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 race”, 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.