Leading up to the race I learned that there was also an elite wave. Upon inquiring at the check-in I learned there are no formal requirements and after some talking I decided to switch to elite. While I probably could have placed in the age group race, I was looking forward to a fast, hard race with good competition.
The night before I went to a friends party and for once didn’t follow my normal pre race meal, which I paid dearly for the next day…
I wasn’t nervous and somewhat excited for the race. I was looking forward to see my strength/power improvements translate into a good bike time followed by a decent run. But apparently, I took it a little too relaxed because I promptly forgot my swim goggles at home. Thanks Amanda for lending me your spare swim goggles!
The race instructions from the coach were simple. Pretty much just push hard be aggressive and race at the best sustainable effort.
While getting ready for the race I saw some familiar faces. Kyle Hooker an outstanding athlete which I knew right away would win this race. And Trev which I have raced against a few times and has similar abilities to me.
I liked the family like atmosphere and how relaxed everything was, but I really disliked that there wasn’t enough information. First there was the confusing on how we would have to navigate the swim course and then we couldn’t figure out where to start. With 3min to go all of the elites were still standing at the shore. We walked out together jumped over some ropes from the swim area and were wondering if an official eventually would tell us where the start line was. We joked around and then decided that the start line was exactly were we were standing and seconds later the race was on.
Swim:
Finishing the swim
I was pushing hard right away, for once I wanted to hang with the fast group, but soon enough I had to give up that idea. I got cut off by some swimmers when wrestling for position around the very first buoy (only slight turn) and managed to drink a huge gulp of lake water. I did my best in this situation and just focused on moving forward while not trying to cough to hard from some of the water which went into the wrong throat. We went around the first turn buoy and swimming back. I settled in with the group I was swimming with and despite it being the 2nd pack it was a decent pace. This was not an USAT sanctioned race and so despite it being 77f we were allowed to swim with wetsuit which meant I was getting warm after only the first few minutes. The course was like a triangle and once we turned at the 2nd buoy (3rd if you count the one close to the start). It was straight into the sun. Navigation was almost impossible. I knew there was a dock somewhere and I didn’t want to swim into it, but I figured since I was following another swimmer I should be safe. Suddenly I saw a huge shadow in front of me and by shere luck it turned out to be our next buoy. Not everyone was that lucky and I saw people way off course. We turned and that is when we swam directly into the 3rd wave which just started. While we did a left turn they were going straight. There was lots of body contact and it took several minutes until I cleared that wave. At that point the 2nd pack wasn’t together anymore. I went around the next turn buoy and pushed hard towards the finish line. I even managed to catch up with 2 other swimmers which were ahead of me. I was happy with the how the swim went. However the time was 2min slower than my friends which I was able to keep up with the last couple years in other races.
Swim time was 25:20 which is okay for Oly distance 0.9miles.
T1:
I ran out of the water and ran over to my bike. And then it hit me. While I was trying to take of the wetsuit I got very dizzy and nauseous. I almost vomited and felt very uncomfortable like having a fever. I soldiered on and ran/jogged over to the bike mount.
Bike:
The picture doesn’t show how I felt 🙂
I started to push on the peddles and thought I was working hard despite not feeling that well. Until I checked the bike computer. I read that my Watts were below 200. (Note: avg for last Ironman was 215W). I was surprised and couldn’t believe that I had such a hard time to push harder. Well nothing I could do then just hang in there. At least I was alone and nobody else was overtaking me. I turned onto the I90 bridge and started catching a few people. At that point my watts were above 200 which was a positive but it wasn’t close to where I should have been. We rode through the tunnel on Mercer Island which was kinda cool. Shortly there after I saw Kyle heading the other way and I figured the turn around can’t be far away. Well I was wrong and Kyle already head a ridiculous lead. I started counting and I think I was the last elite male at that point and several elite women were in front of me. (we all started together).
I started to feel better at the turn around and tried to push harder the Watts started to go in the 250 region which was a good sign. Back trought the tunnel over the bridge, towards the Seattle.
That is were it got interesting. The race directors didn’t put up any signs where to ride and there were several off/on ramps from the HOV lane we were on. The course map I looked at before the race wasn’t detailed enough to help me where to go. To make matters where the street we were on which had two lanes suddenly had a divider. I figured I was supposed to go to the right. I turned out to be right. we went way farther than I thought towards the stadium and then to the right towards the city were the turn around was. Again no sign just a cop car blocking traffic. I just followed the other athletes which I caught by now.
On the way back I saw an athlete take the wrong side of the divider and were riding towards us into traffic. I yelled at him to take the other side and he turned around. To be honest, not his fault since there were no signs and I just picked the right side by luck.
Getting of the highway was through the same narrow street as getting on and I got almost taken out by an oncoming rider which took the turn way to wide. Luckily the timing was just right that he veered back to his side before I breezed past him. Home stretch… the last few miles and I finally started seeing numbers in the right region.
The whole ride my stomach was upset and didn’t feel right. I forced myself to take one gel and drink 2-3 sips. But that was all I was able to get down.
I finished the bike in 53:29 with an average of 241Watts and 166bpm. This HR is on top of Z3 (just below threshold) which shows that my body was working hard.
T2:
Quick transition and I was onto the run.
Run:
Towards the end of the first lap
The run was rough from the get go. I was struggling to run a 6:20min/mile and just felt like I couldn’t breath. For one my stomach was upset, but also my one piece race kit which I was wearing for the first time was very tight. I opened the back up which helped a little. But even with that I still ended up walking the hill. That is where I saw Trev ahead of me going the other direction and I figured if I just keep pushing I can real him in. However it took me the whole first loop to finally get comfortable and start pushing. The course was getting busier with all the athletes who were just doing the sprint triathlon and I had to start checking the bib color when I overtook a person to see if I’m actually racing again that person. Just before we run up the hill for the 2nd time I caught Trev, he apparently was expecting me since in previous races I had caught him also on the run. I walked the hill again, I figured at least I could get some air into my lungs before the final push. Another athlete overtook me on the hill and I couldn’t keep up with him. I pushed hard to the finish and finished the run in 40:54 which is just an okay time for me for a 10k. The heart rate was 174bpm which again is on top of Z3 and just below my threshold.
Aftermath:
For one from a different angle 🙂
I finished 9th out of the 11 elite male. Note: There was one elite women who beat me, so technically I was 10th.
I wasn’t happy with my performance. For one I wasn’t too happy with my time and place, but the bigger issue is that I felt like I couldn’t push myself as hard as I normally can. Yes, the HR was top of Z3, but normally when I’m racing really hard the main limiter are the muscles which are burning. Being uncomfortable because of heat/stomach/out of breath is very different and much harder to deal with.
I think I mentioned it before that I have been struggling in the past couple months (during the winter) with motivational issues and finally got several weeks of good training in. I was excited for this race to see where I am at. I was hoping that all the hard bike workouts and strength training would result in higher watts on the bike. Well hopefully, I’ll find out in my next race. I know that I am in better shape than what I did at the Seafair Triathlon. So at least this race can be a learning experience.
I certainly learned my lesson and I’ll talk all the races more serious even if they are shorter once.
Leave a Reply