Lifetime Report/Pre Vineman

Well I am not totally sure what to say about Lifetime. I want to view the race in a way that is accurate and addresses some of the things that went wrong without it sounding like a list of excuses. It was by far my worst race in about 3 years and I am not going to say that it wasn't disappointing.

I think all my races in triathlon have been pretty good for the most part. Even races that didn't go as well as I wanted still had a decent result. Lifetime was the first race where everything from start to finish was off. Looking back I think there were a few things stacked against me that I probably could have prevented. And of course, as in all races, there were some things out of my control.

With that said, the first thing that I thought about after the race was "Did I push it too soon after the infection"? During the race I had NO top end and felt crummy from the gun to the line. No matter what I did I couldn't get the legs or engine going. It is hard to say if the infection played a role because there were so many other things that could have attributed to the poor race. Not to mention, I had some decent workouts the two weeks prior. I do know that I haven't felt "the same" since the infection and am not sure if that is physical or mental. Hard to explain how the experience of the infection has left me feeling in a general sense.

So infection aside, here is how the trip and race to Lifetime played out. For starters, it was the fastest trip I have ever been on for a race. My buddy Jim who raced as well went with me and we decided to make it a fast drop in trip. We left Friday, raced Saturday and then packed it up for a flight right after the race. I think that was a bit of a problem for me as I didn't really do anything Friday. JZ felt that I was too tapered and that is what left me feeling flat. I am not a fan of the big taper. I did an Epic Camp and then 2 days later did the swim and bike of an Ironman as a relay and felt fine. I swam a PR and rode in close proximity to the pro field. I think your body needs to be moving a decent amount up to the race. Mine was the opposite prior to Lifetime.

Mentally, I was feeling insecure. I hadn't raced since WF, which went well, but that was so long ago. Also, this was my first Olympic race in about 2 years and while the distance is no big deal, the pace can be. And it was a qualifier for Dallas and I really wanted to get a top 3 slot. I had a great race last time I did it and I think there was a part of me that just felt it wasn't in me right now. What came first? The belief or the reality? Maybe I psyched myself out?

The swim was going to be wetsuit legal and I stand firm in protesting that. The pros didn't get to wear them and I think if you are going to have an Elite AG wave you should apply the same rules. The water was WAY too hot. I understand wetsuits make it less risky for the majority of the racers but we don't constitute the majority. Why didn't I just not wear it then? Well if everyone else is and I am not, while I won't be hot, I swim a lot slower without one. A bit of a Catch 22.

When the gun went off I ran in and felt the bottom of my foot get cut on something. After what I just went through I had a hard time not thinking about that. I could feel the cut and was like "I'm in a disgusting swap like lake". Then I started to overheat and this is going to sound crazy but we were swimming right into the sun and you couldn't see anything and that seemed to make me feel claustrophobic. Not to mention the wave start was quite large. I was not enjoying myself, trying to stay calm while I continued to heat up thinking that if I can just relax to the first turn the sun will be out of my face and I might feel better being able to see. Unfortunately, the dialogue had started and I couldn't turn the "commentary" off for the rest of the race....shit, I couldn't even turn it off after the race!

Once I made the first turn, I was having shallow breathing and did not feel like I was in a race. Of course, wanting to do well, I knew I was going to have to have all three portions go very good. It was a fast field and the swim I was having was not going to cut it. I tried to let it go and assume it wasn't going as bad as I thought but it just dragged on and on and on....

When I finally got to the end Patrick Baldwin got out with me and that gave me a slight sign of hope. He is a fast guy and we have had similar swim times in the past. He just said "Get going. We can't let these Midwest boys get too far ahead." I was so hot I had a hard time running up to transition.

I wasted no time and once on the bike realized that I had some sand in my shoe. I could only feel it because of the cut. No joke, I was so paranoid of this cut I almost stopped. I got the infection from my shoe and was not looking to make the sequel. None the less I kept going and thought I would just keep Patrick in sight for a while and then try and turn it on.

Patrick started to pull away and I couldn't respond. My legs felt like shit and my inner quads just burned. Turns out I had my saddle height a bit low. Something that should not have happened in the first place. Every two min or so I would try to rev it up but it just didn't happen. As well, god somebody call the Whammbulance, I wasn't dealing well with the road surface and the sunlight and shadows was really making it hard for me to see. I am in denial about my eyes. I need contacts and just keep putting it off....

I had one bit of hope on the ride which was that the pro men passed me going the other direction in the exact same spot they did last time I raced here. Maybe the other guys were riding too hard??? I know that I can run so I was starting to think that I might have a shot when I get off the bike. If in fact this train wreck of a ride ever ends.

When I got to T2 I knew the shot at a top 3 was over by the number of bikes on the rack. No matter how fast I was able to run that day it was out of the picture but I still blasted out of T2 to try.

Right as I exited, Crowie and David Thompson were coming by on the second loop from their race. I was able to hop in behind David for most of the first lap but every step just felt like crap. It was pretty windy but David made a decent block for a while. I couldn't believe that I was going to have to work this hard for another 5K loop.

The second loop felt the same effort wise but was slower. I got passed by people that just shouldn't be running by me. My run time was 36 something. Ouch. Don't get me wrong, I know that is quick for some but it is not even close to what I want to be doing.

When I finished it was kinda funny because as soon as I stopped I was fine. I didn't even really feel like I did anything. I was just like "that sucked". At this point I am done debating what went wrong and just deciding that I had a crap day and hopefully I will still gain some fitness from it for Vineman 70.3 this weekend.

On a positive note about Lifetime, my buddy Jim Moriarty, that I can take credit for coaching, had a BRILLIANT day! He had a 15 min PR and was second in has age. 2:48 overall time. He is one fast 62 year old! Seriously, you should see this guy run on the track. Talent.

We both packed it up extremely fast and hit the airport for our return to Smurf Village. I shall be packing up once again this Friday to go give it another shot at the 1/2 Ironman distance.

Cheers,
bdc