5430 1/2 Ironman Race Report

Well I survived the dreaded fear that everyone around here seems to have about racing in Boulder. I never really understood the big deal. I mean, it's not like people don't just go online and stalk you when you race somewhere else! I actually enjoyed racing here and felt 5430 (The soon to be 70.3) was one of my favorite 1/2's to date.

The race was actually very eventful for me. I had more things come up than I would in an Full Ironman. I suppose that is a good thing considering I felt like I raced well. Handling adversity always leaves me feeling good.

The fact that the race was just down the street from me threw me for a loop in the amount of time I would need before hand. I left with enough time to get ready but didn't realize that T1 would close at 6:30 on the DOT! I almost wasn't allowed to set up and then forgot to put my running shoes in. I had to use the force to convince them to let me back in! It almost didn't work...

After that rush I got the "call". You know, "the call"....I had to poop. And in a big way. Well 90% of the porta loo's were in T1 making them useless. The 4 or so that were available had a line around the parking lot. That was not going to fly. I found some TP (it was like a sign from god) and took matters into my own hands. Literally. Circling around like a dog looking for a spot to crap, I found one and then once done my hand fell into it. I know this is getting way too gross for the average reader but hey- Shit happens. I fell into it because as I was in mid poop a lady walked up on me. If you can't laugh at stuff like this you really need to check your outlook on life. Just my opinion....

Anyway, at this point I am now rushing to get my skin on ( I opted out of wearing a wetsuit as the water was just too hot) and head to the water. Don't worry, I got my hand cleaned ;-) Cicely was there and was no help as she was still laughing at the fact that I had gotten shit all over my hand.

Once down to the water I got in and did a flash warm up. I like to get the heart rate nice and high before I start and didn't have that much time to do it. Then I realized I forgot my pre swim Gel and also noticed that I seemed to have a "round two" of crap wanting out. SHIT!

I have never gone to the start of any race, any distance with the feeling of needing to take a crap. I have heard of this happening and knew, at this point that there was nothing I could do. I was going to have to hold er in.

I had lined up next to Shane hoping that I would be able to use his feet. He has been swimming well and I figured it made sense. So I just looked at him and said "Go out hard. I want your feet." Why try and be slick about it??? I saw Drew Scott across the way and he seemed like he picked a better position to the far right but it was too late for us to change. We were dead center like a bunch of idiots.

When the gun went off I blasted and Shane did not go out hard enough. I was scrambling to try and figure out who was in front, but again, was having issues seeing. I was boxed in pretty bad but was remaining calm about it until I went to sight and got whacked in the back of the head pretty hard. It caused my ears to start ringing and then of course I panicked. Fuck!!! I have had issue with panicking in the water before so it wasn't anything new, but combine it with the altitude and the fact that I only had my skin on, I was being swamped and felt like I couldn't breathe. This is probably the worst way to start a race and I knew that I needed to recover from it or I was going to have problems. I had to slow down and try and find some open water. It took way longer than I wanted to get calmed down. Eventually I was able to find a rhythm and not be so freaked out. Although, I knew my swim was going to be a shit time even though I was back on some feet.

The whole rest of the way was spent climbing over AG swim wreckage. I was actually in a good mood about it because I felt accomplished that I survived the panic. It was the worst one I have had in the water and getting through it made me feel stronger. I wanted to quit at first.

Exiting the water I was just glad to be done with it. I was in shock that Shane was out just behind me. I was in even more shock to find out later that Drew got our 90 seconds ahead of me. I swim circles around Drew in the pool and Shane has been swimming circles around me. We were all mixed up!

In transition Shane and I had all our friends there heckling us. It was pretty funny as we were both trying to get out first and having issues with our stuff. I exited first but Shane came up on me and passed me pretty quickly on the bike.

Shane has been ridding very well so I thought I would use him as a gage. If I can keep him in sight and have my numbers not too high on the meter I think I will be fine. I passed him a few times on the downhill sections as I had more gears than he did, but for the most part he was off the front. We chatted quickly a few times during a pass just to see if we both felt okay. I made sure to keep twice the legal distance between us as much as I could. The fact is that we are both very similar in ride ability and started together. We were going to be near each other for the whole ride and I did not want to get pegged with a penalty. I could have rode in front but I think Shane gets a bit "antsy" in the back LOL.

The whole ride felt really easy except for the fact that I still had that major poop in me. I wasn't able to take much in on the bike. I got about 200 calories total but didn't have a choice. I guess I could have stopped but I wasn't willing to do it. I figured I would just have to when I got on the run.

Once I rolled up to T2, Shane was about 45 seconds up and I ran passed him right away. He dropped some encouraging words telling me to go smoke the run but I was a bit unsure as I had this poop issue to figure out.

I was running at a good clip and things felt okay in the stomach so I thought I would just wait until it felt different. I was a bit dizzy in the head from lack of calories so I went right to the coke plan. I think I felt that if I went to the bathroom or took in anything major, that I was going to have problems. The coke seemed to help the dizzy head right away.

As I ran along I saw a guy running up the road that looked to be moving at a decent clip and thought I would try to catch him. As it turns out, it was David Thompson, who was in 4th overall. Catching up to him made me feel that I was probably running well. It is hard to tell with that run course because the gravel is so loose that you feel like you are going nowhere.

When we got to the back side of the course, I was running a bit faster so he tucked in to avoid some of the wind that was out there but as we came closer to the finish he picked it up. I had another loop to do so I tucked in behind him. He is much taller than I am and makes for an excellent draft! It's funny that I was running with him as the same thing happened on my first loop at Lifetime.

Starting the second loop, I wasn't sure how I felt but I just decided to keep plugging away, and if I crapped out at some point I would just have to accept that. I did roll up on Keri Wvlad who was on her first loop. She is a quick runner and went with me for a bit of the back side. I told her to tuck in but she fell off the pace after a min or two.

I finished in 4:11:35 ( I had said 4:10 but when looking at results I didn't follow the line across properly LOL! I guess I do need to get these glasses!) and was very happy with the effort. I ran straight across the line to the bathroom and FINALLY dropped the kids off at that pool. OMG what a relief that was haha! I can't believe I did that race with that much in me and taking in only 400 calories. Who knew???

Confidence is up a bit more and I think I have gained some fitness from the event. I was only 4 min down from the top AG'er who with no surprise was Tim Hola. I love having that guy out there. He is an excellent marker for top Age Group racers. I won't lie, I want to take him down once this year! All in good sport of course!

I have 2 Olympic distance races coming up. Not sure how they will go but I have to remember that this whole season is just about prepping the bod to be able to handle the Ironman run load. I really feel like I am getting there and am excited to put an Ironman on the calender. It may come sooner than we predicted....

Good job to everyone that raced and thanks for all the support from those spectating. It was a really fun and challenging day!