CdA Race Report- Late as Usual
I guess it’s better late than never. I have had a lot going on since returning from CdA. Getting out of the Navy, moving my family, etc. Nice to just detach from triathlon for a few days. It took me 3 days to get this done once I started.
I decided to do an ironman race before I ever did my first triathlon. I wanted to do something big to celebrate my 40th birthday and honor a close friend and ironman who recently died from a brain tumor. I had been road biking for a while so I just had to learn to swim and hit the pavement. The fitness was there.
Last year I did 3 races, a sprint, half-iron, and oly before the season was over. I did one early season sprint this year with a pool swim, so my total tri experience consisted of only 3 OW swims (literary types would call this foreshadowing).
Pre-Race:
I stayed at a house on lake hayden and was able to get in and out of town for admin pretty easily. I came in very late Wednesday form the east coast and made it down to the race site late Thursday AM. Practice swim in the COLD, choppy water did nothing to inspire confidence. I was pretty low after that one. I was not feeling good but I knew I would have to get it done. Later in the afternoon, did the hill section on the bike without any issues- about 25 mile ride. Friday we did a 30-30-30 swim, bike, run with the bike out along the run course and an easy jog out along the first part of the run course. Again the swim was tough for me. All the nervous energy just sapped me and I was slowly losing my mental edge. I decided to buy a neoprene swim cap to help reduce my heat loss since I knew I would spend some time in the water. Saturday AM I did my last practice swim in the comfort of Hayden Lake without the other racers around and it went much better. Confidence restored.
Race AM:
I woke up at 0130 and drank a super-sized naked juice smoothie and ate a banana. I went back to bed and fell asleep for at least a little while before my alarm went off at 0345. I worked off my checklist at this point. I didn’t forget anything and I stayed right on track. I intended to eat a banana but the nerves were too bad and I knew it wouldn’t move so I bailed. Coffee and gatorade for me. sipped gatorade on the way to town.
Swim: 1:50:41
Huge crowds trying to cross the timing mat to the beach! I was cold like everyone else. I wore old socks and ditched them on the beach which helped keep my feet slightly less cold. I ended up almost behind Al’s wooden post about 6-7 people deep on the beach. I watched the you tube videos before the race and counted about 30-45 seconds for the masses to get in the water and get out of the way. My intention was to wait and let that happen. I guess adrenaline and the confidence from Saturday’s swim took over and I just rolled in with the crowds when the gun went off. BIG MISTAKE. 3 open water swims with wave starts does not prepare you for the mayhem of an ironman mass start swim in cold water. I was getting kicked, punched, swam over, etc. I doubt I was even at the second buoy when I stopped to catch my breath. I tried to keep my head down and swim but I just couldn’t do it. It took a few minutes of belly breathing to just calm down and tell myself that this couldn’t end right now. I had too much riding on this. Paddleboard dude talked me off the ledge- thanks for the good mojo! I finally got going again and tried to count strokes and focus on getting to the next buoy. By the time I made it to the turn on the beach, I was beginning to get pretty cold but I knew I had one more lap left in me. The crowds were considerably thinner. I went back in and began to get leg cramps form the cold. My abs were beginning to cramp and shiver. I had no form at this point. I was in survival mode. I did stop twice more because of calf and quad cramps. In training, I was able to do the swim in 1:30 so I would call this my toughest part of the day.
T1 00:15:06
I came out of the water pretty cold and shivering and immediately went to the warming tent. I am not sure I could have continued the race if I hadn’t been able to warm up. It was warm and I saw at least 20 other guys in the same state as me. I warmed up by the heater until my bag arrived and then I warmed up some more. I slowly got my socks and shoes on and found my arm warmers. By this time I had warmed up enough for my hands to work and unclaw. Helmet and glasses and I prepared to leave. Looked around for my wetsuit and goggles and only found my wetsuit. No swim cap or goggles anywhere- oh well, time to ride.
Bike 6:57:36
I was very happy to be out on the bike and it really didn’t take long to get warm. I was just so glad to not be in the water or DNF’d. I don’t have power so I was riding Zone 1 HR and trying to keep my effort low. That resulted in a lower speed than I am used to but I trusted in the advice of the coaches and teammates. I had a compact and 12-27 and I sat up on all the hills after my speed dropped to 10 mph or below. I had a 3 hour perpetuum bottle on the bike and a frozen 3 hour bottle in bike special needs. I filled my aero bottle on the front with water and nearly all aid stations. I stopped to pee a lot. I didn’t have any real issues. I saw my family 3 times on the bike course and stopped to chat one of the times. I saw Rich on the hill the first time through Hayden Lake. I definitely noticed myself riding the hills differently from virtually everyone else. I should have pushed harder on the bike but without power, I didn’t know how hard I could go and still run. So, in the end, I underperformed on the bike and I think I earned the right to go faster in my next race. My RR bike splits were < 6 hrs but I had a tough time running off the bike so this was my concession. Next ironman I will have a powermeter and know what I am doing.
T2 4:18
I came into transition and ran to the back of the tent where it was pretty wide open. Volunteer helped me put my stuff back in the bag. I put aquaphor on my toes and put my same socks back on. Shoes , hat and ziplock with 2 gels and I was out of there. I stopped for volunteers to put sunscreen on me. I honestly don’t know where the time went. I didn’t feel this slow.
Run: 4:37:01
I had some tightness in my legs but I felt really good. I was very aware of my slow bike split and was counting on it to help me get through this run. Up to this point the farthest I had ever run was 17 miles on the 2.5 hr long run. I dialed in my LR pace plus 1:00 and seemed to be able to hit it. My nutrition plan for the run was simple. I would drink water and perform at all aid stations and add in a cola here and there. I had 2 gels in my shorts pockets just in case and 2 more in special needs. The folks on the run course were awesome. Aid station personnel were heads up and had what I needed if I shouted it out as I was running in. I only walked my 30 steps or so at the end of the aid stations to drink and then set out again. The hills were tougher than I expected but I was able to run all of them. I didn’t walk the course except at the aid stations. I kept waiting for the line. I think it was somewhere on the swim course. I never found it on the run. The trip down Sherman Ave. was awesome. I jogged it and soaked it all in. I heard my name and saw my family.
Overall, I am happy with my first ironman. I think that EN has taught me what I need to do to race this distance. I think it is pretty hard to race the bike without power. I just didn’t have the confidence in my run to go hard on the bike. Next time (yes folks there will be a next time) I will have power and I will know what I can do on the bike. My task now is to work on my swim but more importantly to work on my open water swimming. I will have to enter a few more races this year and get more comfortable in the scrum. I am not sure the cold water is my friend but as I get better, maybe it won’t be an issue. I also think I my wetsuit may fit loosely enough to allow a little bit of water in. It doesn’t have that tight chest constriction like I hear about from so many others. Would be curious to hear what others think a good wetsuit fit should feel like. It was really nice to see all the EN folks on the course supporting each other. Looking forward to the next race!
Dave
Comments
Dave - Congrats on a good finish. It sounds like you stayed within yourself the entire way, even the swim, which led to a good result. Way to collect yourself on the swim, re-group and keep going. That is a demonstration of good race execution - staying calm and fighting thru the bad patch.
2x on how good it was to see all the ENers on the course supporting each other. Good luck on your future races and I hope we can race together again.