After Les's touching story of triumph and loss, and the Irongrrls' catalogue of hypothermia, flats and purple toes, I thought I'd tell my tale, which is a happier one.
I had a near perfect race and I did much better than I ever thought possible. I knew the course well, having trained there and covered each part of the course three or four times. I had set a goal time of 13 hours, which was NOT a sure thing but allowed a little time for less-than-perfect conditions (heat, wind) and some "distress" on the final run leg -- cramps, walking, upset stomach, etc. Instead, we had great weather and ideal conditions (if you weren't out on the run too late), and I felt about as good as one can feel in an event like this.
The water was really nice. I swam very conservatively and finished the 2.4 miles in 1:12, right on schedule. I started near the front of the pack, but I swam farther away from the buoys, out of the crowd, which means I probably swam a little farther than necessary, but as a result I had a nice, comfortable swim with very little interference after a few minutes of people crossing my path to get near the buoys.
I felt really good on the 112.4-mile bike course, and we had cool, clear weather with no wind on the first loop and a little wind on the second, mostly on the flats. Every time I had trained on the course, I battled a lot of wind on all the hilliest segments, so on race day the course seemed easy by comparison. I knew I could beat my goal of 7 hours (16 mph) if conditions were good, but I never thought I'd do as well as I did: 6:15, almost 18 mph!
I was able to start the run at a pretty good pace. My goal time for the 26.2 miles was 4 1/2 hours, a 10:30 pace per mile. I had figured I'd run sub-9-minute miles to start and eventually slow down and probably walk a little, especially if I got a cramp or got sick. I settled into about an 8:40 pace and was able to stay under 9:00 for a long time. There are two very steep hills near the end of the 13-mile course (which you run twice) and I decided it would do me more harm than good to run up them, so I walked, which was a nice break. I also walked through aid stations, which were every mile on the course. The last two miles of the loop go right through town and the cheering crowd gave me a great boost. The second loop was very difficult, but I kept telling myself to keep running until I got to the hills. It seems ironic that I was looking forward to those big hills, just so I could walk a bit! Miles 18-22 were the hardest, and I kept thinking "only three miles to that hill" and "only a mile and a half to that hill"! I saw all my friends out on the race course, and I was glad to see everyone was still going. I had realized early in the run that I could beat a 12:30 overall time if I didn't get a cramp and now I was thinking I could even beat 12:00 if I just kept going. I was very tired, my legs were getting very tight, and my lungs ached from my asthma, but I was still moving pretty well. I walked up the hill at mile 22, ran some more, and walked up the hill at mile 24, where the crowd gave me another boost. (It started to rain lightly and I got a little worried about my friends who were just starting their second loop in the rain). I pushed the last mile and sprinted the last 200 yards to the finish. My time: 11:39:39!
I had a minor asthma episode after crossing the finish line, but I got myself under control and sat down and ate and drank as much as I could, then sat in the hot tub, and got a massage. My husband David had been working as a volunteer and had had a very busy day -- he was almost as tired as I was! I wondered how everyone was doing out on the course, but we were staying 10 miles away and we both needed to get back to the hotel and shower and relax. My legs hurt for two days, my lungs and back hurt for three days, but by Thursday I was almost back to normal.
There's a swim race this Sunday that sounds interesting...