I must preface the report with the fact that I started this race last year, my first attempt at an official 70.3 Ironman event, and I was ran into 3 miles into the bike ride and couldn't continue with the race. So 2011 is Ben's Revenge!
We start with my night in Cambridge, MD.. The Night of Hell! Probably one of the worst nights of sleep, or lack there of, I've ever had. I camped out near the Great Marsh Park. I watched a movie on my laptop then proceeded to fall asleep around 10... or so I thought. About 10 minutes later I am awaken by the buzzing of mosquitoes. It had just rained very hard for a few hours and it continued to drizzle all night. The mosquitoes were ravaging and I had no bug spray. Yes I am an idiot. All I wanted to do was have a good 6-7 hours of sleep and wake up and race. But it was hot and I couldn't fall asleep with mosquitoes buzzing my ears and trying to bite me all night. I might of gotten an hour of sleep at best. Believe it or not once the 5am alarm hit I felt rested and ready to race. Word to the wise: The best time to get the most sleep before a race is the night before the night of the race. Don't ask me why, that's just the way it is.
I ate a sweet potato with granola and a gatorade about 3 hours before the race, which for me started around 8:30. I continued to drink water and eat a couple powergels while waiting around for my swim wave to start. Race day temps were sunny and in the low 90s.. hydration was critical.
The swim takes place in the Choptank and the water temp was 82, no wetsuits allowed :(. I remembered the swim last year taking forever and thinking it was way long. Fact is we swim against a current for the last 900 meters... good for fast swimmers, bad for the slow swimmers. Swim times increase exponentially the weaker swimmer you are. It took me 36 minutes to get through the 1.2 miles, yeah that is bad. I was on my own the entire swim as I could not find any feet to draft behind. That is a pretty big hole to dig out of when I am trying to at least win my age group.
I was very excited to ride the bike course as I heard it is very similar to what I train on here at home. And it was! I would say we had a 10 mph wind at our back half way and in our face half way. I averaged 26 mph throughout the 57 mile course and finished in 2:12. Two minutes shy of my goal of 2:10. Uhh I can't wait until I get some lite aero wheels, then maybe I can keep up with pro TJ Tollakson who rode an incredible 2:04 for 57 miles. It was pretty hot out there, but nothing I wasn't prepared for, until I forgot my bag of salt tablets and dropped a bottle of my of carbo pro. I wanted to err on the side of caution an not go all out on the bike ride. I was pretty concerned about cramping up during the hot run, so I just stayed in a comfortable zone during the last 20 miles or so. I drank about 5-6 bottles of water, 3 with 200 cals of carbo pro and I ate 2 powergels. I wanted to take in more water and cals during the ride, but my body was refusing anything more... that's why salt tabs are so great.
I had a bit of a problem finding my bike rack, so amateur I know, but I just could not find my spot. After running in circles in the transition area I threw on my nutrition belt with 3-8oz bottles of carbo pro and my shoes and yes I wore socks this time.
My legs were very stiff the first mile and things were not looking great. I stuck to a slower pace than I planned for most of the run, mostly because I was afraid of cramping up from the heat. I would say I averaged 6:45 min/mile and lost 15 secs/mile when I walked thru the aid stations throwing ice down my shirt and on my head and downing cups of gatorade. My 13.1 run split was 1:32. I absolutely did not run like I should have meaning I did not push myself like I should have. But if you look at the professionals run finish times and you can tell it was a tough day out there.
My overall time was 4:25. 3rd in my age group and 17th amateur. And I earned my 70.3 World Championship slot with a top 3 finish. Overall I had a pretty average race. It's disappointing to see my swim and run times as I was off 5 minutes in the swim and 10 minutes in the run. Well at least I was on during the bike. I had a great time seeing friends and meeting new people at the event. I met a few other Team Aquaphor athletes which was cool. Also met and talked with a few of the Pro men and women at awards ceremony which was very cool. The thing about meeting other triathletes is that we are all sort of alike.
So here is the deal on why I won't be racing 70.3 Worlds. Unfortunately Ironman requires you to pay by check right then and there the second your name is called, which I was completely unaware of. This was my first 70.3 Ironman qualifying event and I was not up on their "rules". Sounds completely ridiculous that they don't take credit card, I mean who uses checks these days.. old people still stuck in the olden days that's who. So instead of letting me get cash to pay they roll the spot down to the next fastest person, in affect watering down the quality of the race field at World Championships. Needless to say I was a bit frustrated with their rules as I was planning to go to Las Vegas this year to compete at 70.3 World Championships. I would really have to travel out my way to race another 70.3 event to qualify for World Champs again.
I think the story of this race was the volunteers. They do such an amazing job under demanding circumstances. It would be quite a struggle to finish that run course without the volunteers handing out ice and drinks every mile. I think this was the best volunteer aided race I've done. The Cambridge community really knows how to do it right.
It is now time for me to prepare for 5150 DC Olympic Triathlon this weekend coming. I have 2 days recovery post race then a couple days of short intensity training before Sundays race. Wish me luck!.
No comments:
Post a Comment