Tom N IMWI Race Report
Abbreviated version of it all. I ended up getting sick the night of IMWI. I felt fine the morning of, I didn't realize that I would have a small bug that would lead to perhaps a slightly below average day of racing.
This was IMWI #3 for me. I followed my usual pre-race routine.
Swim - I HATED the wave start and I very much prefer the mass start. However, I swam to the first turn as well as I ever have. I swam the course with one of the local clubs recently and came in @ 1:30. I was doing better on race day and felt fantastic. About 100 yards after the first turn I was hit with leg cramps like I've never had before. I cramp in open water from time to time. 30-45 seconds of pulling and I'm good to go. These cramps were bad. I've never had to turn on my back during a tri before but that's what happened. It was crazy. I don't think I kicked more than 30 kicks after the cramps hit after the first turn. Every time I thought I'd recovered and started to kick, both legs immediately cramped. It was horrendous and somewhat of a nightmare. I just pulled the rest of the course and managed to get out of the water in about 1:55.
T1- My legs were on fire so I just tried to 'run' the cramps out. I wasn't moving very fast. I just tried to keep moving through transition and not get discouraged at my day. I kept telling myself to control what I can and enjoy the day. Lucky for me, it was VERY easy to find my bike in transition.
13 min transition
Bike - So my legs were terrible and felt awful. I had two cups of water in transition, though I didn't feel dehydrated at all. I just started my nutrition plan and started my bike. Even though I was running WAY behind what I thought I was going to do, I didn't panic and tried to keep the JRA pace on the stick. My HR was crazy on the bike, but I assumed my garmin was misreading and followed my power numbers. Now I was trying to 'ride' away my cramps. It didn't really work though I told myself I was feeling good. My power numbers were looking good. I was nailing my nutrition plan. Just after Barlow, things took a turn for the worse. Between Barlow and starting my second loop, I threw up several times. I couldn't keep down GE or water. I kept trying to control what I could and keep going. I kept hoping things would 'settle' down. I made the turn for my second loop and all of a sudden I got SUPER dizzy. I quickly stopped and got off the bike when I fainted. I happened to do this right by the penalty tent. They came over to check on me and told me that I didn't look very good. (FEELING GOOD BILLY RAY!) Of course, while I was lying there, waves of cramps went through my legs and I called it a day.
Takeaways - My daughters both ended up with nasty colds in the days after the race and I ended up getting sick as well. I didn't realize it on race day, but I probably had some kind of bug. In the end, it just wasn't my day. I felt ready. There were things I could have done better but I was ready enough for the day. I had one of those days. I had heard about them. I have never experienced one in training or racing. It was pretty disappointing as it's my very first DNF in anything. Somehow the IMWI site has me listed as DNS. On the plus side, my wife convinced me that I needed to sign up for 2018. I'm confident that 2018 will be a much better race for me and I'm looking forward to it.
This was IMWI #3 for me. I followed my usual pre-race routine.
Swim - I HATED the wave start and I very much prefer the mass start. However, I swam to the first turn as well as I ever have. I swam the course with one of the local clubs recently and came in @ 1:30. I was doing better on race day and felt fantastic. About 100 yards after the first turn I was hit with leg cramps like I've never had before. I cramp in open water from time to time. 30-45 seconds of pulling and I'm good to go. These cramps were bad. I've never had to turn on my back during a tri before but that's what happened. It was crazy. I don't think I kicked more than 30 kicks after the cramps hit after the first turn. Every time I thought I'd recovered and started to kick, both legs immediately cramped. It was horrendous and somewhat of a nightmare. I just pulled the rest of the course and managed to get out of the water in about 1:55.
T1- My legs were on fire so I just tried to 'run' the cramps out. I wasn't moving very fast. I just tried to keep moving through transition and not get discouraged at my day. I kept telling myself to control what I can and enjoy the day. Lucky for me, it was VERY easy to find my bike in transition.
13 min transitionBike - So my legs were terrible and felt awful. I had two cups of water in transition, though I didn't feel dehydrated at all. I just started my nutrition plan and started my bike. Even though I was running WAY behind what I thought I was going to do, I didn't panic and tried to keep the JRA pace on the stick. My HR was crazy on the bike, but I assumed my garmin was misreading and followed my power numbers. Now I was trying to 'ride' away my cramps. It didn't really work though I told myself I was feeling good. My power numbers were looking good. I was nailing my nutrition plan. Just after Barlow, things took a turn for the worse. Between Barlow and starting my second loop, I threw up several times. I couldn't keep down GE or water. I kept trying to control what I could and keep going. I kept hoping things would 'settle' down. I made the turn for my second loop and all of a sudden I got SUPER dizzy. I quickly stopped and got off the bike when I fainted. I happened to do this right by the penalty tent. They came over to check on me and told me that I didn't look very good. (FEELING GOOD BILLY RAY!) Of course, while I was lying there, waves of cramps went through my legs and I called it a day.
Takeaways - My daughters both ended up with nasty colds in the days after the race and I ended up getting sick as well. I didn't realize it on race day, but I probably had some kind of bug. In the end, it just wasn't my day. I felt ready. There were things I could have done better but I was ready enough for the day. I had one of those days. I had heard about them. I have never experienced one in training or racing. It was pretty disappointing as it's my very first DNF in anything. Somehow the IMWI site has me listed as DNS. On the plus side, my wife convinced me that I needed to sign up for 2018. I'm confident that 2018 will be a much better race for me and I'm looking forward to it.
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btw, it is normal nomenclature around here to have your profile name as your real name, helps us all know who we are dealing with and keeps the shenanigans (which are respected) above board.