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August 18 Timberman 70.3 2008August 17, 2008 Fashion Report Result Summary In-race Nutrition Evaluation against previously posted goals: I had six goals: have fun and beat my time from last year in each of the five segments. Fun I most definitely had fun. The weather exceeded expectations; DW had a good
race on Saturday; the boys enjoyed the Timberkids race; we even snuck in a nice
meal or two and a bit of time relaxing on the beach! And I got to meet several
of my imaginary friends! Fun
accomplished.
Swim 2007: 47:44 (39:47/mile,
1265/1492) I started in the next to last wave, followed only by the relay teams and Clydesdales, so there was a lot of standing around before the race. Spent most of that standing in the water and sharing nervous stories with friends. When it came time for our wave I chipped in and found a spot mid-pack. Some guy doing His best Mel Gibson/William Wallace imitation lit off on a great speech about how we were going to get through the swim and start picking off the waves in front of us. And as we did, we’d “harass” them! We’d remind them to drop back and give us 20 seconds! And we’d be proud! Good fun. The horn sounds and we’re off. I’m swum over a bit in the first 100 yards but then find a little space and a pair of feet to follow and find a rhythm. The course is out, across, and back and the waves aren’t too bad swimming into the wind on the out leg – though they increase as we near the first turn. Winnipesaukee has beautiful clear water and I’m in a rhythm and enjoying the scenery and just relaxing along. First turn and we’re now across the waves and, shortly, the first of the purple caps come by me. But they’re relay “specialists” and I’m catching a few of the blues from the wave in front of us as well and it’s all good. I work to the final corner and turn for the inbound leg with the apparently helping wind and I’m still feeling the rhythm and doing well. I took a few breaststrokes here and there to check position or clear some space but I felt comfortable and in my rhythm the whole way until… When my hands hit sand I stood up and wham! Both calves cramp! OK, so I don’t kick a whole lot when swimming in a wetsuit – just try to keep my toes pointed. I guess they got tired of being pointed or something but I lost a good 45 seconds dancing around in two or three feet of water trying to get my calf cramps to stop! Even with that, I took almost 5 minutes off my swim time from last year and I’m quite pleased. Call this one nailed! T1 2007: 4:06 Finally out of the water and wetsuit unzipped. I try to pull cap and goggles through the sleeve and wind up doing a ridiculous little dance as everything balls up and gets stuck. But I get it loose just before arriving at the strippers and flop. Two kids pull but not hard enough and one leg is stuck and my calf is cramping again! So I have to stand up, wetsuit on one ankle still, and hop around a bit to get that cleared. Suit’s finally off and the rest goes smooth. I apply socks, shoes, etc and make a good run out of the transition area. Even with the wetsuit debacle I cut 30 seconds off last year. Another goal bites the dust! Bike 2007: 3:00:24 (18.6 mph avg,
708/1492) Calm, non-flying mount and into the bike. Spun a bit up the first hill to get things calmed down and then began to settle in. I dueled with two or three other riders for the first half of the race as we’d swap leads on various terrains. One guy was a youngster with a carbon bike and fancy wheels – he’d outpace me on the flats but I could satisfyingly easily out-climb him (which struck me as odd) and, with additional ballast, got more out of the downhills. The mood was light and I was joking with several riders. I met The Muffin Queen on the biggest hill as we were both cursing and cranking away in the lowest gears we had. I passed several other club riders or saw them coming the other way and wished them well. Didn’t really feel like I was pushing too hard but… In retrospect… Maybe did not sufficiently weenie the bike?
I grabbed Gatorade at each aid station and refilled my aerobottle – tried to keep drinking the whole way. There was a bit of a headwind for the return trip – but not horrible so it was just try to keep a steady pace. Had a blast on the big downhills where I seemed braver than many and kept it full out. Felt like a solid effort throughout but not like I was pushing the limits so I was pleased. Upped the cadence coming into T2, did a “standard” dismount, and clocked in at 19.4 avg. Another goal nailed. T1 2007: 3:32 Did my best to run through but was held in a bit of traffic. Quick shoe change, add the visor, and let’s go! High five the family on the exit. Nailed! Run 2007: 1:59:23 (9:07 min/mil,
713/1492) I seemed quickly into my run rhythm but my quads felt strangely tight. (Could it be that I’d had only one ride that reached 50 miles in training?) I plug on and try to settle into a 9:00-9:30 pace that I thought I could reasonably hold. There’s amazing support on the run course – at just about every mile there’s water, Gatorade, cola, salty food, Gu, salt tabs, bands and either ice or a shower or, in one case, a pile of snow harvested from the local hockey rink. So I take advantage of all of these and plug on. But the quads are still tight and they don’t seem to loosen. I spot my buddy Thor at mile 3 just before the first turnaround and get some words of encouragement and harassment from him. Not long after that, around mile 4, the first knife to the muscle stabs. Left quad. Zing! I try walking but that seems worse. I try some stretches and get back into the run. But that’s the start of the end. Shortly thereafter I come upon a clubmate who’s having similar issues with a hamstring. We both agree it’s too early for this stuff and push each other on – we’d leapfrog each other the rest of the race. By the first passing of the finish area, I’m walking a lot. One quad or the other keeps cramping and I can’t get them loose. I take more salt tabs and pretzels hoping they might help but by maybe mile 8 I know my day is done. I see Thor again at around 10 and he’s his usual upbeat self and offers challenges and encouragement but… It’s not gonna help. By 11, my calves have joined the fun and my legs are just big cramps. You know the cycle here: run, cramp, walk, repeat. I repeat for the rest of the race. I’m a mess at the final shoot and can’t even muster a show for the crowd. With fifty yards to go, I finally break into a painful jog that’s a bit slower than my walk. Maybe thirty yards from the finish, DS2 jumps out from behind the fences and he and I manage to jog it in – nice thrilling climax to an otherwise disappointing run. Missed this goal by a mile. Everybody said it was hot – but I never felt overheated, just couldn’t keep the legs working. I think I had enough salt – just think that the lack of long training rides and runs meant that I needed to go even easier on the bike to be able to have a good run.
Summary Overall, I was ten minutes slower than last year after being thirteen ahead at the start of the run. At that level, I was disappointed. But, I nailed five out of six goals and, the biggest one, having fun, I blew away. As last year, the organization at this race was excellent! The weekend’s atmosphere is unmatched in New England triathlons. What a great time!
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