Sultri, Blistri-ing, tripical...just plain hot as hellRacine Half Ironman
5:57:29Swim 42:54 (1.2 miles)
T1: 4:09
This was a return visit to the Racine Half Ironman. At one point I was told it would be a good checkpoint to see if I’ve improved since last year as now I’m training for a longer distance. I did want to see improvement but I also knew that I didn’t allow for a taper because this wasn’t THE race of my year; it was only training.
As I was out racing, I realized I would have to just focus on the current race and not try to compare to the year before; it was a lot hotter this year (ending in a heat index of 100+ degrees), and there was a head wind that seemed to affect me in 3 directions as the side wind also pushed against me. It wasn’t incredibly strong, but it was still enough to make me work harder for the 56 mile bike.
I spent the entire week before the half-ironman in Minnesota with my brother’s family. Prior to this weekend, I’ve always just had one water bottle and I switch out at aid stations if needed, but last year, the one water bottle was sufficient. I’ve been given lots of grief over this, training for the Ironman and all, and then I got real sick two weeks ago, and the whole week leading up to the half ironman, I was struggling with hydration. The Saturday before the Half Ironman, Veronica and I went out to do 2 loops of the Madison Ironman course and I was going through water like crazy. Then on Monday, I had a 20 mile run and carried water with me as it was super hot and humid out. Over the course of 20 miles I went through 40 oz of Gatorade and 1 soda and was still not satisfied during the race. When I wasn’t working out, I was total cotton mouth. So, I decided it was about time to get more water bottle cages. I’m not sure I like what I bought as I swear the thing doubles Alejandro’s weight- but I didn’t have many options so I just went with it.
My parents once again were the world’s greatest spectators. When it comes to the Racine Ironman, my dad is involved in every race weekend aspect. My Uncle and Dad dock their boat at the harbor right there, so he’s very familiar with getting there (to this day, I probably couldn’t drive it on my own without gps). So, we went to the expo, once I picked up my race information, we checked in my bike. The process went quick and I said good night to Alejandro.
My Parents, Veronica, Daryl and I did our traditional eve of the half ironman dinner at the Olive Garden. When I got home, I wanted to kind of re-situate my current life in a car situation (Which hasn’t been announced in a blog yet- maybe I need a special one just for it- but I’m moving at the end of the month- to San Francisco). Once I was done with that, I went to bed, but I turned on the TV and got sucked into a Hallmark movie. I think I fell asleep around 11pm. The alarm went off at 4:15 am, and I think I rolled out of bed at 4:30 and we left the house by 5:00.
My dad drove me to the start and waited around while I set up transition. Backtrack to last week. I got a flat and it was an outer tube flat as well as inner tube flat, so I had to get the whole tire changed. They ended up putting the extender back on (which I really didn’t want). Well, this makes it impossible for me to get air in that back tire. So without an easy fix, the back tire wasn’t blown up all the way. I decided since it was a hot day, it was probably not the worst thing.
I saw Anne and her husband, and then my dad and I hung out in the shade for awhile. It was only 6:30am but it was already hot. I was in a new age group this year (as by the end of the year I will be 30…craziness!), so I didn’t start with Veronica. My wave started at 8:05 which was a little later than the previous year.
Veronica, Daryl, Deanna and I hung out in the water waiting for our waves to start. Once it came time, I was off. The water felt great and it was clear. You could see in front of you, which was a change from the Triple T. I felt like I was going slow but did my best not to get discouraged. I tried to remind myself, I passed people as much as people passed me, but whenever I’m in the water, I always feel like I’m the last out. On the final few hundred meters of the swim, I noticed every breath and moment out of the water felt humid. I thought to myself ‘this is going to be one long day!” I got out of the water and it turns out, I actually improved by a minute! I saw Anne when I got out of the water, and I was looking for my dad in his red shirt. Turns out, while he was waiting for me to start, he went and bought himself an “Ironman Support Crew” T-Shirt. If anyone is deserving of that shirt, it’s him. So I waved to him and went on my way.
