I kept moving.
Overall time: 6:07:00 5/10 in AG
Next up: Kingston Long Course Triathlon – August 2/2015.
Comments
@Brenda, It was great to see you before the race. Great report. I found the swim to be a challenge. All of my OWS this year have been in Mirror Lake where siting is really not required. The very dark water and sparse course markers made this swim a bit longer for me. I found the back portion very difficult to see any markers or any land marks. I swam WAY off course. You described the bike course perfect. The hills are challenging but when done correctly you keep your speed. That head wind on the way back was very apparent and slowed me as well. I'm sorry for your difficulty during the run. When we first passed, I thought you were running great. A 6:07:00 finish & 5in AG is great.
Okay, Tim, here is what I have in answer to your questions:
I'm curious how your NP of this race compared to the White Mountain HIM a couple weeks ago , your recent 2.5hr power rides , and your HIM's from last year? Were your run cramps the same as the morning cramps? What do you think caused both of them? Way to push thru and finish up !
My FTP is 170. At White Mountain on June 7 my NP was 143 watts. My 3hr ride on June 14 my NP was 150w, then my 2.5hr ride on June 20 came in at 152w. My NP at this race was 155w.
Last year Lake George Sep - 149w
Quassy Jun - 143w
Yes, the run cramps were the same as the morning cramps, but no where near as intense. I have no idea what caused them. They started to show up last year when i was training for IMMT. Weird that I did not get any leg or quad cramps, but only diaphramic. Was so sore after the race for 2 days. You could not even touch that area. Felt like I had been throwing up for days.
Hope the cramps do not reappear.