Pre-race Strategy
See
you at the race.
Race Report
The swim was
in the Russion River. It had some current, but we were swimming
against it just as far as we were swimming with it. The swim
was shallow enough that you could stand up if you wanted to
on the edges. I am still having problems relaxing in the swim
and can only breath out of one side because I cannot hold my
breathe long enough to go three strokes. Pretty uneventful swim,
just kept a steady pace and about half way through I relaxed
and started breathing bilaterally. Coming out of the swim I
relized I racked my bike in a bad spot. entering T1 was in the
middle of the transition area. Exiting T1 was on the far left
side, of course I racked my bike on the far right side. Plus
it is a split transition race, so T1 and T2 are in different
spots, so you have to bag up all your stuff from T1 before you
leave on your bike. It gets delivered to a spot at the finish
for you to pick up. Plus if you leave anything behind you get
penalized for equipment abandonment. They let you ride your
bike in T1, but it is so rocky it really is not worth it.
Bike
I come out of
T1 and climb up the very short hill (5 pedal strokes) and head
out onto the course. I noticed I was riding faster than I thought
I should so I backed the pace down a bit. The course was very
flat and just kept riding at a good pace. Passing people as
they came into view and trying to remember to eat and drink.
Around mile 42 is a small climb, but nothing you could not do
in a 39/19. I climb up and and pass a few folks, but keeping
within myself know I had to run afterwards. During the climb
an old 70s RV passes me and a 30-34yo guy (probably 3rd in his
AG at the time). We start the descent and are catching this
beat up RV that is smoking something nasty. It is a 25mph zone
and we are well excedding that, but the RV is not. The RV is
just in the way and the road is not wide enough (ie no shoulder)
so I/we could not get around him in the "bike lane."
The other guy goes around the guy on the left crossing the yellow
center line (a penalty), but no one was around, so I doubt he
was penalized. I did not feel like doing that since waited for
this RV would only cost me a minute or so, as opposed to a 4
minute penalty. Of course the whole time I am trying to yell
at the guy to move over, which cost me a lot of energy. Coming
into the town where the finish is, I start easing up on the
bike and spinning more to get my legs ready for the run. I come
into T2 and notice not to many bikes, so I am happy to know
I am getting off my bike in a good position.
Run
I head out on
the run and down a gel just as I get outside T2, at the first
aid station just past that I grab some water to wash it down
with. Feeling good and keeping an 8:00/mile pace I was just
relaxing. I know I can hold this pace for a long time, so I
just continue on running. At the aid stations I was grabbing
gatorade and then water to wash it down with. At the mile 4
aid station they had coke and I was thinking I could use the
caffine and the sugar in a liquid form, so I grab some of that.
The way I was going I would be finishing around 4:43! Only problem
was it was not flat. Not fun when you are running in my case.
Around mile 6 my stomach was starting to hurt, I had that bloated
feeling, but more so that feeling of needing a restroom. I figured
it was not to bad and I could continue further without one.
Around mile 7 I really needed one, so I headed over to the two
I saw. No luck, they were both occupied, so I asked were the
next closest one was, they said about a mile up the road at
the next aid station. Well, no choice, so I pushed on, but was
going slower due to my stomach. I found the green towers and
spent some time in them. Boy is it hot in those things in the
sunshine. I did whatever I could to make myself feel better,
but my stomach was still a little unhappy. I continued on the
course and walked a bit trying to get whatever it was through
me, but no luck. I stopped at just about every green tower until
mile 11. From there I figured I only had 17 minutes until the
finish and I could hold on until them. I ran the last two miles,
but still felt miserable.
Right after
the race I was headed up north to vacation with my family. On
the way there I felt better (it was about 3 hours after the
race), so I stopped into a fast food place for a soda. About
20 minutes after drinking half of it, my stomach was back to
the way it was during the race. I guess since I rarely drink
soda, I need to stay away from the carbonated stuff during races
or anytime for that matter. Oh well, I learned my lesson.
Age Group
Finishing Position: 97 out of 157
After the race I ate at least
4 bananas and 2 oranges. I drank a bit of water and tried to
walk around a bit. The race was over and my stomach was beginning
to feel better. A few people from my club congratulated me on
a good first race and I was happy to be done. Next year you
will be sure to see me take at least 40 minutes off my time
from this year.