11 May 2009

Kinetic Half Iron Race Report


Kinetic Triathlon (Half-Iron Distance)
Swim: 36.52
Bike: 3:33(15.8 mph)
Run: 2:41 (~12 minute miles)

BREAKFAST:
• Ensure Banana Crème Shake
• Banana
• 3 Endurolytes

SWIM:
This was my first half-iron race, and intimidation doesn’t fully describe my feelings as I finished my in-water warmup. I was very unsure of how to “race” the day, but figured the best was to go slow and finish with a smile. Coach said it was a “training rac
e”, and not to go out too hard since Mooseman I supposed to be my A race prior to IMLP. I was in the second wave, and the gun went off at 7:03. The water was very murky, and I couldn’t see feet until I was practically on top of them. I settled in to my own space, and kept it very slow. I wanted to swim faster, but I decided to cut almost all kicking (which I am a very strong kicker), since I had a long day ahead of me. Kinetic is a two loop course which includes getting out, running across the beach, and then back into the water. My first loop was lethargic feeling to me, and when I felt good coming out of the water and was surrounded by blue caps (M 34-Under) from the previous wave, I figured I couldn’t be too far off. I turned up the second loop, but still refrained from kicking very much. Never felt like my heart rate went up, which was my initial plan.

Swim Total: 36.52 (42/105 Women)


BIKE:
The bike for Kinetic holds a slightly more rolling terrain on its two-loop course than expected. After a 3 minute transition (double checked everything I did – didn’t want to forget something), I climbed out of the park. I settled into a low heart rate and kept smiling. I knew I needed to nail my nutrition in order to have a successful day, and I didn’t want to go out too hard and not be able to digest well. I started out with a great pace, and stayed aero for about 95% of the ride. Aside from the pollen which felt like rocks in my eyes, the ride was beautiful. Never too hot, good roads for most of the race. I had a few issues with traffic on the roads that didn’t know how to pass cyclists, which caused multiple times of having to slam on my brakes both on descents and ascents. I wasn’t happy with the traffic situation, but there was nothing I could do to change it, so I pedaled on. Around mile 30, I whipped out my Uncrustable for the best snack of the day. It tasted like heaven in between to smashed pieces of extremely processed bread. I must have looked like I was enjoying it, because as a pretty fast looking guy passed me, he sat up, tapped his brakes to fall back with me, and asked me what I was eating. I sat up from my lounging aero position, chatted with him for a few minutes, and he was envious.. he’s bringing one for his next race. Around mile 40, I ran into a long line of horses, probably about 10-12. I heard something about a horse show in the area, and a group must have been out for a ride. It made things interesting – riding along with horses being freaked out by bikes/traffic on my right, and traffic being freaked out by the cyclists/horses. Bad combination, but I made it out without hitting either. I did ask one particularly hot guy (cowboy?) if I could have his extra horse for a little while. He laughed, not realizing by that point, I was slightly serious. Finished the bike, managing to avoid any incidents with people failing to know how to operate bottle hand offs. Please people, learn to grab a bottle properly, and don’t just spray it in your aerobottle then chuck it DIRECTLY behind you, nearly hitting me.

Bike Nutrition:
• 2 complete Speedfil’s of water (80 oz total)
• 2 package of Strawberry Clif Blocks, eating 2 every 20 minutes for the first two hours
• 1 bottle of on-course Heed (since I walked out and forgot my Heed. So much for the packing list..)
• 1 Grape Uncrustable
• 1 package of Black Cherry w/caffeine Shot Blocks
• 1 Gu Roctane

Bike Nutrition Totals:
• Calories: 1000 (281 per hour)
• Carbs: 218g (61g per hour)
• Sugar: 89g (25g per hour)
• Sodium: 1324mg (372mg per hour)
• Caffeine: 120mg (33g per hour)

BIKE TOTALS: 3:33 – 15.8 mph (76/105 Women)

