Race Report: Ironman Augusta 70.3

September 27, 2009

Augusta, GA

Swim: 1.2 miles Bike: 56 miles Run: 13.1 miles

Finish time: 6:13:06

THURSDAY
Scott and I arrived in Augusta on Thursday evening. We wanted plenty of time on location (sounds like a movie set) to calm our nerves and not rush. We immediately drove around downtown, found the transition area, the host hotel and the finish line. For what it's worth, I found Augusta to be a charming and cute southern city. It's evident that the city is trying do what it can to revitalize itself and I give it props for that! The waterfront area (where the swim start and transition area was located) was absolutely beautiful!

FRIDAY
After a quick morning ride and run, we proceeded to the host hotel for packet pick-up. Pick-up was uneventful for Scott and I because we had arrived so early. We hit the noon briefing (which was basically the 2nd briefing of the entire weekend) and it wasn't even half full. We then proceeded through to USAT check-in and packet pick-up, had a 30-minute massage, walked around the 'sorry' expo and then high tailed it back to the hotel for dinner and some rest.

SATURDAY
On Saturday morning Scott and I got all of our race equipment together, fixed our nutrition bottles and then met up with a few of our local friends, Roy and Billy. We walked downtown with them, hit the expo again and picked their brains about the logistics of half-iron racing. After checking our bikes into the transition area, Scott and I decided to hit an early dinner at IHOP (my fav) and get back to the hotel for sleep. It was light's out for me at 10PM and I slept like a baby until 4AM on race morning.

RACE MORNING
I'm fairly certain that I bounced out of bed on Sunday morning. I had a large bagel and my coffee... and had intentions of downing a banana, but it never happened. By 5:15AM, we were off to downtown Augusta. Scott was in the first age group wave to go off, so we didn't have a whole lot of time to fool around. Unfortunately, we arrived downtown so early that the shuttle buses weren't yet picking up people from the lot that we had a pass to park in. Hence, we had to hike the 1.2 miles to the transition area.

As early as we were in arriving, transition was already buzzing. I laid out my stuff, checked my bag twice to make sure I had gotten everything out of it that I needed, and then found Scott at his stall. At this point, the waiting game began. First, it was 40 minutes worth of waiting in the Port-O-John line for me. Then I realized that I had forgotten my HRM at my transition stall (I had indeed taken it out of my bag, but I laid it down on my towel and never picked it back up), so I had to send Scott on his way to the swim start (via shuttle bus) and I quick-stepped it back to transition.

Alone, I found myself waiting once again in the shuttle bus line. It was cool out and I was trying my best to use my wetsuit pieces like a blanket. Once on the bus I met a local who told me all about the bike course and how it was fairly flat to start, hilly in the middle and then flat again. When the bus arrived at the swim start, I freaked out a bit. They were already starting the national anthem and I was glad that I had sent Scott on without me. He would have felt so rushed! By this time I had to pee again. I saw zero Port-O-Johns, so I found a slice of grass that nobody was sitting near, plopped down on it and went.

After tugging my wetsuit on, I made my way down to the athletes and with a lucky star over my head, I spotted Scott! He was so happy to see me! I had all of about 1 minute to wish him good luck before his wave began to move closer to the start line.

I found a few girls in my wave and we took turns dishing up some nervous chat. The half of an hour between Scott's wave start and my wave start flew by! Before I knew it, my wave was on-deck and that's when I heard, "SHERRY!!!" Molly had found me!

With Molly, right before the start of the swim

It was so nice to see Molly's smiling face and to meet another of ELF's athletes, Danni. Both of them offered me some words of encouragement and I felt ready to go!
As fate would have it, Tri Mommy was standing practically next to Molly and Danni when Molly called my name! So I got to meet her right before the start as well. What a super lady! We're both Floridians, but this state is so large that sometimes the Orlando area seems like light years away. I wish that we lived closer to each other b/c I'm fairly certain that we would be great friends. Tri Mommy and I chatted all the way onto the floating dock and right up until the moment when I picked my spot to enter the water. We wished each other good luck and sadly, I never saw her again after that. We must get together TM!!!
THE SWIM
When I plopped in the water to ready myself for the swim start, the cold of the water nearly took my breath away. Some of the women around me were even shivering. Yikes! Let's get this party started!

