This was my first ½ Ironman (I use the term Ironman in its most inclusive definition while noting that Ironperson just sounds weird, and that’s what everyone uses; no disrespect intended, ladies, you rock! :). So, I was a bit nervous about what to expect and how I would do. Ray, our dog, Mookie, and I drove to Spokane the day before the race, and arrived around 2 pm. We checked into the hotel (Double Tree on the River Front Park), and I picked up my packet and attended the pre-race brief at 3 pm with time to spare. The brief was informative (highly recommended) with the most unusual race feature being the transition zones. This is the 27th year for Troika, and they’ve fine-tuned this event with an army of volunteers that, among many things, manage an efficient system of pre-labeled bags that facilitate T-1 and T-2 (more on this later).
I headed back to the hotel, took the dog for a stroll, and relaxed in the room. We ate an early dinner (5:30 pm), as recommended by Coach Jill, and headed back to the room. I made sure to scope out a place that would be open for breakfast the next morning (another great tip, Jill), and found a Perkins (open 24hrs/day) just around the corner from the Double Tree. Back to the hotel to prep all the race equipment, and triple-check my race equipment list (a must!). My main concern was nutrition. I use Carbo-Pro and endurolytes, but still haven’t quite figured it all out. My biggest worry was that I only have 2 bottle carriers on my bike frame. I had planned on getting a seat bottle carrier, but my local bike shop didn’t have any on Friday when I was running around for my last-minute race purchases. I debated heading into Seattle or Kirkland, but just couldn’t handle having to face Friday evening traffic the day before our trip (in hindsight, not smart). Watched some movies and tried to get some sleep at 10 pm, but pre-race jitters kept me up until probably 11-12.
Up the next morning at 4 am, which doesn’t give me much of a night’s rest, but I haven’t figured out how to get the 7-8 hrs sleep that I would typically need. I’m open to suggestions. The early start gave us plenty of time to eat breakfast (pancakes, scrambled eggs and coffee), and get to Medical Lake for the race start. We arrived around 5:30. I set up my bike area, went for a quick 5-minute bike spin, and prepared my transition equipment. I finish off my 16 oz. water bottle and take 3 endurolytes. My run stuff went into the garbage bag (with your race # on it) they provided for T2, which I handed to the race volunteers to transport to T2 (nice if not a bit scary). They also give you a second bag to that you put your swim stuff in, which also gets transported to T2. Then, into my wetsuit for a warm up swim around 6:30 (start at 7:00). I make sure to visualize the swim course and pick out my sighting buoys. I like to sight on a buoy as well as a background ground feature (cell phone tower, bright house, tall tree) for optimal swim path success.
I see Shawn and Jessica on the beach, chat a bit, and then we’re off (on time). I’m in the first wave (all males), and go out fairly strong without too much bump and grind. I try to settle into a nice strong, smooth rhythm, but have to momentarily drop back or surge forward to get into an open position. I sight well and by the ½ way mark am into a nice consistent rhythm. I concentrate on strong, smooth form with a good even breathing pattern, and pick up the pace in the second half. I find myself in a nice tight line on the buoys on the final approach, and wonder why a lot of swimmers on fairly far off course on the left. I get moment’s panic with 500 yds to finish when I wonder if I’ve missed a buoy somewhere along the way. I get out of the water feeling real good, and no one pulls me off for disqualification, so I figure that I must not have missed any buoys :-) I trot up to the transition while stripping to my waist, then stuff my goggles and earplugs in my cap (I find that’s a good way to keep everything simple and together without losing time). I get to the transition area, sit down to take my suit off relatively easily (the PAM really does help). I stuff my suit and cap in the bag, and get my shoes, sunglasses and helmet on. I’m feeling good about the swim and my T1, and head off on the bike.
I placed my Garmin on the bike while wearing the Garmin chest strap, but am wearing the polar for overall time. My HR is about right for the first part of the bike, so I keep it about AeT+10-15 for the first 5 miles, while applying a strong pedal stroke. I’m feeling pretty good, so after about 30 minutes, I push it a bit to AeT+15-20. I make sure to drink water for the first 15 min. then start sipping on my Carbo-Pro that I mixed with a little berry juice for flavor. The course is has quite a few rolling hills, so I try to stay in my big ring for the small hills to fly down the downhills, but crank down to the small ring for the steeper uphills. The bike ride goes well, but the hills are definitely doing a number on the legs. About ½ way my quads and glutes are getting tight, and not as responsive as I would like them to be. I keep the sipping my bottles and take 3 endurolytes/hr. I preplaced my endurolytes in a tiny ziplock in my trisuit pocket for the bike, but some water got in during the swim, and the pills got wet. I realize I should have put them in an easily accessible pouch on the frame. At this point my legs go through cycles of tightness, so I just crank as hard as I can without going over my edge. I find that my HR is around AeT for most of the second half of the ride (except for the steeper hills) despite cranking as hard I can. I’m finding this strange because my goal was to push it to AeT+15-20 for the 2nd half, but decide not to worry about it. I finish my second nutrition bottle with about 10 miles to go, and realize this is when the 3rd nutrition bottle would have been nice. There were 2 aid stations, but they only carried water. The bike course is mostly scenic and enjoyable with only a couple of long interminable stretches. I come into Spokane, and realize that the end is really near with only one last climb to go. I power through it while standing, then make the last turn into T2. The transition is super smooth and fast. The volunteers meet me, take my bike and hand me a bag to put my helmet and shoes in, then hand me my run bag. Talk about service; very nice! There are a couple of park benches, so I make quick time putting on socks, shoes, belt and hat.
I’m off running at a decent pace, and my legs are actually thankful to be off the bike. I’m barely a mile into the run, when my central quads start cramping a bit. I try to stretch them out and find out that’s a really bad idea because they just cramp up more. So, my strategy is to keep running to see if the cramping will be manageable, and decide to start sucking down water and nutrition. I eat a gel pack with water, then sip my carbo-pro/juice mixture. The cramping subsides, and I’m running about an 8-min/mile pace. I decide to keep that pace for the first 3 miles and see what happens (hoping to pick it up a bit). The cramping comes and goes, so I decide to slow down a bit while cramping, then pick it up a bit when it subsides. This seems to work. There are aid stations every mile with water, Heed and wet sponges. I alternate water and Heed, and enjoy the sponges although it’s not really that hot. I take 3 more endurolytes at mile-5. I play cat and mouse with a couple guys in my age group, and hope I can outlast them in the second half of the run. At the turn-around, my body is getting pretty tired, and it becomes a mind over matter from then on, but with every mile the end is getting nearer. I decide to walk through the aid stations while drinking, then start running. I notice that several people are having serious cramping issues and are walking, and that I’ve passed my earlier “friends”. That encourages me (the only person that passes me is 25; young punk :-), and now it’s just a matter of maintaining a nice rhythm to the finish. The last 3 miles are really hard, and my body is becoming exhausted. The cramping continues to be cyclic and manageable, so I figure I’m not in for any major problems until the end. I pick it up a bit in the last mile and finish strong across the finish line! My whole body is achy and tired, but I am pleasantly surprised at my time, so it makes it all totally worth it. I actually did it!
Lessons Learned:
-Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition! (I really need to be less of a bone-head about this, and get this solved)
- Get the bike configured for longer races/training (extra bottle cage for seat, move pouch (spare tires, endurolytes) to front of frame for easier access and make room for extra bottle cage)
- Need to figure out a better system for time/HR for entire race (polar+/-garmin)
