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2012 Eagleman 70.3 race report

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The 2012 Eagleman 70.3 was mostly a repeat of the past 2 years, with the exception of wetsuits being allowed.  That was such a blessing because I'm not the best at swimming and the wetsuit certainly helps.  Backing up, I was dealing with some intestinal bug for the 3 weeks leading up to Eagleman and on an antibiotic the last week.  Lost 5 pounds and was feeling pretty sluggish.  Seeing the weather forecast, I decided to wait and see how I felt on race morning.  My husband was also doing Eagleman so we were going to Maryland one way or another.  I thought worse case I'd skip it, next best scenario was to skip the run, or best case - do the whole thing even if I had to walk the half marathon.  Fortunately, I felt a bit better on Sat. a.m., and also on race day so I just kept my fingers crossed that I'd feel okay throughout the day. 

The swim was wonderful!  Not too much bashing, sighting was good, and had a great swim.  Saw my hubby in transition and took off on my bike, waiting for him to pass me.  I love the bike course and kept it in low Zone 3 for the entire ride.  Finished my 40 oz. of Infinite by hour 2 then drank water and took GU blox as well as 1 salt tablet each hour and a couple of tums near the end.  I did run out of water about 5 miles out but figured I was okay since I was so close.  I finished just under 3 hours, which is the same time as the past 2 years but I wanted to hold back a little for the run that I knew would be torture!

My hubby showed up in T2 just after me so I knew he must have had a problem and sure enough, his rear tire had blown out while we were swimming!  He didn't have it pumped up to high or anything - must have been a faulty tube.  So he decided his race was pretty much over and he decided he'd run with me:-)  What a guy!   The run was brutal, as expected.  But thank God for the ice!  I shoved that ice down every nook and cranny I could find.  Drank lots of water and took a Blox at every aid station, while I walked probably close to a minute at each one!  One more salt tab and a couple of tums on the way.  

I felt pretty good, all things considered.  But my heart rate seemed high and my breathing was labored so I kept it steady.  Stupidly, I tried to sprint up the shoot to the finish and almost lost my cookies at the finish line!  I felt pretty lousy for a few hours after the race, but the pepsi seemed to help.  There was no way I was eating those rice and beans and corn-on-the-cob!!

In the end, I came in 3rd in my age group and hung around for the awards to get my Eagle:-)  My 11-min PR was the result of the swim.  Both the bike and run were almost exactly the same as last year so I was quite pleased with the race, given my low expectations going into it!

It was GREAT meeting the ENers and getting our group picture!  I don't know why each year we keep coming back for the same hot torture, but there is just something about Eagleman that brings me back!  

 

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