RUN:
I felt great coming into transition, however the first 2 miles weren’t in complete agreement. I clearly need to do many more brick workouts, as my legs thought it was time to go get a beer with the teammates or take a nap, and not run a half marathon. I used my Xtenex laces, and had no issues for the entire run - I'll be finishing up my review sometime this week. The day was heating up rapidly, and after looking at the weather online later in the day, the real-feel temperature was over 100 degrees. Around mile 2.5 my legs came back to play, and I picked up the pace for the next 5 miles. I was hot and starting to get cranky as I could never get my legs to turn over like I wanted them to up the hills. I ditched my jersey and fuel belt at an aid station for parts of the second loop, until I realized without it, I wasn’t doing much for nutrition. I picked it back up on my way through, and the aid station looked at me like I was nuts. By the 3rd loop (yep, gotta go by the finish line twice before actually getting to veer a slight right into the grass to finish), I was done… I had a hard time keeping anything down on the run, so I was hitting the wall hard. I was slowed to a walk for a good portion of the last loop.

Run Nutrition:
• 1 Raspberry Hammer Gel
• 1 (4oz?) glass of head
• 2 (2oz?) shot of Coca Cola
• 1 orange section
• ice

RUN TOTALS: 2:41 – 12:15 per mile (67/92 women)

I picked up the pace along the last quarter mile, and my calves were letting me know they were hurt. I heard two girls coming up behind me, so I tried to sprint a little faster, but my legs just weren’t having it. They split either side of me and then blocked me for the last 10 yards to the finish line. A pretty bitch move for no good reason – its not like any of us were in contention for first place. I’m sure the finish photo will be classy, as I’m literally a half step behind them, most likely looking angry. I didn’t care, because I was happy to finish, and I felt generally great. After my lack of effort to race Rumpass, I seriously considered this to be my last year of triathlons for a while. I just wasn’t happy doing it. I researched distance swimming more, and was ready to hang up the bike and running shoes for a while. After this race, my spirit was refreshed… I REALLY enjoyed this distance, way more than I thought I would. Now that I understand how my bodys going to react during the race, I know exactly where I can improve (I can easily shave 5 minutes off my swim, I’d say another 10-15 off my bike, and at least a half hour off my run). I’m looking forward to Mooseman, and have a good feeling about Lake Placid. I feel like I’m on track for a healthy finish.

13 comments:

D said...

I tried to read the whole thing. I really did. I read most of it... just missed part of the run. Sorry. But I like picture books. There's no pictures. Ahem.

Lindsay said...

yeah yeah.. I'll add pictures shortly. :)

Eric said...

good job

MaineSport said...

Nice way to start the season. Btw, be ready for COLD water at Mooseman. While this year can certainly be different, last year was the coldest friggin water I've ever been in. Head-splitting cold. And I'm from Maine.

Runner Leana said...

Congratulations on your half iron!! Kudos to you for chatting up the cute cowboy while you are out racing!

Audrey said...

Hi! Congrats on your race. I found your blog from Rainmakers...I felt compelled to say hi as I'm still getting work done on my teeth-and still breaking teeth weakened in the accident-from when I broke my jaw last June in a bike accident going over the handlebars while going 25 mph downhill...sound familiar? :)i'm glad you're healing up well and enjoying your 09 season. take care!

Lesser is More said...

Nice job - way to get back to racing. I had a friend who did the half as a bike relay and she was shocked by the rolling hills of the course. Sounds like you handled things well throughout, and got your nutrition a bit more dialed in, which is important in longer distance racing.

Rainmaker said...

Very nicely done again with the 3rd place - it was good to see ya out there. Interesting with respect to the uncrustable thing, I'll have to check those out for my long rides...tempting.

Holly said...

Great Job Lindsey. You are definitely in great shape for Mooseman and IM USA.

I saw some of those horses and riders myself and thought "wouldn't that be nice!"

Kelly said...

Great job!!!

gmgizmo9 said...

Congrats on finishing your first Half, Lindsay! Good job with your nutrition, too...except for leaving your belt at one point. Glad you got it back.

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