Because of the Triple T- I think Transitions have gotten easier for me. I wiped off and got on the bike (with my dad watching me from the side lines). I got on the bike, and this year I was ready for mounting on the hill- and was on an easy gear. I quickly got on the bike- waved once again to my dad, and went on my way. I started off at a fast and easy pace, but then we turned and hit wind. It wasn’t a strong gust, but it was enough of a head wind to make me have to work harder. I was thankful for my extra water cages and swapped out water already at the first aid station. My nutrition was a bit off this year because the night before the race, I realized my favorite food on the bike- had melted together and I couldn’t eat it. So I just had lots of gus and my anti-fatigue pills. I popped2 anti-fatigue pills every 40 minutes and gued every hour. I made sure I drank water ever 12 minutes, if not more when needed. The head wind was also a side wind and I was looking forward to the turn around to get pushed. I didn’t make any friends on the bike like I did last year – and was wishing Simon was there. Once you get past the first 20 miles, you get the fun stretch with the rolling hills. As the first 20 miles took me almost 1hr 10 minutes, I tried to pick up speed on the 2nd 20 miles. I managed the 2nd in about 1hr and 03 minutes- but that still wasn’t good enough.
I decided I needed to not look at the time, and make my spectators on the bike my check points. I first saw my dad around mile 18 as planned- I waved and continued on. Then on my way back, I knew my mom would be joining him around mile 40. I went by and didn’t see them, but saw his car in the parking lot- I figured he might be in it waiting for my mom to arrive- so I turned and waved real big to the car- it turns out- my parents were actually right there- so they thought I was waving to them. There is a part of the course where the bikers see the runners. As I was approaching the end of my bike, I saw Daryl on the Run. He was already at mile 5. I was very happy for my dismount and focused on dismounting gracefully, I missed my parents cheering.
In transition, I grabbed my Gatorade which was so hot I swear it should have been boiling. I pocketed a gu, and I went on my way. I was feeling pretty good, but I was hot. I realized I needed to start working on getting my body temperature down. My focus of the run is always – just look at the quarter of the run you have ahead of you. At each water station, I grabbed a coke, a water, a powerade and ice- provided they had all this there. Everytime I grabbed ice, I would put the ice in my sports bra for cooling of the body and I would put 2 cubes in my visor on my temples. This seemed to cool me down enough to keep going. I was hydrating so much, I never touched my gu.
I made a friend, Jeremy, on the run at mile marker 3. However, I was walking through the water stops and he continued to run through them so I lost him at the turn around. Then I made friends with another man, David. He had a rough day of racing, with 2 flat tires. We were talking about how we don’t train with a group, we do our own thing, which has been on my mind a lot lately- almost everyone racing these long distances belong to some sort of group- Vision Quest, Well Fit, Chicago Endurance Sports- you name it, people belong to it. My team might not be a training group- but they provide me my heart and soul: Team DetermiNation. As stated in many blogs before- my friends in that group – inspire me. They are my training family. Veronica and I were in Racine, but Alison and Michelle and Andy were with us in spirit –miles north doing the Door County Half Ironman. (With that said- below is the link to my fundraising site for this year- I have been focused on Ironman Training and my move where I haven’t been focused on my fundraising- if you can donate, click on the link at the end of this.
David and I ran for a few miles together but I lost him around the turn around for loop two. At the same time, I saw my parents. I stopped and hugged them, and actually took a pedialite ice pop from them (which I learned later - that’s actually against the rules- I’m such a rule follower I feel bad I broke this rule- but have justified it with the fact that at least once- they were out of ice at a water stop- so on this hot and humid day- if the race people couldn’t provide for me something to keep me from over-heating- they gave me no choice but to grab from my parents).
As I was approaching my 2nd loop they announced the heat index was 99 degrees and rising. Around the 7.5 mile aid station- I actually saw one of the volunteers on the side of the road vomiting- apparently the heat was even too much for people not in the race. I ran into Jeremy again around mile 9. We ended up sticking together for almost the entire rest of the race. We didn’t always talk, but we knew we were keeping each other going. I would stop at the waters and catch up- and I probably had it in me to go faster, but I enjoyed the company. I already knew I wasn’t PRing and with the heat, I decided there was no need to push it more. My parents were at the finish line as I crossed – just under 6 hours. (and when we got to the car- the temp read 100 degrees!).
While I didn’t PR, I’m happy with my time. I do think I’m improving and I’m on my way to being successful at the ironman. I finished feeling strong, like I could have gone longer and further even in that heat. My run this year ended up slower than last year, but it felt stronger and I ran a lot more (just walking the waters and one big hill). After I cooled off and rested some, I went back outside. The temps had dropped about 15 degrees at that point, but it was unbearably hot and humid. The shower I had just taken wore off and I was sweating within minutes of being outside. At that point, I couldn’t believe I had just completed a half ironman in that heat.
