Pre-Race
I was up on time, and downtown to the race venue right on
schedule at about 4:40am. I was one of the first racers there. I got my bike
racked and started setting up my spot. I am glad I brought my headlamp because
it was pretty dark. It was a beautiful morning, a little chilly with temps in
the mid 50’s, no wind at all. The lake was beautiful.
I got all set up, did a warm-up stretch routine, put my
wet suit on to my waist and then headed out to wait for the bus to the boat. The
bus came and we got on and took the short ride over to the boat. I talked with a guy from
Omaha Nebraska. We started boarding the boat as soon as we arrived.
The boat left and went under the lift bridge, and we tied
off on a couple of anchor buoys they had in the lake. Then it was time to
start. Temps near the lift bridge were reported to be 58 degrees, but that the
water got colder as we went away from there. Probably to the low 50’s.
So at the athlete meeting on Friday they mentioned that the
swim was going to be shortened some because of the water temp. Officially the
course was 0.93 miles.
It was a dead calm morning. No waves at all which was a big
concern for me. Because of the temps, it was wetsuit mandatory, but they also
required everyone to use a swim buoy as well. That turned out to be a lifesaver
for me.
Swim
That swim was f'n ridiculous.
So I jump off the boat and immediately my hands and feet go
numb from the cold. I get water in my suit and that’s ok, I try to put my face
in the water and just blow bubbles but its no use at all. Immediately I have
trouble breathing. I try to swim a bit but my breaths are shallow and I just
can't do it. I managed to get the 200 yards to the first turn buoy (L shaped
course) using a variation of kicking, swimming and current.
Once past the buoy I seriously considered dropping out.
There was no way I was going to swim another 1400+ yards like this. I looked at
the rescue boats and almost waved one down.
Then someone swam by me doing the backstroke. So I flipped
onto my back and tried that. I could breath my shallow breaths and make
progress. So I decided to see how that went for me. I don’t know who that guy
was or how long he did backstroke, but if it weren’t for him giving me the
idea, I would have DNF.
It's pretty difficult to swim open water backstroke. Nothing
to guide you to go straight. So I was zigging all over the place. My swim buoy
either loosened up or something but it kept sliding off which was a pain in the
ass.
Eventually EVERYONE else except the amputee had finished the
swim. I got to the rocky swim exit and I was super dizzy when I tried to stand
up. The volunteers were amazing and helped me up. Then we had to climb a
dirt/mud path up to transition.
I was just spent. I was really dizzy, my feet and hands were
numb, and I felt like I was going to puke.
I got into transition and just sat down to take my stuff off
and change my shoes and shirt. A photographer came by to take some pictures.
Not of me, but of my bike. He thought it looked cool.
Eventually I made it out of transition and onto my bike.
I will NEVER do this race again with a lake side swim.
Bike
So, this asthma thing that I was experiencing basically
didn't allow me to take in deep breaths. Only shallow breathing. So, it had the
effect of severely limiting my output on the bike. I couldn't go hard at all
without getting out of breath very easily and having a really hard time
catching it.
Therefor my HR plan went out the window and I just took what
my body would give me on the bike today.
A few miles in I stopped to say hi to one of the volunteers.
He was the guy that gave me the entry due to his injury. Surprisingly I didn’t
curse him too badly today.
The bike went ok. I used a different pair of try shorts for
this bike ride and I didn't have the sore sit bones like I did the last race. I
was a bit sore after 3 hours, but nothing at all like last week where I had
trouble sitting at home afterwards.
There was no wind, nice and sunny day. A beautiful day for a
bike ride. I did pass a bunch of people on the bike even at this low speed. I
drank my tailwind and had a gel.
85% of the bike course is good road and it was fun. I was
frustrated that I had to go into my small gear so much today, I don't normally
have to do that on this road. But as I said, I took what my body could give me.
T2 went fine. I put on some additional sunscreen and was off
for the run.
Run
I had hoped for a 3 hour run and that’s exactly what I got!
I knew I could walk the whole thing and finish in time so I actually really
enjoyed the run.
My breathing problems continued, so I tested how much I
could reasonably run and it was about 45 seconds. I was prepared for this and
did :45/1:15 as much as I could. I walked through aid stations and up hills as
well.
The first few miles were a struggle, I felt better in miles
3-7, then I just started to lose steam. I went to a run/walk/walk type of
effort. My walk pace was about 14:30 which helped me keep things in the
13-14/mile range with limited running.
My wife and daughter camped out on the run course so that I
would see them 4 times. It was good to see them and hear their cowbells when I
came up the hill towards them.
Who knew that flat, warm, Pepsi would taste SOOO GOOD!!! I basically subsisted on that stuff for 2/3 of the run.
I ran downhill into the finish line, arms up and a smile on
my face!
I did it!
I finished this race with a lot of adversity. I did not have the the time result I would have
hoped for, nor was I feeling the greatest, but I kept going and finished. I am SUPER
happy with my effort today, and proud of my accomplishment.
As a bonus, they give out these really nice Epicurian cutting boards rather than a finisher medal. So now I can remember this epic race every time I cut food!
Overall Result: 7:16:45, 83/91 Overall, 60/63 Men, 9/9 age group
Post Race:
I ended up taking myself to urgent care to have
them take a listen to my lungs. I was indeed wheezing. They gave me a nebulizer
treatment to help with that and it did. The PA diagnosed me with
"extrinsic or exercise induced asthma." She gave me a script for an
albuterol inhaler and told me to use it before exercising in the future. She
also said I should go see my primary care doc and see what he thinks.
I have had these attacks before but very rarely. I remember
my first one was on a hike in Colorado probably 20 years ago, just came on
suddenly, very scary. I haven't seen it in training, only in races. Something
about the water sets it off.
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