BIKE: 6:39:34 for ave of 16.8 mph. 4th out of 11
in AG, 16th out of 42 in gender. 2-loop mostly out-n-back course with
rough roads and city traffic for parts of it. No major hills, mostly flat.
This will be a hard write-up. I’m not sure I’ll be able to
capture or convey what happened on the bike. One lap at a time.
Lap 1: 3:12. The ride starts off along the lake before
cruising north through town. These sections go by faster because a lot happens
and it’s all fresh. I started out a bit fast, not a pushing-it fast, but
definitely taking advantage of the fresh feeling I had. I made conscious
efforts to dial it down, and settled on a pace best described as “I’m not
working hard, regardless of how fast I’m going”. On a course like this, it’s
easy to push a faster pace. There wasn’t much wind in the first loop and the
temps were still pleasant. I enjoyed seeing the “halfers” on their way back
home and I was looking for my club mates. Not surprisingly, this was raising my
heart rate. I was surprised and frustrated by seeing it continuously in the
140-150 range—way too high for my goals and what I trained for! Seeing this
only jacked me up further. I kept feeling like pulses of adrenaline kept
hitting me. At one point I had to quit looking for people and just stare at the
road. But I still had a happy smile on my face J
I hit the turn-around at 26 miles in 1:25 an d hit 28 miles
at 1:32, I was right on course if not ahead of schedule for my goal time of 6-ish
hours. But I had to pee since coming out of the water. I was by-passing aid
stations with porta-potties on the bike for no good reason. Finally at BAS4
around mile 30 I stopped to refill bottles and pee. When I left the bike my
average speed was 18.0 and when I got back on it was 17.4 mph!!!! I didn’t
think I’d stopped for that long! Could I make up that time?! No! For once I
appreciated pee’ing on the bike. I still didn’t want to do it, but I could see
where it made a difference.
On the return trip headed south, I found the tailwind to be
helpful. Again I thought I could “make up time”, but instead I had to chant to myself
“can’t save time, but I can save energy”. Around mile 44-45 a cyclist ahead of
me crashed, not sure what happened but it hurt to see him go down. I started
looking forward to the turn-around, wondering who would be there and what I
would say to them. I remembered JM doing this race in 09 and what he said to us
as he went by. I was set on staying positive and thinking I would sing “OOOOOOOOKlahoma
is the place for me…”. Even though those aren’t’ the real lyrics J
The turn-around went by so fast, RM and his sombrero were
there and I got such a laugh out of it J
Had me smiling for the next few miles. Overall I wanted to be faster on the
bike and being behind at the turn-around hurt me a bit inside. But I was spot
on for nutrition: 100 solid calories q45 mins, and 200 liquid calories q60-70
mins. Things were feeling good and I was ready for more.
Lap 2: 3:27. Special needs was 3 miles into the ride, I
grabbed my entire bag contents and took off. Here’s where things started to
slip a bit. It was a slow decline that I didn’t recognize in time. For the 2nd
lap I knew where my turns and landmarks would be. I made mental notes in the
first lap—hay fields, fences, tractors, signs…things to dangle like a carrot as
the next goal and plans of how to fuel in certain sections. I also knew the
winds had picked up and that for the north and east sections I’d be in a
headwind coming from the northeast. No worries, just take one section at a
time.
In the first 7 miles of the 2nd lap, a tan car
pulled in front of me just after an intersection. That woke me up a bit, but
rattled me too. It seemed to take a long time to the first left turn and my
race math was starting to slip. It was around this time, about mile 70, that my
feet started to hurt and tingle. I was surprised at this—this wasn’t a problem
in training! But as I’ve done before, when I ride into a headwind I mash the
pedals. So even though I was being careful about it, I wasn’t careful enough. I
had so many distractions anyway…my HR was still high and my average speed was
still dropping.
Around this time I started watching even more my mood and
systems. I started singing under my breath my Redman Song (Keep on Dreaming) as
well as “Lost In This Moment” by B&R. How that got in my head I don’t know,
but I also had the lyrics messed up. Lost in this moment with you, I am
completely confused”, and that about summed it up. I used the tailwind in the
west section to recharge before turning around to ride into the wind, and
planned ahead to have my water bottles refilled and nutrition in place, knowing
that a headwind takes my attention from those needs.
Also competing for attention was the road conditions. Rough!
Not just potholes but also just rough sections. They were painted and I was
able to “shoot the gaps” to go around them, but this was taking a mental toll
on me, as well as wearing out my shoulders and hands. Things were starting to
hurt. I had calculated that the turn-around was mile 86 but had it wrong, it
was only mile 81. I stopped again at BAS 4 for water and bio-break. Not much
came out there, and that was my first hint that I was dehydrated.
Another thing about winds—they dry you off and you don’t
realize how much water you are losing. I wasn’t sure of the temps, but I was
also thinking that I wasn’t appreciating just how hot it was too. A double
whammy. The winds were keeping me cooler in the heat, but it was still hot and
I couldn’t keep track of how much water I was losing. Even though I was
continuously sipping from the aerobottle (I managed to go through at least 5 of
them, as well as 2-3 regular bottles) I was behind on hydration. Once that
goes, so does nutrition and focus. I had to get this under control.
I passed one rider along the side of the road stretching out
cramps, then another on the ground with medical crews around him. That’s not
me, I told myself. That’s not me. Yet.
Once I turned into the tailwind, I started focusing on
water. This was around mile 90. If I did anything to move my feet in my shoes,
the tingling came back. This was terribly distracting. My HR was still high, my
pace was dropping under 17.0, and this had my mind all jacked up. Then somewhere between mile 90 and 95, my
mood tanked.
I was having brief dizzy moments. I wanted to ride and quit
at the same time. I knew I needed to eat and found some gels with caffeine.
These helped, but I was still dehydrated. For a few miles, I didn’t think I was
going to be able to run! I finally realized just how low on water and high on body
temp I was, and it wasn’t feeling good. But I kept the pedals turning. I was
miserable and loving it, all the same time. So even though I didn’t think I’d
be able to run, I wanted to try it. I chastised myself for mentally quitting
the run before I even finished the bike! Focus! Drink! Keep moving!
I refilled the aero bottle again and just drank, drank,
drank. I knew this could upset my stomach in the run, yet at the same time I
knew I wouldn’t run at all if I didn’t do this. I forced it down—something I’m
not always able to do.
Overall, the bike was a bit of a disappointment for me yet
still a PR. However, it’s a PR on the easier iron bike course I’ve done, so it’s
a mixed success. Overall, I ate 1000 InfinIT calories, 100 sport bean calories,
500 powerbar calories, and 200-300 gel calories for a total of about 1800-1900
calories on the bike. I had one more
powerbar that I probably should have eaten. Having the garmin display by
average bike speed was good and bad. It kept ramping up my anxiety, so I’m not
sure how to handle that yet. I hit a pretty low point in the ride but I’m happy
that I recognized it for what it was and took charge of the problem.
T2: 5:46. 4th in AG and 14th in
gender. My feet weren’t hurting much by this point, and I knew from IMWI that
even if they did hurt, it would go away soon enough. I took my time in TA to
get everything right, but was still bumbling along. Body Glide on toes,
t-shirt, sunscreen and ice from a nice volunteer, race belt, visor, arm coolers
and a mint gel in my hand, garmin from the bike clipped into my wrist band but
still in my hand. Go!
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