Vermont Half-Iron Race Report (Part 2 of 2) - The Process

As promised, some more of thoughts from the race this weekend:

Keep the taper easy: I tapered for a week and a half, and felt bad the whole time. I was sore, tight, and worried about my fitness. My inclination, then, was to do more; stretch more, eat more, and do more “sharpening” workouts. However, I was careful not to get sucked in, and followed my plan (which was to do very little). Sure enough, race morning rolled around, and I felt great. I learned, yet again, to trust the taper.

Keep the bike easy: I watched a lot of people go by on the bike. I had the 30th best swim split and the 72nd fastest bike time. Partly, I was taking it real easy because I feared the run. But, really, that’s about where my bike fitness is. Remember, this is only my second year in the sport, and while working on swim technique and steady running gets me by, the bike fitness will take awhile to develop. I’m committed to it coming around, and committed to doing the sort of consistent work it requires. Some day, I’ll be able to ride like I know I’m capable.

Racing to my fitness: I’m pleased with the race because the finishing time reflects my fitness. I’ve had races where I’ve flatted out, or gotten sick (sometimes both), and the final time was nowhere close to what I could have run otherwise. However, I ran this race up to my current fitness level… I just don’t think I could have gone any faster. While it’s sort of humbling to accept, and I certainly expected better coming into the season, this is my fitness for the time being. I’m pleased I executed a great race, and it gives me a good starting point for the beginning of next year.

A life-changing experience: The nature of endurance sports achievement is incremental. When you do a 13-mile running race, you don’t just go out and do it. You do 9 miles one week, 10 the next, 11 the week after that, and so on. So, when you get to 13, it doesn’t seem that long. “Of course I can run 13, I just ran 12 last week… no big deal.” When I finish an event, I’m always surprised when some says “wow, 13 miles, that’s a long run.” I say, yeah, I guess that is a long run… wow! My own feelings of accomplishment sneak up on me.
However, this race is different. I really feel the weight of the 70.3 distance, not only in my legs, but everywhere. I feel accomplishment – that I really did something. I pushed through physical barriers I didn’t even know existed, and as a result, am somewhat of a changed person. Today, after the race, the world looks a little different. Given the usual nature of my athletic accomplishments, I’m surprised to feel this way, and curious as to why this time is any different. But to be sure, I’m enjoying the sensation…. And looking forward to the next race.

Shelburne Sprint

As some of you know, I've been hobbled with a nagging ankle injury for almost two months now, and haven’t raced since Mooseman in early June. Well, the ankle’s still not 100%, but felt good enough to enter into a sprint race in Shelburne Vermont. I have a cousin who lives a 5-minute drive from the race start, and was up researching the area anyway, so why not? I came in with basically no run training, and without expectations… just looking to have a little fun racing again.

SWIM: Well, the fun part didn’t last very long. I had just barely pulled my wetsuit on during the pre-race meeting, when the zipper completely let go. It’s an old hand-me-down suit (from ‘stud-pro’ triathlete Chris Bagg), so I wasn’t completely surprised. But still, it threw a wrench into the day right off the bat. I shed the suit, and tried to stay relaxed - I knew I could swim well without it. The day was especially tough - cold, windy and slightly rainy. We had to swim straight out for a couple hundred yards, into what looked like 3-5 foot swells. It was pretty brutal… hard to sight, hard to get air (I drank my share of lake water), and hard to get anywhere. I survived until the turnaround, than surfed into T1 on those same waves. My time was slow, but in those conditions, I was still top-10 coming out of the water.

BIKE: Settled into a nice rhythm, and had an allright ride. I was expecting a little more, considering the time I’ve gotten in on the bike since my injury… but I guess it’ll come in time. Passed one or two riders, and got passed by more. No doubt, the highlight of the ride was to see Sandy, a former pro bike racer and National Champ Time Trialist, go by at 30 MPH.

RUN: I really wasn’t expecting anything here… I would have been happy just to finish. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find I had some legs right out of T2. I passed two people quickly, and hit the turnaround feeling good. On the way back, I started feeling some fatigue, and ran the last mile or so on guts. I was passed by one runner in an Elmo cycling jersey (oh… the humility), and with about 100 yards to go, was joined by another runner. We ran side-by-side for a bit, then started the sprint with about 25 yards to go. I’ve never had to finish a race with such a kick, and man, let me tell you, it was tough! I think I might have nipped him at the line, but we’ll have to wait for the video replay to be sure :).

All in all, it was a great day. I was back doing what I love to do, and had a good race top-to-bottom. I don’t know my exact time, but I figure I came in somewhere in the top 20, and fastest among my age group. After the race, it was off to the Shelburne farmers market for a huge piece of lasagna, and back to my Cousin’s place for a well-deserved nap. What a day!

PICS:

Loaded up and ready to go:


The Swim... Nasty:


The View off the picturesque bike course:


The Best part about the Shelburne Race: