Musselman Half-Iron Race Report- July 13, 2008- Geneva, NY

Pre-Race:

Woke up at 4:45 am after an ok night of sleep. Checked the weather, which was still calling for rain and thunderstorms all day, packed the motel room and left. Grabbed a bagel, peanut butter, and milk at Wegmans, and headed to the race. Bike was already racked from the night before, so just needed to get the usual stuff together. Got body marked and race chip, then had a quick warmup in the water before the start.

Swim:

The water was in the low 70’s in Seneca Lake, which felt perfect. The weather was holding up, and there seemed to be no threat of thunder during the swim. The swim was very slow for me, and much of it was held in shallow water. I didn’t start swimming for a few minutes, as I, along with many others in my wave, walked till the water got deeper. Finally started swimming, and had a tough time dealing with some rough water, with big waves (at least for a lake), leading to a slow time. Even through the rough water, it was probably the most enjoyable open water swim I’ve had, as it was more entertaining with the extra waves and challenge. Finished in a much slower time than expected, mostly I think due to sighting problems and the extra waves, which all had to deal with.

Swim: 47:06

T1: 5:09 – Included a bathroom break, but way too slow still

Bike:

Started off pretty easy, and started to pick it up after the first few miles, passing many people from earlier swim waves, and the faster swimmers. Had some nasty headwinds in the beginning of the ride, which slowed everybody down. First half of ride went smooth, and took in adequate liquids and fuel, including water, HEED, clif bars, and fig newtons. Around mile 25, some pain started in my upper left calf, which caused my to slow down to try to massage it out, to no avail. Still not sure the cause of it, especially so early on into the race, but must have tweaked something in the past week without realizing it. Around the same time, the sky finally opened up with rain, which lasted the rest of the ride, along with some flashes of lightening in the sky. The rest went well, even with the calf pain, except for the loss of my glasses as they fell out of my helmet, and the random occurrence of my odometer stopping working around mile 44. Overall, a descent ride, but took it conservatively, with still pretty good feeling legs. Head winds slowed down pace though.

Bike: 2:59, 18.8 avg. mph

T2: 4:53- Another bathroom break, took some advil I had luckily packed because of the calf pain, but again way too slow

Run:

Felt a little tired starting out, as it’s been almost 4 hours of racing, but felt pretty good by mile 1, and was able to settle into a steady pace. More rain and thunder kept me and my shoes soaked, but cool. Took in many gels, along with HEED, water, and some apple slices. The miles surprisingly went by very fast. Around half way, there was a steep hill, which I had to walk on. With about 5 miles to go, my legs started to feel it, and worried about the tightness in my legs turning to cramps. With 3 to go, I was really getting tired, and wanted to be done, as my legs were getting tighter and heavier. I hit the wall and bonked with 1 mile left, and was moving very slow. I was reduced to a walk at 400 meters to go for a few seconds, as I was spent, then jogged into the finish. In the last 3 miles I really started to deteriorate, and the last mile wiped me out. Still not sure why all the sudden I bonked and so badly, maybe because of slacking off with nutrition and hydration in last 30 mins or so of the race. Got done and felt dazed and a bit light headed, and felt like passing out. Took about half an hour to get back to normal.

Run: 1:53:11, 8:38 min/mile

Total: 5:49:19

Overall I had a lot of fun in the race, and enjoyed the challenging swim and conditions. My real goal was to finish, but original goal when I signed up was to break 5:30, then just to be under 6 hours. After the long swim, I knew I wasn’t going to break 5:30, but was still on a good pace for 6 hours. Definitely think I could do better, especially with a calmer swim, not so relaxed transitions, and a less conservative bike ride. Still sore 2 days after, especially my calf, but can’t wait to do a half again, and don’t want to wait till next year for one. Not much of a writer, but hope you all enjoyed the race report.