Last weekend in Kansas happened to be one of those days. I was feeling pretty confident coming into the race. I had finished with a PR in Galveston just two months before, and with the training I had done over the last two months to help fix a couple things, I was confident I would finally break 6 hours at the 70.3 distance. However Mother Nature had other things in mind.
We had been keeping a close eye on the forecast in the days leading up to the race, and every time we checked it was pretty much the same bad news. Very windy and very hot. FML
Swim - So of course race morning the swim was pretty choppy. The wind was already blowing pretty good before 7 am which of course we all knew meant this was going to be a long tough day. 7:30 rolls around and we get in the water and within a minute or two the gun goes off and we are on our way. The swim for the most part was pretty uneventful. I only got kicked in the jaw once. After breaking free from the initial chaos in the first couple hundred meters I was able to settle into a pretty good rhythm and make my way past some of the slower swimmers. In the end I ended up going a couple minutes slower than I had hoped, but considering every athlete I heard talk about the swim talked about how much it sucked I figured my time could have been way worse.
Swim time - 41 minutes 57 seconds
Bike - I knew coming into this race the bike was going to be challenging. It was a pretty hilly course and some of them seemed to have some pretty decent inclines to them. I do most of my bike training in the Texas Hill Country so I felt confident I was going to be ready for them. Hills are challenging enough by themselves, but on this day not only did we have to deal with hills we also had to deal with 25-30 mph head winds as well. There was one point at mile 40 where we had a half mile or so long hill with a decent climb where we were riding straight into the wind. I had more than a few select four letter words slip out of my mouth during that portion of the race. At one point another competitor and I were riding next to each other, and all we could do was shake our head in disbelief with how bad the wind gusts were.
All things considering given the conditions I was still very pleased with my bike time. I really pushed hard on the bike, and there were several times I had to dig deep to find a little extra to keep pushing as hard as I was. The temperature was starting to rise quickly towards the end which didn't help things either. But I was just about done, and never before had I actually been looking forward to a 13.1 mile run so much. At that point I just wanted out of the wind and off the bike.
Bike time - 3 hours 9 minutes 44 seconds. 17.71 mph pace
Run -
When we hit the run course the mercury was already pushing 90 degrees, and there was really NO shade on this run course. I had done a pretty good job with fluid intake on the bike, but I knew I was going to have to drink way more than normal on the run to stay somewhat hydrated. I hit the run course feeling pretty good and made my way through the first mile. I looked down at my GPS and saw I was running WAY to fast and needed to back it off if I wanted to be able to finish in once piece. About that time I also started feeling my right leg beginning to cramp up, but luckily I was also coming up on a water station. I grabbed my salt tabs I had and started taking in both water and Gatorade. It definitely help keep the cramping at bay at that moment.
This was a race coming in I was really hoping to make a big jump forward on my run from the last race, but 1 mile in I knew that wasn't going to happen. The conditions weren't going to allow it. I made a decision at that point I needed to race smart and not push the limit too far if I was going to finish. So every water station I slowed down to a walk just so I could take in enough fluids. I would drink 2 cups of Gatorade and about 4 cups of water each station. This was just about the perfect thing to do as I could keep a somewhat decent pace in between stations without cramping up at all.
This run course was awesome as it went through the campground area at the lake, and my family had come down and set up the camper right along the course. There is nothing more helpful than having a cheering section there to support you when you are on the run. Every time I was able to run by it injected a shot of energy in that helped push me. The last time we would go past them it was at the 12 mile mark on the run, which was perfect because it fueled us the last mile towards the finish line. After going past the last time I knew the finish line was just around the corner.
After crossing the finish line and stopping I ended up getting a little bit of jello legs going on. I didn't cramp or anything, I just felt like I was trying to walk on wet spaghetti noodles. Definitely an interesting feeling, but after a few minutes I was able to get my legs back underneath me.
Run time - 2 hour 26 minutes 56 seconds.
Overall I am content with where I ended up. I was still able to finish in under 6 hours 30 minutes and I finished in the top half overall of all the 1500 competitors that day. It was definitely a humbling experience, but also one I know that is necessary from time to time. It just helps fuel that drive to put in the training and make sure you are even more prepared.
Overall time - 6 hours 24 minutes 38 seconds
Overall rank - 626
I need to give a couple shout outs from this last weekend.
First off I want to thank my family for making it down. Its always awesome to see you, and I am glad you got to come down and see me race. Racing has become a pretty big part of my life, and none of it would be possible without your support. So thanks to my grandparents, my mom and my sister and her husband. I am glad you guys could be there.
A second thanks to my buddy Travis who also made it in from Kansas City that day to support. It was awesome you could make it and I really do appreciate it. I know it must have been rough sitting there drinking beer all day watching us bike and run our asses off, but I am very glad you could make the sacrifice!
A shout out to my buddy Jarod(Shake and Bake!!) - Jarod pulled a muscle about a week or two before the race putting him in a less than ideal situation heading into race day. But he really dug deep to finish strong on a really really tough day. He deserves some props for sticking through it all day when most people probably wouldn't have.
A shout out to my friend Cody Sasek. Cody completed his first 70.3 triathlon that day(and only second triathlon ever), and he pretty much kicked ass the entire day. In fact I would be lying if I said I wasn't extremely envious of you being able to come out and have the day you did in those conditions. Now the question is are you coming over to the dark side of triathlons or are you going to stick primarily with running races? lol
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