Postby blengling » 19 Jun 2011 20:10
For those of you who don't want to read the whole review here are my times first
1.2 Mile Swim - 00:42:38.9 Pace 0:02:12 / 100 meters
T-1 - 00:01:53.9
56 Mile Bike - 02:50:26.2 Pace - 19.9 mph
T-2 - 00:02:53.5
13.1 Mile Run - 02:03:26.3 Pace - 0:09:25 minutes / mile
Finish Time 5:41:19
My previous Best was 6:25:25
I was totally drained after the race, There was almost nothing left in the tank. I don't think I ever put forth an effort like this together in my lifetime so far.
I woke up to early at 1 AM and just laid in bed till 2:30 and then got up because I could not fall back asleep. I met my friends Jason and Lauren at the park and ride at 3:30 and then drove up to Sherwood WI to High Cliff State park. After a few missed turns we found our way to the park and off loaded our bikes and gear. I picked up my race packet, found my spot in the transition area and got set up. I put on my timing chip and made my way to body marking and they put my bib number (123) on my shoulder and calf and marked my hand with my wave number (3)
Back in the transition area I donned my wetsuit and went down to the lake (Winnebago) took a warm-up swim until they called us out of the water. The weather was nice at 7:00 AM at around 68 degrees. They sang the national anthem and the race began. I was in the third swim wave and so the next thing I knew I was hitting the water. I found my pace and rhythm quickly and settled in for the haul. Winnebago was calm and the swimmers spread out a bit so there was not too much jostling or other swimmers crawling over your back which is usually par for the course and had me apprehensive about being in the third wave. After 42 minutes and 39 seconds I was out and having my wetsuit stripped from me.
Transition 1 - 00:01:53 went smooth and I was out on my bike. The first 1-1/2 miles is a climb out of the park ( it is called High Cliff park) I was riding a wave of adrenalin ( I was really happy with my swim time as I worked hard on this) and got to the top when I noticed a clicking noise and discovered my rear brake cable end was sticking out from the brake and making contact with the crank every time around. I tried to fix it without stopping but only made it worse as the cable end got stuck between the rim and brake pad. I stopped and fixed it and was back off. The bike course was excellent and I flew through the first 15 miles at about a 25 mph average. My plan was to have an energy gel pack every 45 minutes but I waited till mile twenty for the first one when I was struggling with leg fatigue. Five minutes later my legs were go to go again. Nutrition is so important in these events, I should have had the gel earlier! The weather was nice I thought and the thunderstorms were holding off, The sky was overcast but it was warm and it only sprinkled rain one time. Not even enough to notice drops on the road. Through out the course I drank about 40 ounces of Gatorade G-2 to make sure I stayed well hydrated. The overcast sky had caused me to mistake how warm it was really getting and this caught up with me later.The course was fairly flat with some long rolling hills which made it challenging. There was a long uphill stretch into the wind that slowed you down for awhile but I finished the course at just a bit under a 20 mph average at 2:50:26.2
T2 00:02:53 went well I thought but I bumbled getting some energy gels into my tri-top and getting my i-Pod strapped on, still I was on the run course pretty quick.
The run course was a trail run (new to me) after going up the bluff again for the first mile and once up on the bluff it was two times around a 5.5 mile meandering course of trails along the bluff and through the woods. It was tricky as you had some rocks and tree roots to trip you up along with some steep inclines and declines and also some roughed out steps in the rock faces. I rolled my left ankle once on a root but escaped without injury. The run was a roller coaster ride for me as I constantly went from feeling queasy, to a slight chill, to the warm fuzzies and then to great and through the cycle again. I was well hydrated but found later that these are the symptoms of needing electrolytes. My electrolytes pills were back in my transition bag. There is always more and more to learn about in the areas of nutrition and hydration. The temp was going up along with the humidity but the sky stayed overcast except for about 10 minutes of sun which made me realize how warm it really was. The i-Pod and the scenery helped keep my mind off thinking too much about the issues I was having and kept me focused on always trying to catch the next runner ahead of me. All in all I made it through the run and posted a 2:03:26
To sum it up, 5:41:19 and almost nothing left in the tank. I made my way to the ice bath after getting a big cup of Steven's Point 2012 Dark Ale and lowered myself in the water after taking off my shoes and soaked my legs for a good 15 minutes. Nothing has ever felt so good after a race. I thought I would not be able to stand more than a minute or two of the icy water but it was like heaven. There was about 12 of us in the ice bath and we talked about the highs and lows of the race. Most of all, everyone found it much slower going on the trails than running on the road but all agreed it was a great race.
Race Afterthoughts
My goal was to finish at 6 hours or just under. I bested my previous time by 44 minutes.
I beat my swim time by almost 31 minutes.
I beat my bike time by 8 minutes.
I beat my run time by 3 minutes which was disappointing as I expected to beat it by 10 or more minutes.
And last but not least, I need to be more aware of the weather conditions and keeping my body hydrated and fed properly, This includes electrolytes also.
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