Race Report: Florida 70.3

May 16, 2010

Disney's Ft. Wilderness Resort

Operation "Beat the Heat"- Mission Accomplished!

FRIDAY

We arrived in Orlando Friday afternoon and made our way over to Ft. Wilderness for packet pick-up.  We were so early that is was pretty much an in/out experience for us.  We took a moment to walk along the beach swim start and proclaim our love for each other (and the sport) in the sand. 

We made our way back to the parking lot right at 2:20PM which enabled us to watch the shuttle take off.  Normally, we can only see a shuttle launch in the evening and on a clear night from where we live in FL.  However, Orlando folks are close enough to Cape Canaveral that they get to view this amazing event in the day time!  It looked like a glowing rocket!  Really amazing! 

Afterwards, we checked in to hotel #1 (near Lucky's Lake), had some dinner and then prepped everything we would need for race day.

SATURDAY MORNING

Scott and I made our way over to Lucky's Lake for the Saturday morning swim.  There were more than 200 other swimmers there that morning; one of the largest turnouts ever according to Lucky.  This was a great opportunity for me to practice with Melissa's speedsuit.

After lubing up really well with TriSlide (loving this stuff), Scott helped me zip up the speedsuit and was excited to get going!  A guy standing next to me asked if I was a "real swimmer" and told me that I looked "serious."  I laughed and told him that I was in the thing b/c I normally race in a swim suit and the idea of swimming in a tri tank with the looser material and pockets is not at all appealing. No sandbagging here, dude... promise! 

At around 7:45AM, Lucky stood on the dock and gave all of us his customary warning that we could indeed 'die' while swimming the 500m across and 500m back.  His dog, Hannah, is the sounding horn for the group to go and as soon as she barked a few times, we were off!

The swim start was very much like a triathlon mass start.  The same excitement, people bumping into other people.  I loved it.  It was great practice.  I felt great in Melissa's speedsuit. Everything was nice and tight, no drag.  I made my way across and back in no time at all.  While we were waiting for the majority of the other swimmers to return, Scott and I decided to swim out to the first buoy and back again. This time I took off the speedskin and just wore the normal two-piece that I train in.  OMG, I need to purchase some tighter bathing suits.  It felt much like having a balloon attached to me.  Before wearing the speedsuit, I had no idea that I train with that much drag. Yikes!

After drying off, we walked over to Lucky's Wall of Fame and I left my John Hancock right on the edge of the bathroom door frame (so look for it, if you go)!  Lucky gives out patches to all first time swimmers as well as a log sheet to record future crossings.  After signing the wall, we made our way over to the fundraiser pancake breakfast and gobbled down some hotcakes!

This was an absolutely FANTASTIC morning!  Scott & I will be back up in Orlando in October to visit with our relatives who will be vacation at Disney.  We will be at this swim every, single morning!  No doubt!

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

After cleaning up from the lake swim, we made our way over to Ft. Wilderness and checked into the Wilderness Lodge.  The lobby is beautiful and I can definitely see why the Lodge is considered a "premier" Disney resort!  Unfortunately, premier ended at the lobby.  There was no freezer in our room (so no frozen bottles, which are extremely important to me in this heat).  The room was damp and musty, the exhaust fan in the bathroom was operated by some sort of a ghost and room service did not leave any coffee packs in our room.  I also discovered later that night that despite what our race packets said, there would be no bus service from the Lodge to the transition area in the morning.  We would have to walk the 1.5 miles on a dark, unlit trail in the AM.   For $200+ a night, all of this made for a HUGE disappointment! 

We spent some time with our friend, Dan, helping him to get ready for his first HIM race.  Just like Scott, this is Dan's second year in the sport and it's been a blast learning together and watching each other grow physically and mentally. 

SUNDAY MORNING (sorry, no race day pics- that's what happens when your sherpa is racing too)

Wake-up call was 3:45AM and we were out the door and on the unlit path to the transition area at 4:30AM.  Breakfast was a bagel with peanut butter + hot tea with cream and sugar.