F30-34: And we're off!

I recall thinking to myself during my first few strokes, "Holy crap! I'm doing a half ironman!" I actually felt very calm. Excited about getting the day going and about seeing just how far I could push my body.
The swim was point-to-point with the current. People were saying that they could 'feel' the current as they swam. I couldn't. I guess I don't have enough OW swimming under my belt to 'feel' things like this. What I did notice is that I had to hang on to the floating dock at the start, so obviously 'something' was pushing me down river. And so there I was, swimming along. Somewhere around what felt like t-pace, looking for feet. When the pros went off, I remember the emcee saying that the current was strong the closer you got to the center-line of the river, so I gradually made my way a bit closer. I swam nearly 90% of the swim alone. I saw a few pink caps in front of me, a few on the side... but we weren't bunched. It was a lot like a nice pool swim. The last 10% of the swim... I found those feet! They were SUPER bubbly feet. VERY strong kick! I once had the opportunity to draft off of Heather Gollnick's kick and the bubbles of the swimmer in front of me were a lot like hers. Very strong. I stayed right in them, never once 'touching' her toes. I didn't' want her to know I was back there.
I was happy to see the swim exit within site. The only thing I can complain about as far as my swim goes would be my wetsuit. I wear a 2-piece DeSoto suit that I love (Speedtube 5 and Speedvest) b/c it's so easy to get on/off; however, I have always had the sneaking suspicion that my top is too small and today, with my bikini top on + my tri tank + my HRM strap, I felt like I was way too constricted. I thought about that stinking top the entire time.

Out of the water! Racing to T1!

Anyway, so out of the water... pink caps in front of me... pink caps behind me. This is good... and heck, I don't feel too bad at all!
Swim time: 27:18 (1:26/100m... obviously with a strong current)
T1
I darted into T1 like I was doing a sprint tri! It's amazing, just a year ago I couldn't run into T1 to save my life. Now, not only do I run in, but I run so fast that I end up passing people! Woot! I skipped the wetsuit strippers b/c my suit comes off so easily and made my way to my row of racks. And then... I couldn't find my bike. Tri Mommy mentions this in her race report as well, so it looks like it was a common theme for the day. I ran all the way down my row; where is my bike? And then ran back... oh, there it be!! After a quick change into my cycling shoes, helmet on, sunglasses on... I was off!
T1 time: 3:06
THE BIKE
Coach Jen and I both thought it would be a very good idea for me to wear my HRM on the bike (since I blew myself up at MiamiMan last year on a bike that I rode waaay too hard). The goal of the day was to keep my HR in zone 3, with touches of the higher zones on any steeper hills.

Right from the beginning I noticed that my quads were burning. I'm thinking that this is a bike fit issue since so much had been tweaked leading up the race b/c of my saddle problems and my shoulders. We hadn't even hit any hills yet and I knew that from a muscular standpoint, I was going to be in a bit of trouble.

