Awesome, my first 70.3 distance on the books! I now know I need a LOT more run training... I finished 50 minutes later than my goal time, and most of that was due to my run totally falling apart after mile 9. The good news is that I loved the experience and I've set myself up for a rockin' good PR on my next 70.3 in 2012.
When the alarm went off at 4 am I was delighted to hear... silence. No wind, which indicated a smooth swim and a faster bike was in the forecast for the day. I downed a glass of Ultragen for hydration, nutrients and calories (yes, it's a recovery drink, but I got the tip from someone's blog and it made total sense. And it tastes awesome.) Then ate my normal breakfast of granola w/soy milk plus some coffee, dressed in my tri kit, grabbed my transition bag and headed out the door.
I was totally not worthy to ride over to transition with these rock stars... Michelle (who had a freakin' amazing race) and Nalani (who came in 1st AG!):
Transition was buzzing... unlike Wildflower where I had tons of time to take pictures and get ready before my 10:40 am wave start, there was no chit-chat other than "can I borrow that bike pump?" It was shaping up to be perfect race-day weather:
Swim
This was to be my first mass-swim start and it was crazy! I started midway back on the left side. I had plenty of clear water in front and behind me, so I felt like I had a decent cushion of space. The cannon went off, I started swimming, and immediately felt like a migrating salmon. People were passing me left and right, which was pretty frustrating, but I just kept calm and tried to get into an easy strong stroke.
It felt like I was swimming FOREVER and was sorely disappointed to see :51 on my Garmin when I finally emerged from the water. In hindsight, the problem was three-fold:
- Wearing a 2-piece kit instead of a 1-piece. I felt water going into my tri shorts, which acted like a parachute and definitely slowed me down. Next time I do a non-wetsuit swim I'm definitely wearing a 1-piece or a speed suit.
- Swimming wide. While staying to the left got me out of the heavy traffic and I was able to swim more stress-free, I definitely swam wide a few times.
- My goggles fogged up, and when we headed back the sun was in my eyes... I could see nothing. I had to stop a couple times, tread water, lift up my goggles and try to figure out where the heck I was. This is when I usually figured out I was swimming wide :-) Note to self, use defogger in races!!
I had expected to be out of the water in :42, so a 9-minute delay was not a fun way to start the race. I had some catching up on the bike. (no idea what the dude behind me is doing... some sort of modified sun salutation??)
Transition took forever!! I've gotten reasonably quick in transition, but this race has a long road from the beach to the transition area. I also wasn't used to keeping everything in bags, so I fumbled a bit getting my shoes out and on. And my Garmin's auto multisport wasn't working right, so I was futzing around with switching it to bike mode. T1 = 5:21, a couple minutes longer than normal.
Bike
Ok, I loved this bike course. This is the one part of the race that went well. I'd hoped to finish in 3:30 and I nailed it in 3:29. Yes, most of you reading this are way faster than me, but 16 MPH avg is actually good for me. Since I'd only ridden 56 miles twice in training, I wanted to stay conservative during the entire first half on the Queen K and the ride up to Hawi, and then push it on the way back assuming the winds weren't too scary. And they weren't. While there was a bit of a crosswind in the first couple miles down from Hawi, I was able to stay in aero the entire time and start passing people.
This pic is on the road to Hawi... gorgeous route with a view of the ocean the entire way:
I gotta say, I'm so much happier on a tri bike than my old road bike. This is the first ride where a) my feet didn't go numb, and b) my piriformis and glute didn't start screaming at me after mile 35. I was totally comfortable except for my shoulders (I think the handlebars were lower on this rental bike) and I finished the ride feeling like I could have kept going, no problem.
On the final stretch in the Fairmont complex:
I suspect that if I'd actually trained on a bike that fit me, I'd be easily going faster than 16 MPH. It's amazing what the right bike can do. Interesting though, when I got off the bike I definitely felt more fatigue in my quads than normal, which did affect my run a bit.
T2 was marginally better than T1 but not by much. I got a good tip to sit down in the grass to multitask: pee while putting on my running shoes. Worked like a charm. But then I realized that I should be wearing my compression sleeves, so I took off my shoes and timing chip, put on my sleeves, then shoes and timing chip... lost a bunch of time but I think I would have been seriously hurting if I hadn't done that.
