That was always my thought when it came to doing an Ironman. On September 10, I took one step closer to actually doing it. Less than two weeks before the NashVegas Half Ironman, I had heard there was to be a triathlon held in Ashland City, TN, a small town not far from my home here in Clarksville. And I heard there would be three options: Sprint distance, Olympic distance and Half Ironman distance. Olympic seemed the most logical choice for me since I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon at the Music City Triathlon back in July. The Sprints were just feeling too short, but with only one short run and the Cedars of Lebanon Triathlon under my belt since Music City, even Olympic seemed like a stretch. So I signed up for Half Ironman.
I had been planning to try a Half Ironman race in Illinois in October, so I thought what the heck. Lets do it now. I knew I was good for the bike distance, but the run and swim would definitely be a challenge. I got in one pool swim of 1500 meters before the race so that helped my confidence out. I never really had time to run since Cedars of Lebanon with all the crit. racing I had on my plate. No doubt this was going to really test me. Only time would tell if my decision was a smart one or not.
If you aren't familiar with a Half Ironman, here is the order and distances: swim 1.25 miles, bike 56 miles, run 13.2 miles. Yeah, that's a half marathon at the end. I think that was the scary part for me. Ending with a run that long was going to destroy me.
Race morning started bright and early. We got to the venue at River Bluff Park in time for me to set up my things in the transition area. Shannon volunteered for the race. She figured she would help out since she was going to be there all day and there wasn't much spectating to be done. She's cool like that. All helpful and nice. About 2 minutes before the transition area closed, I realized that my bike shoes were still in the trunk of the car. Of course the parking lot was forever away from the race. I crawled under the fence that surrounded the transition area and ran across the venue to hunt down Shannon as she was getting pre-race instructions. I grabbed the key from her and made a mad dash for the car. It was a good warm-up, but I would've rather saved my legs for the race. I got the shoes and made it back to transition area several minutes after it closed, but they allowed me to take in my shoes since it's kind of hard to ride without them.
It was a very cool morning and the water temperature of the Cumberland River was still warm. That created a lot of fog, so thick that the Coast Guard wouldn't let us begin. The river isn't very wide in this area. There's a huge bluff on the other side and you couldn't see it at all. None of the buoys were visible either. We were delayed about 40 minutes. Then the fog lifted and the sun began to shine brightly on the bluff.
Video: First wave swim start in the morning fog
The swim was fast! I could not believe how fast everybody was going. I started midpack and drifted back, trying to settle into my pace and forget about everyone around me. We went downstream first, then swam across the current and back against it. That was a tough finish to the swim, but the current was pretty slow so it wasn't awful. I did good staying in my rhythm for about 2/3 of the way, then the second group caught me. They pretty much ran over me. It kind of pissed me off because they didn't even try to go around me. It's not like you can't move a little when you first feel your hand hit someone's foot. I would've pulled one of them under if I had the strength to swim faster and catch them.
I got pummeled by the older men, and caught by some of the women that began in the third group. At least the women were nice. I was probably the last swimmer out of the water from my wave, but I didn't care. I made it! And my time was good. The goal was 45 minutes and I was out in 39:31. That was the fastest swim pace I have ever had too. And I felt good!
The upper body felt pumped up, but otherwise I had no fatigue from the swim as I started the bike leg of the race. Shannon was a course marshal for the first turn so I got to see her on my way out and she got to know that I was alive, not sinking down to the bottom of the river, drifting towards the Cheatham Dam. I didn't even put on my aero bars. I tend to overcook my glutes when I stay aero all day, so I chose to leave them off to keep my glutes fresh for the run.
The first 12 miles of the bike course were fairly flat. There were a few gentle grades, but nothing worth noting. We rode out-and-back on the flat road then passed by the start area before we headed out on a 46-mile loop through southern Cheatham County. I got to see Shannon one more time before I started the hard portion of the bike course. There were many climbs on the bike loop and they began with a long grade at mile 12. I had hoped to hit the climb with a 22.0 mph average in hopes of holding a 20.0 mph average for the whole route. My goal for the day was to finish of course, but the whole time I knew that I would finish. The question was how long it would take me. I was prepared to crawl the run course if I had to. The overall goal was to finish in under 6 hours. I was right on pace with my swim time and then my 22.2 mph average at the first climb.