T1: 4:09
Bike 2:59:14 (56 miles)
T2: 2:33
Run 2:08:39 (13.1 miles)
This was a return visit to the Racine Half Ironman. At one point I was told it would be a good checkpoint to see if I’ve improved since last year as now I’m training for a longer distance. I did want to see improvement but I also knew that I didn’t allow for a taper because this wasn’t THE race of my year; it was only training.
As I was out racing, I realized I would have to just focus on the current race and not try to compare to the year before; it was a lot hotter this year (ending in a heat index of 100+ degrees), and there was a head wind that seemed to affect me in 3 directions as the side wind also pushed against me. It wasn’t incredibly strong, but it was still enough to make me work harder for the 56 mile bike.
I spent the entire week before the half-ironman in Minnesota with my brother’s family. Prior to this weekend, I’ve always just had one water bottle and I switch out at aid stations if needed, but last year, the one water bottle was sufficient. I’ve been given lots of grief over this, training for the Ironman and all, and then I got real sick two weeks ago, and the whole week leading up to the half ironman, I was struggling with hydration. The Saturday before the Half Ironman, Veronica and I went out to do 2 loops of the Madison Ironman course and I was going through water like crazy. Then on Monday, I had a 20 mile run and carried water with me as it was super hot and humid out. Over the course of 20 miles I went through 40 oz of Gatorade and 1 soda and was still not satisfied during the race. When I wasn’t working out, I was total cotton mouth. So, I decided it was about time to get more water bottle cages. I’m not sure I like what I bought as I swear the thing doubles Alejandro’s weight- but I didn’t have many options so I just went with it.
My parents once again were the world’s greatest spectators. When it comes to the Racine Ironman, my dad is involved in every race weekend aspect. My Uncle and Dad dock their boat at the harbor right there, so he’s very familiar with getting there (to this day, I probably couldn’t drive it on my own without gps). So, we went to the expo, once I picked up my race information, we checked in my bike. The process went quick and I said good night to Alejandro.
My Parents, Veronica, Daryl and I did our traditional eve of the half ironman dinner at the Olive Garden. When I got home, I wanted to kind of re-situate my current life in a car situation (Which hasn’t been announced in a blog yet- maybe I need a special one just for it- but I’m moving at the end of the month- to San Francisco). Once I was done with that, I went to bed, but I turned on the TV and got sucked into a Hallmark movie. I think I fell asleep around 11pm. The alarm went off at 4:15 am, and I think I rolled out of bed at 4:30 and we left the house by 5:00.
My dad drove me to the start and waited around while I set up transition. Backtrack to last week. I got a flat and it was an outer tube flat as well as inner tube flat, so I had to get the whole tire changed. They ended up putting the extender back on (which I really didn’t want). Well, this makes it impossible for me to get air in that back tire. So without an easy fix, the back tire wasn’t blown up all the way. I decided since it was a hot day, it was probably not the worst thing.
I saw Anne and her husband, and then my dad and I hung out in the shade for awhile. It was only 6:30am but it was already hot. I was in a new age group this year (as by the end of the year I will be 30…craziness!), so I didn’t start with Veronica. My wave started at 8:05 which was a little later than the previous year.
Veronica, Daryl, Deanna and I hung out in the water waiting for our waves to start. Once it came time, I was off. The water felt great and it was clear. You could see in front of you, which was a change from the Triple T. I felt like I was going slow but did my best not to get discouraged. I tried to remind myself, I passed people as much as people passed me, but whenever I’m in the water, I always feel like I’m the last out. On the final few hundred meters of the swim, I noticed every breath and moment out of the water felt humid. I thought to myself ‘this is going to be one long day!” I got out of the water and it turns out, I actually improved by a minute! I saw Anne when I got out of the water, and I was looking for my dad in his red shirt. Turns out, while he was waiting for me to start, he went and bought himself an “Ironman Support Crew” T-Shirt. If anyone is deserving of that shirt, it’s him. So I waved to him and went on my way.