Transition set-up went smoothly; however, I realized that I had forgotten to pack a towel to wipe off my feet before the bike.  My tran spot was directly on-top of a bed of leaflets and dirt, so wiping my feet was going to be a necessity.  Thankfully Scott had a spare towel and gave it to me.  I would eventually use the crap out of that towel!  Thanks, honey!

Transition closed at 6AM and we made our way to the beach to watch the Pros take off (6:20AM start).  Unfortunately my stomach decided that it was finally time to 'empty', so I made my way to a port-o-john line and missed the Pro start.  When I returned, I ate a half packet of gel and sucked down the remainder of my 20oz sport's drink.  Scott helped me zip up the speedsuit and then we waited with anxious nerves for our wave starts.  We tried to find Dan again, but his wave went off early and we missed him.  Our waves were near the end of the AG starts and we watched as the lake came alive with splashing.  It was pretty amazing!  Finally, my AG was on deck... Scott would be starting 3 minutes after me.

SWIM- 1.2 miles, lake, non-wetsuit (82F)

I was in the 16th wave to leave the beach (7:06 AM). So there were lots of swimmers in front of me. 

I have done a race in this lake before and was aware of the fact that you can't see your hand in front of your face while swimming. This pretty much translates to the fact that it is extra difficult to find feet... not just to draft off of, but also to stay clear of so that you don't get kicked in the head.

The swim course was staffed by more lifeguards than really needed, but I suppose you can never really have enough. The race director said that there were 96 of them out there! Wow! Anyone considering this race should feel pretty safe on the swim course. If you need a kayak, it will be there.

My swim pace was about right for me in OW without a current; maybe just a wee bit slow considering that I had the suit on. It could be that the course was long (as many seem to believe year after year) or that the narrow channel created by the lifeguards made it extra difficult to navigate through swimmers from previous waves.

I took the swim VERY easy. I did not want to jack my heart-rate up at any point. I even breaststroked a few times. I grew up swimming the 200IM on my wimpy summer & high school swim leagues, so breaststroke doesn't really slow me down all that much compared to average AG freestyle swimmers around me.  It's nice to have as a little 'back up' crutch and it always feels good to switch up the muscles.

I was able to catch up to two waves in front of me... and a few swimmers from the third wave in front. Navigation was spot on.

My right goggle lens leaked the entire swim. I stopped to try to fix it twice and then just gave up. I used these same goggles at Lucky's Lake swim the day before, so I have no idea what was going on. Perhaps my hair was in a different position under the cap. Anyway, my right eye was actually blurry when I got into T1. Sort of like it had a lake film on it.

I swam as I planned- nice and easy. I knew I had to save everything that I could for the torturous run to come.

T1

It was a very long run from swim exit to T1 and my rack was one of the farthest racks from the swim-in and bike-out. The speedsuit came off fairly easily over my heels. I used a lot of TriSlide. No chaffing either. My rack was on dirt and leaves and my feet were gross. I had to towel them off for a bit to ensure that I removed all of the leaves. I  took the time to spray some sunscreen on my shoulders and lower back. I put my Camelbak and helmet on and was off running to the mount line!

The film on my right eye from the leaky goggle was worrying me a bit.  I thought that perhaps I had scratched my cornea.  It eventually disappeared during the bike, so I really think it was lake scuzz.  Ew!

BIKE- 56 miles, 1 loop with a lot of straight-aways; rolling terrain for about 20 miles in middle of course (yep, we have rollers in Central FL), strongish headwinds on the return 10 miles (but no true gusts).

I had a really good bike. As with the swim, I went into the bike knowing that I really had to watch my RPE b/c the run was going to be TOUGH. I pretty much kept my HR in what felt like high Zone 2/low Zone 3 for the entire ride.  I even wanted solid food (which I usually never do) and had some yummy brown-sugar cinnamon pop tart!  This course was less windy overall than where I train at and I think all of my spring 'wind training' helped a great deal. The rolling hills broke up the course nicely and I was FLYING up them seemingly effortlessly! I rarely got passed on any of the hills... It rocked! This FL girl has some 'hill skillz'!  One guy even said, "geesh" as I blew by him on an uphill.  That made me feel awesome.

