Surprises...5430 Long Course Race Report

I really tried to go into this race with no expectations. I've been feeling like crap and haven't really been training. Actually, it's more like I've been feeling like crap and trying to train and as a result have gotten no worthwhile training in. CDA took a lot more out of me that I would have thought. Going into this weekend, it was starting to become obvious that I'm still quite physically and mentally exhausted. Three years ago, this race just happened to be on my birthday and a friend came in from out of town to cheer me on. About 5 minutes before the race, she told me to hand over my watch. I had never raced without a watch and looked at her like she was out of mind. She reminded me that it was my birthday and that I should go out and just enjoy the day. And so I gave her my watch and then went on to do my fastest half-Ironman. I was going for the same sort of thing...no heartrate monitor, no watch, no expectations. Just enjoy the day...

And so, with no expectations, I spent the Saturday before the race doing all the things one shouldn't be doing before a race. I went to the Farmer's Market. I ran a few errands. I went to packet pickup. And then I came home and painted my fence for a few hours. Yep, nothing like being out in the hot sun doing hard labor the day before a race. Painting a fence is not easy, nor is it fun, but I got my warning letter and so it must be done. After last week's lame attempt at brush painting, I broke down and got a sprayer which made such a difference. But it left my arms aching. Like too much swimming. Towards the end it was taking one arm to hold the other one up. Needless to say, I was quite sore by Saturday evening. At about 5:30 I realized that I had none of my race technical food and drink. So off for more errands. Then dinner and an attempted movie. And by around 9:00 I realized that I still hadn't packed or started to get my bike ready. Okay, so I was a little too relaxed. But you know what, I actually slept pretty well. I realized Sunday morning that I had forgotten to map out the course to figure out when I needed to eat and drink. Having no watch meant that I couldn't rely on that to tell me. And fueling is one thing I don't really want to go by feel unless I've eaten too much. Otherwise I know I won't eat enough. And so here it was at the crack of dawn and I'm trying to figure out mile markers. Definitely not my standard pre-race routine.

I got to the Boulder Res and had a lot less time to set up than I thought. I was convinced that I had forgotten something being that I was so lax about everything, but it seemed like I had everything I would need. There was a massive line for the portos. I don't understand the point of putting so many in the transition area where we can't access them. At least it gave me something to do since I had so much time to kill before my start. I headed down to the water and started struggling into my wetsuit. I went to test the water but couldn't bring myself to actually get in until it was time for my wave. I started a bit farther back than usual and didn't try and push my way up front. I was a little hesitant after the CDA near death swim, but the water was so ridiculous calm. I couldn't complain. The swim felt really fast. No waves and no one kicking me in the jaw - quite a relief. I was cruising along (or so I thought) and suddenly I was finished. I usually reach a point where I'm just tired and ready to be done. That didn't happen and so I thought I had rocked the swim (not quite I found out later).

I made my way into transition and had to pee badly. Unfortunately it is not possible for me to pee while swimming and it didn't seem like it was going to go away during the ride. And so I opted for a pit stop after getting out of my wetsuit. The good thing was that I got it out of the way. The bad thing is that it sucks to try and pull up spandex when you're wet. It's a struggle in the same way that putting a wet suit on is. I got reassembled to the best of my ability (seriously, it's like you're suddenly 3 and trying to dress yourself and nothing lines up quite right!) I eventually made it back to my bike and headed out. Certainly not my slowest transition time, but it wasn't quick.

I headed out on the bike and could feel my legs immediately. I was hoping that it would go away once I got going and for the most part it did. I have been feeling a little bit stronger on the bike and though I had no expectations for the day, I was hoping that I would at least have a good bike split. It seemed unlikely, but it I figured I'd rather be optimistic. I can't quite say that I felt fast, because it's hard to feel fast when everyone is flying past you (at least I said hi Kristina even though you didn't know who it was), but I did feel a bit faster and like the swim, I never quite reached the "I'm ready to be done" phase. Maybe I did get something positive out of CDA - after so many hours and hours this, this really was nothing. AND, I made the turnarounds. Both times. This is HUGE for me. I usually have to clip out because I'm not comfortable doing such tight turns. But I had been practicing - we have this ridiculous sharp 100 degree (roughly) turn from the bike path to work and I've consistenly been making this turn and had told myself that I was going to ride through these. The first time I took it really wide and must have been so slow because someone actually passed me on the inside. Show-off. Whatever, I got a smile out of myself both times. The second lap hurt a bit more, especially on the hills. I could feel the ache in my quads everytime I stood up. I ignored it as best I could and just reminded myself to have fun. I was just out for a bike ride, with 1000 other people, that just happened to be timed. No big deal. Before I knew it, I was back at the Res and back in transition.

T2 went much faster though I wasn't exactly sure where my rack was. Another thing I forgot to do with my no expectations race. I hadn't counted racks so I was sort of meandering through. There were no mishaps at the rack this year - 2 years ago was a bit of a mess - and I made my way out to the run.

