Postby blengling » 18 Jul 2011 11:34
It was hot, humid, brutal and an amazing mental test at the end.
I stayed over night on a friends sailboat on Sat night in Sturgeon Bay and thankfully there was a nice breeze coming in up the bay to make sleeping comfortable. Like always I woke early before my alarm. Left the boat at quarter to five and headed to Murphy Park about 15 miles north of SB. Got my timing chip and was body marked. I set myself up in the transition area and was ready by 6:30 for my 8:00 start. Donned my wetsuit and headed for the beach for a warmup swim. Water was 69 degrees and just right.
Ran into a few friends on my way to the start staging area talked a bit till the suit was getting warm and then headed back into the water to cool.
7:55 was the national anthem and at 8 the first wave of Elites were off. I was in the 3rd wave and as I waiting at the starting gate about 100 yrds out in the water , someone tapped my shoulder and it was John Borja who I train with. We hi- fived and then the gun went off. That was the last I saw of anyone I knew for the rest of the day.
The swim went well even tho the longest leg of three legs forming an odd kind of triangle that paralleled the beach and was the farthest leg out in the bay, it was a bit rough and choppy which slowed me down some. I finished the 1.2 miles in 00:47:31 which was about 5 minutes off my best time. I kind of figured John had gotten past me on the swim and I set my sights on catching him.
Transition 1 was 00:02:05 which includes a short run from the beach and utilizing the wetsuit strippers.
Got out on the bike course and immediately regretted not using the Porta P. Had a good ride over the 56 miles despite a fairly full bladder which was uncomfortable at times to say the least. Despite having to pee but I didn't want to stop I stayed hydrated and felt great until just after the last water bottle exchange where I dropped the bottle and finished the ride getting very thirsty. The temp by then had risen to the mid 90's by then. I finished the ride in 02:48:09 for a 20 MPH average.
Transition 2. Here's where things started to go bad. The black top parking lot that was the transition area was radiating heat like an oven. I struggled to get my running shoes and socks on as bending over made me very light headed. Hat in place I headed to the Porta P ( not going to make that mistake again ). I struggled to pee without falling over. I have no idea how hot it was in there. Trans time 00:04:38
Out to the run. My first and only mistake here was not grabbing the offered cup of water as I left transition and I was obsessed by water all the way to the first water station. Miles 1 through 4 I never could get up to speed, I was run/walking and fixated on every water / gatorade station gulping down a couple of each before heading off again. Reaching the town of Egg Harbor at Mile 4 I was able to feel like I was really running at somewhat close to pace. Miles four through 9 I actually ran all the way just stopping to gulp down fluids at each aid station which were spaced about every 1.5 miles.
Mile 9.2 is the beginning of Bluff Pass hill. A 1/2 mile hill at a 20% grade. Needless to say I walked it. After reaching the summit the last 3+ miles was wide out in the open in the sun and about 96 degrees with a heat index of 105 to 110 and no breeze. Again it was run a half mile , walk a quarter mile. The last 1/2 mile was downhill and into the park. Lots of encouragement here and the last 250 yards down the chute to the finish line. For once I remembered to smile and raised my arms going across the line at a sprint. Finish time for the 13.1 miles was 02:23:32. About 30 minutes off what I hoped to do.
Total time, 06:05:57
338 / 906 ... 1/2 Iron finishers
17/49 M - 50 to 54
After crossing the finish line I was aware of someone pushing a bottle of water into my hands, my finisher's medal going around my neck along with a towel taken from a garbage can of ice water. 15 feet farther I took my shoes and socks off ( again struggling with light headiness) and stepped into the ice baths. You have no idea how good this feels. There were about 20 in the pool I was in and the topic was only focused on how brutal the run was. Many murmurs of personal worst record for a half marathon run and how that was the toughest run any has ever done. I know it was the hardest thing I ever accomplished myself.
A for John, I never caught up to him because I was ahead of him and everyone else I knew there. I finished about 2:30 in the afternoon and at 4:30 I could not take the sun and heat anymore and quit waiting and looking for anyone I knew, I packed up, cranked on the AC and headed home stopping twice to get a large chocolate shake.
It turned out that no one else I knew crossed the finish line before I left and John, he struggled in with a time of 8:22:53
The winner posted a 04:13:41.9 time and the last on in posted 09:14:12.3
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