Run
Ugh... the run. This is where it all fell apart. My legs were a bit more fatigued than normal starting out, probably because it was only my 2nd time riding a tri bike. And a masochist designed the run course... it was on the golf course with a bunch of very steep short hills. 40% of the route was on grass, which was easy on the knees but I haven't run on anything but road. And of course it was hot. So I walked the aid stations and the steeper hills and tried to maintain a steady pace the rest of the time.
The expression on my face in this pic cracks me up... I must have been looking at the next steep hill and thinking, seriously, they want me to run up that?? Ha.
For the first half of the run I was pacing with a Japanese man in his mid-60s who was rockin' the run course. Slow and steady, never faltered. Totally impressed and inspired by the super-fit elders in this race! An 80-year old guy beat my time by 15 minutes. Awesome.
By mile 5 I was feeling pretty crappy and it occurred to me that I hadn't taken in any calories. So at mile 6 and 7 I grabbed a gel and started drinking Perform vs. just water. Ice in the hat and in my top kept me pretty cool. I perked up between mile 7 and 9, and then the wheels fell off the bus.
This pic sorta gives you an idea of the hill grades on this course. I'm feeling lousy but still smiling... I'm actually having a great time:
I hadn't done a bunch of long runs in training as I was working through several injuries plus I had a nutty work & travel schedule. I was hoping that the theory of "if you can run 9 - 10 miles in training, you can run a half marathon" would hold up, but in my case it didn't. After mile 10 everything below the waist was a block of pain: lower back, feet, hips, hip flexors, you name it. There's a 3 mile stretch that I fondly call the Death March... an out & back in the only non-scenic part of the course, in the hottest part of the day. Pretty dreadful. I was walking until I realized that it hurt my feet more to walk, and then I ran. I ran until it hurt my hip flexors too much, and then I walked. Rinse and repeat.
Someone recently had posted the mantra, "I eat pain for breakfast" on their blog... that mantra kept coming to mind unbidden every time I whined and it made me laugh every time. The litany in my head during the last few miles went something like, "my feet hurt (but I eat pain for breakfast.) Oh man, my hip flexor is spasming (I eat pain for breakfast.) My lower back hurts (I eat pain for breakfast)." Funny stuff that kept me going.
I was never more happy to finish a run in my life. Total run time was 2:50... ugh!! The last 3 miles took me over 45 minutes. Crazy. Next time I do this race I'll know to train on hilly trails, not easy-grade asphalt. I see a lot of run training in my future.
So... goal time was 6:30, actual time was 7:20 (although my Garmin said 7:15. Whatever.) Needless to say, I'm totally motivated to do another 70.3 to redeem myself! I'm looking to PR by 50 minutes. Bring it on!!
Would I do this race again? Yes, it was a fantastic experience. The race was well organized, very well supported, the volunteers were great, the aid stations well stocked, and the scenery is unmatched. I think if we'd had 35 MPH crosswinds coming down from Hawi I would give a different answer, but this was a terrific, albeit hard, first HIM that I'd do again.
Ok, one more post to cover post-race fun!
Congratulations on knocking the first one out on a tough course!!! They get easier and harder from here - mentally easier since you've done the distance, physically harder becuase you train more and push yourself more! You rocked it!!!
Posted by: Molly | 06/07/2011 at 07:33 AM
Those are GREAT pictures! You look good on that bike. :) And I love the look on your face in that run picture... you're right... like OMG we have to run up THAT?? Lol. You sure picked a great race for your first 70.3. Not the easiest course, but one of the best for sure. Now you're going to be spoiled. ;) Congrats again!
Posted by: Michelle Simmons | 06/07/2011 at 09:02 AM
Congrats on a great race Jenn! The run was SUCH a soul-crusher! Hope you do it again next year. I certainly want to go back. That course and I have a score to settle ;)
Posted by: Jason Wiener | 06/09/2011 at 02:28 PM
Really enjoyed the post Jenn hoping to do my first half Iron man in Sept sounds like a fun..
Posted by: Rob | 06/15/2011 at 03:23 PM
great race report, and congrats on finishing your first 70.3! hopefully many more to come!
Posted by: Kim K | 06/17/2011 at 12:43 PM
where did you rent your bike from? Doing the Honu half this year!
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Posted by: Leo Pike | 02/15/2012 at 05:29 PM