After I crossed the Savannah river and got myself solidly into South Carolina, the inclines started. I want to preface this part of my report by saying that in no way, shape or form were any of these inclines/hills more difficult than what I would find in Clermont, FL. The problem is, I don't train in Clermont, FL. The farther South in this state that you go, the flatter it gets. So, let's just say that I felt every little blip in elevation. Every blip! The flat parts of the course that the guy on the shuttle bus was talking to me about were not flat. Flat to me is 'Florida' flat. I guess what he really meant was 'Georgia' flat.
So anyway, I did my best to keep my HR in zone... and I would say that for about 90% of the ride, I indeed was able to stay in zone 3. I shifted gears, spun up the larger hills, pedaled and coasted down the backsides, held on tight for some faster descents, watched people drop their chains and prayed that it didn't happen to me, heard very loud tire screeches (from a car) and prayed that someone wasn't dead, saw lots of riders dealing with mechanical problems, saw a few pelotons go by and a lot of blatant drafting... even yelled to one girl, "I hope you sleep well at night!" I drank my calories (all 900 of them), did well at the bottle exchanges (I get it now), and took in the beautiful So. Carolina scenery. It was really a very pretty bike course.
Heading over the Savannah river once again and back into Georgia I was stoked! I had completed the bike portion without incident and had successfully navigated the hilliest course that I had ever raced on... and I did it in a great-for-me-on-hills time too!
Bike time: 3:06:20 (18.03 mph average)
T2: The bike to run transition was great! I think I was just so darn happy to be off the bike. I actually ran into T2 right behind Danni who had passed me just at the end of the bike. We were racked two spots away from each other. We both agreed that we had to pee. I asked her if I should just plop on down on the ground. She laughed and said that she was going to use the Port-O-John. I thought that sounded good as well. I probably couldn't make myself go in transition anyway... to much excitement! Danni had a quick T2; I took my time. Wiped off my feet a bit, slipped my socks on, pulled on my Newtons, put on my belt and hat (while standing still) and then finally made my way out of T2 and onto the run course.
T2 time: 2:55
THE RUN: Finally... out onto the run! The big 'unknown' for me! After running a whopping 30 seconds of the course, I ducked into a Port-O-John. Relief! As I exited, a male runner caught up to me and said, "I bet you feel a lot lighter now, huh?" *smiles*
Ok, time to get to work! The first 4 miles of this run felt GREAT to me! I was averaging a nice 10 min/mile pace and felt pretty good. My legs felt MUCH better than they did on the bike and at that point my spirits were pretty darn high. I tried to do some math in my head and everything had me coming in at sub-6 if I could just hold that pace. I saw Molly around mile 2 and she took the picture below! I would see her again around mile 4 and then around mile 5-6. Always so encouraging! Thank you, Molly!

Early in the run and feeling great!

Suffice it to say that after mile 4, things started to go downhill. Around mile 1 I became hyper aware of my shoes. They felt tight; way tight. I was a very bad girl and changed both inserts and the type of sock that I usually wear with these shoes. I wear this insert in another pair of my runners, but not in my Newtons. Bad, bad... totally beginner move here! Around mile 4, I had to stop and loosen my shoes up. It helped a bit, but not nearly enough. My feet would suffer in their vice grip for the remainder of the race.
Mile 4 is also where I took my first gel. About 30 seconds after taking that gel, I felt the smallest of stomach cramps and walked for a few steps to let things back off. It worked. I then picked up my pace again and headed towards the mile 5 aid station. Some more water and a salt tablet (I popped 1, should have popped 2 b/c it was finally starting to warm up a bit). By now my legs were starting to hurt... really, really hurt! I walked the entire aid station at mile 5 and a bit beyond. My HR came down, my legs were still screaming, and I watched that avg. 10 min/mile pace displayed on my Garmin slowly creep upward with every step.
I picked up my run again. Slower this time, deliberate. Putting one foot in front of the other. It was around this time that I realized that cardiovascularly, I have come a loooong way. However, my muscular endurance is lagging behind... way behind. This is OK, though. Muscular endurance is something that will come with time and time is something that I have.
By mile 6 I had agreed to put myself on the walk/run plan. I knew that Coach Jen wanted me to try my best not to walk, but I really felt like I had no choice if I wanted to continue on and actually try to enjoy the race somewhat. So, I would run for 4 minutes, walk for 1 minute. As the race went on and the 2nd loop approached, that plan turned into more of run for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute. Near the end, I didn't know what hurt worse... walking or running.
At mile 10, I nearly lost it. I wanted to cry. I wanted to just sit down and cry. It wasn't because I was disappointed that I was walking, it was b/c it had just been a long day, I was in pain and here I was finishing my first half ironman!
At mile 12, I saw Scott in the crowd at the finish line and almost lost it emotionally again. He had just come across and looked so freakin' happy. I wanted to hug him! I mouthed, "I love you," and reached my hand towards him as I went by. He handed me his water bottle. I told him later that I didn't want his water bottle, I wanted to touch him!
Mile 13.1 was the longest mile ever! Good grief! I mustered up what little energy and healthy muscle fibers I had left in my legs and picked up my pace a bit. I only walked once during mile 13... a strong finish! LOL!
Run time: 2:33:27 (11:42 min/mile)
THE FINISH
Crossing the finish line was a bit anti-climatic for me. I shared my moment with another dude and he went right down the middle, so I was wedged off to the side. Oh well. I was sooo happy to be done. I saw Scott right away and we just fell into each other crying. The minute I started crying, I also started hyperventilating. I just couldn't catch my breath; so we sat for a while.
Eventually we found Molly and Danni (who had an awesome race and took home a new PR). Molly took some post-race finisher pictures for us.