Bike course
Video: Me 11 miles into the bike segment of the race
I motored up the hills along Hwy 49. I was passing people left and right went the road went up, then making up ground slowly on the flats in between. I felt great for the first 45 miles. There was a nasty climb around mile 34 or 35. It was short, but super steep. I saw two people walking it as I went up. I started to feel fatigue on Hwy 250. There were several short, steep climbs on this road and I was watching my average speed fall. I was determined to hold the average over 20 mph no matter what. I held onto a 20.3 mph average speed and a time of 2:45:25 for the bike.
I was feeling a little sick as I started the run. My stomach just didn't feel good. I had eaten a lot toward the end of the bike and the sloshing of the run was not making my body happy. But I wasn't bonking, and that made me happy. My nutrition of choice was First Endurance's EFS Liquid Shot, providing 400 calories per flask. I was drinking EFS as well. I added in a combo of Sport Beans and Clif Bars just to give me something to taste other than the Liquid Shot. I took no water with me on the run. I was going to depend on the water stops that were supposed to be set up every 1.5 miles. I had one flask of Liquid Shot with me to sip on, and then I had the top secret Holy Hand Grenade mixture in another flask for later when I would need a burst of energy. It's a much more potent mixture of First Endurance products that were probably not intended to be mixed together.
Run course
My stomach was an issue for the first 3 miles, then I started to feel good as we hit the wooded greenway that made up a lot of the run course. The course was super flat. I settled into a good pace and started clicking off the miles. I was surprised that very few people were catching me. That helped my confidence. The Olympic and Sprint distance racers were running the opposite way on the greenway and they provided something to look at early on, helping the miles to go by faster. I ran with Duane Leach for a while. He had beaten me out of the water and I had passed him on the bike at the top of the nasty climb that people were walking up. He caught me again during the run and we chatted for a while. He made me pick up my pace and gave me a few pointers. I eventually let him go and slowed back to my original pace.
At the end of the greenway section, I added a few mini-chocolate chip cookies and some trail mix to my tank, still sipping on the Liquid Shot. I was starting to feel the run a little, but I was not slowing down, which surprised the crap out of me. I was still running sub-9 minute miles with ease. It was getting hot by mile 7 and I was starting to really scan the road ahead for water stations. And then they forgot to put one out. That was the longest 3 miles of my life. I was ready to take my Grenade, but had nothing to wash it down with. Let me say it again, it was hot. My mouth was all dry, so I resorted to using the Grenade gel mixture to wet my mouth. All I will say about that is gross.
When I did finally reach the next water station, I took down some Coke and pretzels. My body was aching now, not from fatigue, but from the pounding of running. I never really got tired during the race, but my knees started to ache from the brutal beating that is running. I could definitely tell I had not been running that far. The last 2 miles really hurt and I had to slow down some, but I made it, finishing the run in 2:20:16. That made for a 10:42 average mile. I finished the entire thing under 6 hours, coming through at 5:51:52. Goal achieved! I ended up finishing 7th in the 25-29 class.
A young guy comes in to finish the Sprint distance race
So close to the finish line!
And my first Half Ironman is in the books!
It was a great day for me and I absolutely loved it! I feel like I am in good enough shape right now to do the swim and bike portion of a full Ironman, but I could not do the run. No way. My knees couldn't take it with the amount of training I am doing now. But I will do one soon. The little seed has been planted in my mind. What once seemed impossible, now seems like nothing more than a little preparation. Thankyou Shannon, my Mom and Dan Saylor for providing me moral support and taking pictures/video. Seeing a friendly face always helps when you are suffering through a long, hard event.
No comments:
Post a Comment