i certainly wasn't nervous for this race. i knew i wasn't a contender. i am no triathlete. i just love pushing myself for a lot of hours. and this was just a practice race b/f the full Iron in September. so when the pros ran into the water and took off swimming, the hour and a half that i had to wait for my wave seemed to take a long time. i just wanted to get going . the day was already getting hot. i broke a sweat just trying to put the wetsuit on. so i hung out for an hour and a half in the water, waiting. oh and for some reason, the 34-39 year old males had to wear pink swim caps this year. so...there was that.
i'm not much of a swimmer. i get nervous swimming in groups of people. so i stayed away from the pack and just took my time and tried not to think about it. it went by relatively fast. 45 minutes later, i peeled off the pink swim cap (b/f the photographers got me) and ran to shore. i could feel my HR a little high but jogged it into transition. peeled the wetsuit, threw on shoes, helmet and shades and ran the bike out. mounted and took off w/ a fire burning strong. i felt good and was ready to breeze through 56 miles. but it was 96 degrees by this point of the morning and i felt every bit of it. i kept on strong and felt the drip of sweat coming off my chin turn into a pour. it was going to be rough. i drank five bottles of fluid throughout the ride. took six salt / electrolyte capsules and forced down four or five gels. i was pushing hard and began to get dizzy at points. i'd back off and hydrate a bit. then something in my head would say / this is the point when a strong cyclist would drop the hammer / and up off the saddle i'd go and i'd hammer it. i passed people all day. only a few passed me. but i'd literally been one of the last people out of the water, so that was expected. i cheered for other riders and cheered back at spectators. mostly to keep MY spirits up. i cruised into transition w/ a lot less knee pain that i had the year b/f. racked the bike and talked to a guy who was also going through transition.
right behind ya brother / i called out. he was in my way a bit.
oh sorry.
no worries. how ya feelin?
oh, i don't know. it's a little hot and i'm about to run my first half marathon.
you're first?
yeah.
that's awesome dude! go get em! / and i took off. i hoped my run would be the final nail to seal up the days event and give myself a good time. but after about a hundred yards, i knew my legs were tired. i'm not sure if it was the heat, pushing myself too hard on the bike, or running a 50 mile ultra the week b/f. i'm not here to offer excuses. but it was tough and i ran slow and just tried to hang on. a two hour half marathon is pretty slow for me. i jogged it and wouldn't let myself walk, like so many others. i put my head down and gutted it out. 98 degrees and most of the race on a hot blacktop. it was grueling. but that's how i like it. i put ice down my jersey and in my hat whenever i could. i drank fluids at every aid station. 13 miles isn't usually much of a run for me but this was tough. i crossed the finish line five hours and 37 minutes after i had ran into the water. it was HOT. i was TIRED. i hadn't come close to placing but i had a good time and it was PRACTICE for a bigger event that's coming up. and the longer the event, the better i tend to do. so far...
here's a few pics and a dubious video of my finish...
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event_video.asp?EVENTID=75640&BIB=1877&LNSEARCH=1
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