It's been a while since I've posted, but here's a race report and there will be another one next week!
I woke up at 3am on race morning. This might have been the earliest I've ever woken up for a race. I didn't even have to get up this early for Ironman! Oh well, up early to have a bagel and gatorade. I had to be on the road by 415 to get to my friend Paul's house so we could push off by 445. I went through my usual slow motion morning of checking/sending emails, packing, and eating. I left on time but had to back track after forgetting my helmet. Got to Paul"s house, packed the car, and we were on our way.
We got to the race site a little after 6, which is a little later than I wanted to be. We still had to pick up our packets (which was quick, thankfully) and set up transition. Got everything sorted out and went for a warm up run.
It was hot.
I felt awful.
The last two days before the race I could tell I wasn't 100%. I felt VERY flat and heavy. Sure enough, I felt the same race morning. I ate a quick gel and went to swim. Same story there, arms felt heavy and I had no feel for the water.
So at the starting line I had no great expectations. My initial goal was to go in the 2:05 range but I wasn't even sure if I could break 2:15 at this point. The gun went off and we were on our way.
The first few hundred meters of the swim were physical. I was in the elite wave (which are great) and that meant everyone could swim. There was a good battle for positioning and that took a lot of energy out of me in the 88+ water. We finally get into an organized line but I felt terrible. It was hot and I felt like I was going to throw up. About half way in, two people passed me and I thought I was way out of the top 10. However, over the last few hundred meters I passed a few guys and I think I came out of the water in 5th.
Onto the bike and the nausea wasn't going away. After a few miles I could tell I was in 4th but eventually got passed by 4 people and came off the bike in 8th. I never felt good on the ride. I could never get into a rhythm. I took a gel around mile 15 and that only made things worse. Getting off the bike I was just hoping to hold on to a top 10 finish.
I headed out of T2 and tried to get work my way back. I hit the first mile in about 6:15 and had passed two people. I started to get a little cramp in my stomach and then got passed by another runner. I came through mile two in 6:29 and was not feeling good. There was a slight down hill and I was able to re-pass the guy who passed me. After that section, I started to feel better. From then on I was able to get into a nice rhythm and started running down some of the guys in front of me. By mile four I had moved from 7th to 3rd and everyone I passed, I had passed with confidence. It's always tough to pass people because you never know how they will respond. Each person I passed I was able to get behind them and get a feel for their pace. I would wait a few seconds and then give a strong surge around them. There was a little out and back section and I could see where second place was. I tried my best to find another gear and I was able to close the gap, but was unable to catch 2nd place.
So, in the end, I am very happy with the outcome. I had very low expectations at the starting line and had a very uncomfortable race. I'm not sure if I had a some type of cold before the race, but the two days before I was very run down. Four days later and I am feeling recovered and feeling fresh. I will be racing this weekend at the Pequannock Triathlon and have put in a few strong workouts this week. I am no longer feeling wiped out and am looking forward to a fast race on Sunday.
Congratulations to all those from the Tri Club who raced. It was not an easy day out there and you all powered through for strong finishes. I know a lot of you will be joining me on the starting line on Sunday. I'm looking forward to watching you continue your awesome race seasons!
