Preliminary Results

Race day was yesterday and the short version is... Personal Record for me (unofficially 5:02:25).

Long version is...

I drove up on Saturday after spending a bit of time with the in-laws, who graciously agreed to watch the boys and the pets. Jake was having a birthday bash Saturday night that I had to miss, so my better half was going to drive up with Isaac on Sunday. I arrived in Racine without too much trouble, picked up my race packet and headed for the beach. I hopped into the water, which was a brisk 56 degrees and I had some respiratory distress that my body Todd warned me about in cold water conditions. This was a helpful prepatory move for Sunday. After getting acclimated to the water, I paddled about for 10-15 minutes and followed up with a 15 minute bike and 10 minute run. I checked my bike into the transition area and headed South to Kenosha, where I was staying for the night.

After a quick shower, I grabbed a bite at Noodles & Company, bought my breakfast at the local grocery and did all of my race prep before heading off to bed. I even shaved my legs (speeds recovery time of the skin in the event of a crash with road rash). Headed off to bed at a reasonable 9:00 pm, and fell fast asleep... only to awake 30 minutes later and not be able to fall back to sleep until about 11:30. ARGHHH!

Bright and early start at 4:30 am, quick breakfast of V8, wheat tortilla with peanut butter and a banana. Checked out of the Comfort Suite by 5:00 and headed North. Parked the car and walked over to the transition area. Set up, and was heading towards the race start between 6:45 and 7:00. There had already been one fog delay, but we ended up starting an hour late due to fog. Difficult to account for every possible scenario. In hindsight, I wish I had taken a gel or PowerBar or something to keep the fuel going during that hour.

Water temperature race day was 55 degrees. Swim felt solid, but I have no idea what my time was. Not too much jostling and only a few people passed me - one woman who started 3+ minutes behind me flew by in a very fluid stroke. WOW! Transition felt a bit slow, but got out on the bike without much trouble and ahead of many.

I executed the bike portion according to plan, maybe even a bit aggressive. I'd planned on staying between 180 and 200 watts for the ride and I generally stayed between 200 and 250. Second half was a bit slower, but not much. I haven't been able to analyze the results, but I'm guessing about 22.6 on the first half and 22.2 on the second half. My training on the bike hasn't been optimal, so I was extremely pleased with the resulting average of 22.4 mph for the 56 mile leg. Jessica had given me an aero helmet for my birthday and that clearly helped. Nutrition overall on the bike was good: 2 x 16 ounces of gatorade with a cookies and creme PowerBar interspersed over the first 1.5 hours... followed by Heed sports drink (~20 ounces). Can't say I was a big fan of the Heed. At the very end of the bike leg, there was this PACK of cyclists who were not obeying the drafting / passing rules. It was very frustrating, because they surged past me and seemed to slow down and block the who lane. I held back for awhile and when I finally saw an opening, I charged through an had several hundred meters on them by the time I hit transition.

Transitioned well out of the bike and took it easy into the run. I knew that if I pushed too hard I would cramp later on. My goal was to be consistent and finish strong. I saw Jessica and Isaac at about mile 6 near the turnaround and it was great to have that support. I still felt strong, much better than last year. Things got tough around mile 9, but I stayed focused, tried to hydrate consistently and poured cold water or ice on myself at nearly every stop. I took some salt tabs at mile 5 - in hindsight probably could have started those sooner. At mile 10, I felt the first signs of cramping in the legs but managed to stave them off. I somehow missed the 11 mile mark altogether and was starting to lag a bit. I walked a little at mile 12, but picked up after 15-20 seconds and ran strong to the finish ('cause I eat my spinach!). Felt very tight and started to cramp that last mile, but knew I'd done 5:15:00 or better. Imagine my surprise when I discoverd it was 5:02:25 - 20+ minutes faster than last year.