Because of the Triple T- I think Transitions have gotten easier for me. I wiped off and got on the bike (with my dad watching me from the side lines). I got on the bike, and this year I was ready for mounting on the hill- and was on an easy gear. I quickly got on the bike- waved once again to my dad, and went on my way. I started off at a fast and easy pace, but then we turned and hit wind. It wasn’t a strong gust, but it was enough of a head wind to make me have to work harder. I was thankful for my extra water cages and swapped out water already at the first aid station. My nutrition was a bit off this year because the night before the race, I realized my favorite food on the bike- had melted together and I couldn’t eat it. So I just had lots of gus and my anti-fatigue pills. I popped2 anti-fatigue pills every 40 minutes and gued every hour. I made sure I drank water ever 12 minutes, if not more when needed. The head wind was also a side wind and I was looking forward to the turn around to get pushed. I didn’t make any friends on the bike like I did last year – and was wishing Simon was there. Once you get past the first 20 miles, you get the fun stretch with the rolling hills. As the first 20 miles took me almost 1hr 10 minutes, I tried to pick up speed on the 2nd 20 miles. I managed the 2nd in about 1hr and 03 minutes- but that still wasn’t good enough.
I decided I needed to not look at the time, and make my spectators on the bike my check points. I first saw my dad around mile 18 as planned- I waved and continued on. Then on my way back, I knew my mom would be joining him around mile 40. I went by and didn’t see them, but saw his car in the parking lot- I figured he might be in it waiting for my mom to arrive- so I turned and waved real big to the car- it turns out- my parents were actually right there- so they thought I was waving to them. There is a part of the course where the bikers see the runners. As I was approaching the end of my bike, I saw Daryl on the Run. He was already at mile 5. I was very happy for my dismount and focused on dismounting gracefully, I missed my parents cheering.
In transition, I grabbed my Gatorade which was so hot I swear it should have been boiling. I pocketed a gu, and I went on my way. I was feeling pretty good, but I was hot. I realized I needed to start working on getting my body temperature down. My focus of the run is always – just look at the quarter of the run you have ahead of you. At each water station, I grabbed a coke, a water, a powerade and ice- provided they had all this there. Everytime I grabbed ice, I would put the ice in my sports bra for cooling of the body and I would put 2 cubes in my visor on my temples. This seemed to cool me down enough to keep going. I was hydrating so much, I never touched my gu.
I made a friend, Jeremy, on the run at mile marker 3. However, I was walking through the water stops and he continued to run through them so I lost him at the turn around. Then I made friends with another man, David. He had a rough day of racing, with 2 flat tires. We were talking about how we don’t train with a group, we do our own thing, which has been on my mind a lot lately- almost everyone racing these long distances belong to some sort of group- Vision Quest, Well Fit, Chicago Endurance Sports- you name it, people belong to it. My team might not be a training group- but they provide me my heart and soul: Team DetermiNation. As stated in many blogs before- my friends in that group – inspire me. They are my training family. Veronica and I were in Racine, but Alison and Michelle and Andy were with us in spirit –miles north doing the Door County Half Ironman. (With that said- below is the link to my fundraising site for this year- I have been focused on Ironman Training and my move where I haven’t been focused on my fundraising- if you can donate, click on the link at the end of this.
David and I ran for a few miles together but I lost him around the turn around for loop two. At the same time, I saw my parents. I stopped and hugged them, and actually took a pedialite ice pop from them (which I learned later - that’s actually against the rules- I’m such a rule follower I feel bad I broke this rule- but have justified it with the fact that at least once- they were out of ice at a water stop- so on this hot and humid day- if the race people couldn’t provide for me something to keep me from over-heating- they gave me no choice but to grab from my parents).
As I was approaching my 2nd loop they announced the heat index was 99 degrees and rising. Around the 7.5 mile aid station- I actually saw one of the volunteers on the side of the road vomiting- apparently the heat was even too much for people not in the race. I ran into Jeremy again around mile 9. We ended up sticking together for almost the entire rest of the race. We didn’t always talk, but we knew we were keeping each other going. I would stop at the waters and catch up- and I probably had it in me to go faster, but I enjoyed the company. I already knew I wasn’t PRing and with the heat, I decided there was no need to push it more. My parents were at the finish line as I crossed – just under 6 hours. (and when we got to the car- the temp read 100 degrees!).
While I didn’t PR, I’m happy with my time. I do think I’m improving and I’m on my way to being successful at the ironman. I finished feeling strong, like I could have gone longer and further even in that heat. My run this year ended up slower than last year, but it felt stronger and I ran a lot more (just walking the waters and one big hill). After I cooled off and rested some, I went back outside. The temps had dropped about 15 degrees at that point, but it was unbearably hot and humid. The shower I had just taken wore off and I was sweating within minutes of being outside. At that point, I couldn’t believe I had just completed a half ironman in that heat.
I'm raising money for ACS!!! Check out my site- and donate!!!
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/DetermiNation/DNFY11IL?px=4909726&pg=personal&fr_id=35207