I saw at least 4 packs of drafters go by. One pack of "Team Panama" drafters nearly ran me into a cone! I would have taken down their numbers if I could have and called them out on my blog. You just CAN'T ride two and three abreast in a single-lane. It's not safe folks!  I'm not sure where the race marshals were for this bike course.  Out to brunch, maybe?  The drafting was disgusting!

Compared to Augusta, my legs just felt so much stronger... they seem to get stronger with each passing year. It's pretty darn awesome! I realize more and more that the cumulative effects of training are built very slowly, but surely.

This was a 15 minute HIM bike PR for me. Very pleased. I definitely worked on the bike, but never to the point where I felt like I couldn't get off the bike and run. I kept my HR in check nicely. A super solid physical and mental effort from me.  At the bike dismount, I was 100% ready to run.  My legs felt great, my head was clear, all was good.

**The film on my right eye from the swim eventually disappeared, but then I noticed an issue with the hearing in my right ear. It was like my eustachian tube was clogged and I couldn't clear my ear. I suffered with this for the remainder of the race. Nearly went to med tent in regards to it afterwards. It finally cleared up with a few doses of 'ear drying aid.'

T2- 

I dismounted well before the dismount line because there was such a back-up. Since I smartly chose to get off my bike early instead of feathering my brakes to the actual 'dismount line', I ended up being able to run right through line back-up and into the T2 chute.

I took some time again to spray myself with sunscreen. I put my socks on, grabbed my handheld, race belt and hat... and was off!

RUN- 13.1 miles, three loops, 60% un-mowed, unshaded, uneven grassy trail, 40% paved, shaded multi-surface path.

At the athlete briefing the day before the race, the announcer actually joked about how miserable the run course is. Warning, warning! In a nutshell, this run is spongy (the grass seems to absorb every bit of energy from your stride), hot (expect a heat index of 90+ by noon) and has little shade for relief. In looking at some of the half-marathon times posted, it looks like even some of the professional athletes melted out there.

According to wunderground.com, the heat index was 90F when I started running (and the index may have been even higher during the grassy portion of the run b/c of the steamy drainage canal along side of the grass). This may very well be the most miserable 13.1 on the 70.3 circuit. You can't acclimate for this folks, you just suffer through it.  A few folks over at BT had very interesting takes on the heat at this race.  One woman is an Iraq veteran and she said that this race was hotter than being in the Iraqi desert.  Another woman had just left the Republic of Congo in Africa and said that the race was hotter than that.  That's pretty impressive to me.  Again, this race presents a very unique, extreme challenge that I think you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the continental US.

I held a good pace for most of the first loop, but after finishing up the last grassy portion of the first loop, I realized that this run was not going to be a good one. Even though I live in South FL, I am genetically a bit heat intolerant. I suffer, a lot. So I knew that keeping my core temp down and staying hydrated were HUGE priorities for me from mile one.

I loaded up my bra, shorts and race cap with ice at every station. I refilled my handheld bottle with ice and orange gatorade many times. The baby pools filled with ice for our caps were a sweet releif. There was only minimal forward progress made at the aid stations for me. I walked through every one of them and came to a standstill (like most everyone) at the baby pools to fill my race cap.

With every aid station stop, I watched my pace drop off more and more.  Yes, miserable run for me, for everyone.   Despite that, my legs felt great!  This is a HUGE change for me from Augusta.  My quads pretty much felt like minced-meet during the Augusta run.  I recall the pain being so bad that walking didn't provide any relief.  However, this past Sunday, my legs stayed in good shape.  While they were tired, they never felt like they had been put through the meat tenderizer.  Nope, muscular endurance is coming along very nicely.  This is a wonderful (and very noticeable) improvement for me.  Super stoked!