Woo-hoo! I am 'half' an Ironman!

The S&S Express- 1 Ironman Augusta 70.3- 0

POST RACE: Prior to actually competing in the race, I had plans to stick around afterwards and watch all of the hoopla of the medal ceremony, etc... Of course, that all changed when I realized that my legs didn't have enough energy to support me for any such thing. So, back to the hotel Scott and I went. We talked non-stop for the rest of the night and for the 10-hr drive home about our amazing day. We rubbed our muscles, stroked our egos a bit and planned for the future.
I made a decision on the way home to compete in the MiamiMan tri this November. It's more of a mental thing. Sole purpose of competing that day is to not walk at any time during the run. I need to know that I can get through a run in a triathlon that is longer than a 5K distance. Since I walked the last mile of the 6.6 mile MiamiMan run last year and then I walked during Augusta, I need to prove to myself that I can do MiamiMan this year and not walk! I am a different athlete! Then, maybe next November when Scott and I do Beach to Battleship Half, I'll have confidence that I can get through that run without walking. Year-to-year improvement. Make sense?
FINAL THOUGHTS
And so that's pretty much how September 27, 2009 went for me. What an amazing day! OK, time for the speech! I want to take a moment to thank my amazing husband, my family and best buds Sondra and Jeff for being so understanding with my moods and training schedule over the past 2 months. I hope you all know how much I love each and every one of you. You are the best and I am so lucky to have you all in my lives.
Scott, without you I don't think I could have gotten through any of those long 5+ hr. training days. You sacrifice so much for me where training is concerned and in my opinion, you are the natural athlete in the house. Yes, yes you are! If you were able to train at your pace (instead of mine) and hit all of those training days (instead of having to skip one here and there b/c of work), I have no doubt that you would be miles ahead of this girl of yours. I love you baby and I'm so proud of you! Keep up the amazing work! You've come soooo far from that hospital bed of yours last year.
Coach Jen, attending that tri camp together last February was fate. I feel ridiculously lucky to have you as my coach. I like that you tell me how it is and do not give me false hope; instead you provide me with realistic goals and know exactly what to say to pick me back up when I'm feeling disappointed. I trust in the process, I trust in you. Thank you oh-so-much! I'm looking forward to many more moons under your guidance.
, thank you all for the comments and words of encouragement on my often very looong posts (yes, I have diarrhea of the fingers, as I like to put it). I've said this many times before, but I adore following all of your journeys and I'm glad that you enjoy following mine as well. I keep wondering when there is going to be a blogland convention.
Molly, you and your pink compression socks kept me super inspired on race day. Thank you so very much! A huge thanks to you for all of the pictures (all pictures seen in this blog post are courtesy of LMM). You captured moments for me that I would otherwise not have had. Hugs to you!
Blogworld & Friends