The run start off really slow. I mean really slow. Like I possibly could have walked faster than my shuffling. I started cramping right away, which has been the norm after my last few rides. I've done 3 bricks since CDA and all 3 have been failures. I would make it about 2 miles at most and then completely fall apart. A lot of it was nutrition related. This "brick" wasn't much different except that I didn't really have the option to fall apart and turn around and walk home. And so I kept pushing through it. I was concerned about the heat and at the first aid station started to trying and cool myself down with water and ice. I think this turned out to be overkill since it never really got all that hot. At least for me. My last run was in about 95 degrees and I could feel my skin burning. So this was nice in comparison. Anyhow, I kept grabbing ice and would carry the cup to the next aid station and then exchange it for more ice. The ice chewing was keeping me occupied but was also probably slowing me down. I kept shuffling along with occassional (long) walking breaks. I still wasn't feeling great, but I wasn't feeling done either. I did remind myself of CDA and what I had gone through and this really was nothing in comparison. I got to Coot Lake where Matt and my sister and the dogs were waiting. I went over to say hi and stopped to pet the dogs. Remember, no expectations. After a few pets, I was off again. At the next stop, I grabbed some more ice, and somewhere over the dams I realized that I really didn't want to be carrying cups with me the whole run (I'm sorry, but I have a problem with just tossing it in between aid stations). After the next garbage can, I told myself that lap 2 would have to be different. It definitely was nicer to run without the cups. As I ran past the finish, I saw my coach, Craig, who having finished in an insane time, asked if I needed anything. Water? Gaterade? I said legs. I needed some new legs. I'm not exactly sure what he said but he rubbed his and said something about seeing what he could do. Well, he must have done something, because I did start picking up the pace. Lap 2 is where everyone starts to slow down and I was gaining speed. I was starting to feel okay. The hills hurt like hell but I kept going, holding a steady pace. When I got to Matt/sister/dogs I waved and told them that I couldn't stop this time because I wouldn't get going again. The last few miles were tough. My legs were on fire. I can't remember my legs ever aching like they were and each step was a struggle. I'd tell myself that the feeling would eventually subside and that I had to just keep going. The feeling didn't really subside and I had a few moments of starting to falter especially out on those damn dams. But once I hit the pavement, that crossing the finish line force took over and got me through.

I knew going into this race that the run would suck. My legs just aren't ready for it. I was expecting a lot of walking. At some point, I started wondering what my time would be. I was the second to last wave so there weren't a ton of people behind me. Being in the last waves does this, so at least I was expecting it, but it gives the feeling of being really slow. I figured I'd have an anti-PR (my slowest race yet). But again, that would be okay because there were no expectations. But somewhere else along the run, I started calculating finishing times. Race math never adds up so I should have known better, but I did it several times and always came up with the same answer. What I came up with was if I crossed before 6:45, I'd have broken 6 hours, which I have never done. So here I was going between PRs and anti-PRs but really having no idea where I was. I purposely didn't look at the clock as I started lap 2. I started picking up the pace on the downhill towards the finish line. I passed another woman in my age group. About 10 seconds later, she kicked in and passed me back. She sprinted ahead a bit and kept looking back. I wanted to tell her that she had it, I had my pace and wasn't about to race her to the line (I mean, what if I were to trip or something?). Anyhow, you can imagine my surprise when I rounded the corner and saw 6:45 and change on the clock. I actually said something out loud - I think I said No Way! in disbelief. I almost started crying and then kicked in the sprint (the risk of tripping was no longer a concern). I crossed the line and immediately normal math kicked in as I remembered that I started at 7:10, not 7:15. I confirmed later that this was my second fastest time, which was quite the surprise. It seems like not wearing a watch really works for me.

And of course, after knowing my time, I have since been trying to figure out where the lost minutes went. There was the minute or so pit stop/clothes wrestling. And Matt reminded me later that I had to stop and pet the dogs. This would have given me my PR. And the extra minutes that would have given my under 6...well, my swim didn't rock and was about 2 minutes slower. Had my first lap of the run been like my second, I would have multiple minutes there. But I did negative split the run, which is a first. And, most importantly, I did have my fastest bike split. Not by a lot, and certainly nothing to write home about compared with those averaging over 20mph, but it was big for me.

So after having no expectations and surpring myself with my time and being overall happy with the results, I do have to admit that there is a little bit of disappointment because I was so close to a PR. Had I had an anti-PR, this wouldn't be an issue since it seemed more realistic. But I really was so close (even closer with race math). And though I keep trying to tell myself that had I been fully recovered, I would have made it, but it's so hard to know that for sure since it always seems like there is something that will come up. I will say that I am already excited for next year, whereas last week I didn't even want to think about next year.

And so ends my 2009 season. It had lots of downs, but a few ups as well. I learned a lot about will-power. And I learned that talking to myself to 15.5 hours is maybe not something I should do very often. Many thanks to my family and friends for their support and for putting up with another difficult year of training. End of summer BBQ at my place...I'll make dessert.