Unfortunately, I was not able to maintain my core temp. despite my copious use of ice, but I did get my nutrition (calories) right. No cramps, no stomach blunders, mental faculties stayed intact. Hydration wise, it was a disaster. I didn't produce any urine at all during the race and it took me about 4 hours afterwards to finally put a little bit out. Even 24 hours later, urine output was still not where I would like it to be. I recall saying to Scott when we returned to our hotel room that I thought I looked "skinny."  I wish I had taken my Tanita with me.  It would have been interesting to see the % body water change.

The run at this event is an extreme challenge.  I have read in a couple of places that this 70.3 has the highest DNF percentage of all 70.3 races and if this is true, I can see why.   It was pretty much the "march of the walking dead" out there.  People were dropping like flies in the grasslands.  I knew that this event was going to be extreme with the heat/humidity, but seriously, the run course combined with the heat poses a very unique challenge that you probably won't find anywhere else.  Looking to really test your mental & physical gutts?  Sign up for this race!

That being said, until the run course is changed, I will not be signing up again.  Once is enough.

FINISH

This finish line at this race really got me emotionally.  I found myself misting up as I approached the finish line.  I realized that I had improved in so many ways over the past 8 months... physically and mentally.  It was a very special moment for me.

FINAL THOUGHTS

1.  Most importantly, I beat the heat!  That was my numero uno goal and I accomplished it.  Very happy about that.  I learned that I can survive a very hot race if I put my mind to it.  I knew what was coming and I raced a well-thought out plan in order to prepare for it.  I finished in the top 44% of my AG which is a HUGE improvement over my 65% finish at Augusta.  Really, that is a monstrous improvement!!!

2.  I finished with a smile on my face... and so did Scott!  My finish at Augusta (my first and only HIM before this race) was very anti-climatic.  My legs hurt so badly that I could barely walk, I was disappointed in my slow run despite cool weather conditions and I don't think I smiled at all while running down the finisher's chute.  This race was different.  I was six minutes slower overall than Augusta, but I had whipped out a good swim on a true (non-honking-current assisted) HIM swim, I had an awesome bike split on a course that was definitely not flat and my 'trail run' was only 17 seconds per mile slower than Augusta (which featured entirely flat, even, paved and shaded roads and temps that were 20 degrees cooler).  No matter what the timeclock says, this was a huge mental and physical PR for me.  I can only imagine what 'could' have happened if Sunday's race had been Augusta-take 2.

3.  There was no run PR as I had hoped, however, I think I forgot to take into consideration that there was a large grass/trail component to this course.  I didn't factor my pace into that, not that it mattered anyway.  It was hot out; you can only do so much in 90+ degree temps with honking humidity!  I take comfort in the fact that the half marathon times for even the 'good' people were on the slower side for them.  The heat/humidity on this run course is certainly a brutal equalizer and worthy of a shit-load of respect.

4.  I am seriously looking forward to B2B HIM this November.  This is another completely different outlook than what I had last year.  After Augusta, I didn't think I ever wanted to do another HIM.  No way!  This time around, I can't wait to do B2B b/c I know that good things are going to happen there.  I'm stronger physically and mentally and in a nutshell...I'm stoked!

5.  To my husband- the best training partner and best friend a person could ever ask for.  You are my A-number-1 and above everything else, I am so glad that we are able to share a lifetime of fitness together.  A big thank you to my family for all of your love & support and a special thanks to my Mom, for watching the Korn dog during so many of our long bike rides.  Hugs to everyone out there in Blogland and on Facebookland who shared words of encouragement with me before and after the race.  I really loved all of the text messages and voicemails!  You guys rock!  Finally, a sweet and sincere thank you to Melissa for helping me to contain my cleavage via the use of her speedsuit. :-)

6.  Today, Scott and I start our off-season... so we get to watch all of YOU race!  We'll be in off-season mode until mid-July when we'll begin our build towards November's Beach to Battleship.  I think I am totally going to enjoy this 'laid back' approach to our Florida summer.  No pressure to work hard in the heat; just time to build some volume gently, get in a few Century rides (our firsts) and enjoy our runs under the cover of cool darkness (no need to suffer in the heat when B2B is pretty much a cool weather event).  Yahoo!!!!