Eagleman 70.3 Race Report

Pre-Race:

We got to Cambridge, MD early on Saturday morning and did all the pre-race logistics of picking up our packets, racking our bikes, stuffing our faces with pasta and bread, and hitting the hay early. To my surprise I was able to fall asleep around 10pm and woke up full of energy when my 3:45 am alarm went off.

When I looked at my phone I had several texts, tweets, facebook posts and emails wishing me luck. I responded to my best friend Jenna and to my surprise she responded back immediately telling me to go back to bed. I told her I was up and getting ready to head to the race site so she called me to wish me luck. She was drunk and still out at the bar. It gave me a good laugh and started my day exactly how I wanted- with a smile.

I finished prepping all of my hydration and we headed to the race site where we set up transition and then sat around for several hours. Transition closed at 6:45 am but my wave did not get into the water until 8:20.

I was holding myself together pretty well until Phil told me he was going to go get in the water and gave me a huge hug and kiss and I began to cry. He laughed at me like he always does when I cry for silly reasons, kissed me again, and walked away. It's go time.

The Swim:

With a water temperature of 82 degrees the swim was non-wetsuit. We waded into the water and luckily we were able to stand where the start buoys were (treading water for 8 minutes not in a wetsuit would have tuckered me out!). I positioned myself on the far left away from the pack to avoid any kicks to the face.

When the horn sounded a bunch of girls in pink caps darted forward with their arms flailing. My tactic was to stay calm and just swim at a pace I was comfortable with. To my surprise I was keeping up with the pack and therefor getting kicked, swam over, and swimming over people. It took about 300 or so yards for me to find my own water space.

I was keeping pace with another pink cap so I dropped into her draft zone at her right hip. I stayed with her until the second turn and then passed her to swim in to the finish. The water was very shallow for the last 300 or so yards and a ton of people were standing up and running through the water. I decided to swim until I got closer to shore because even though the water was up to some people's waist, it was still up to my shoulders since I am a munchkin.

As I got closer to shore and I was still swimming, I could hear my mom screaming every time I turned my head to breathe. I finally stood up and ran out of the water and smiled and waved at my parents who were jumping up and down flailing their arms.

My swim time was 43:28 which I was not disappointed with at all. Considering I learned how to swim less than a year ago, and I didn't have to side stroke or flip onto my back a single time during this swim, and I exited the water feeling strong, I'll take this as a win.

T-1:

Uneventful except for the other 25-29 year old trying to chit chat with me while I am trying to get my bike off the rack. Move out of the way, woman! I rudely ignored her and successfully did a flying mount (with my shoes on my feet...not on my pedals! Im not that bad ass yet) onto my bike and began my journey through the Blackwoods Wild Life Reserve.

The Bike:

The bike course was a single 56 mile loop that was pancake flat, windy at times, and totally exposed so there was no shade at all. The prep ride that Emily and I did a few weeks before the race mimicked the actual race course perfectly.

I had a few hiccups on the bike but I am happy with how I handled them. The first hiccup came when I totally screwed up the multi-sport mode on my Garmin and therefor had no concept of how fast or slow I was going. I reset the watch but then quickly screwed it up again so I just left it alone. Lucky for me I had a $10 waterproof stopwatch on my left wrist that I started at the swim so I had an idea of what my total time was. I spent the next 56 miles doing math and calculating my speed.

My biggest complaint about my bike ride was not that I didn't know my speed but that I was totally uncomfortable in the aero position. I would get down onto the aerobars and within 5 minutes have sharp pain in my shoulders and have to sit up. I would say I spent about 20% of the whole ride in the aero bars which obviously costs me a few minutes as well as a ton of energy getting into and out of the aero position at least 60 times. Pink Lady and I are going back to the bike shop for another fit because this problem has to be solved ASAP.

My plan for the bike was to hold back a little so that my legs had some energy left for the run. I did not bike my hardest or fastest and I finished the 56 miles feeling energized and ready to run in 3 hours and 15 minutes which is 17.21 mph average. Not too shabby for holding back and not knowing your speed. I was very diligent on the bike to take in salt, nutrition, water, and calories. I nailed my nutrition to set me up for a great run. Or so I thought...

T-2:

Nothing special here. I racked my bike, took off my tri jersey so that I was only in a sports bra, put on my running shoes and ran out of transition. On my way out of transition I saw my parents and friends cheering.

The Run:

The run was a flat out and back on a blacktop road with no shade and aid stations every mile. As soon as I began my run I noticed that 80% of people on the run course were walking. Not jogging, not taking a break, but walking. It looked like a death march. I ignored the silly walkers and kept running- my legs were feeling great! I had 2 hours to complete a half marathon to finish my first 70.3 under 6 hours. I can do this.

I kept jogging along and saw Phil on his way back from the run which made me smile. We passed each other with a high-five and an I love you. Seeing each other made me happy because I was able to tell him that I was ok and was going to make it to the finish, and I was able to tell that he had a great race (he finished in 5 hours!).

I kept plodding along and started to not feel so well around mile 2. I decided to walk the aid station- grabbing ice and putting it under my hat and down my shirt. I dumped water over my head. I slowly sipped a Gatorade. There were a few people sitting at the aid station under the shaded tent...one girl in my age group asking for a medic.

I left the aid station and began to jog again but quickly stopped when I instantly felt light headed and my heart rate sky rocketed. I walked until my heart rate calmed down and then tried to run again. No luck.

I got to the aid station at mile 3 and had some water, pretzels, and put more ice down my shirt. My legs wanted to run so badly but my stomach would not allow them. I would give myself land marks to run to- "Lauren, just jog slowly to that mailbox and then you can walk for 2 minutes." I kept this up until mile 5 but then the running got more and more infrequent and I too began the death march.

I was frustrated and sad as I looked at my watch and new that 6 hours, even 6:30 was not attainable for me that day. I walked along by myself and I cried. I wallowed in self pity that all of the training hours and miles I put in for the past several months went to waste. I was calculating how much water and salt I took in on the bike and where I could have gone wrong with my nutrition. I even tried to run again but I couldn't.

Then I remembered a word of advice about this race. A family friend who is a great triathlete told me that "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." I quickly came to terms with the fact that maybe 6 hours wasn't in the cards for me that day. Hell, maybe 7 hours wasn't in the cards for me. I quickly thought back to the girl from my age group I saw a few miles back asking for a medic. I dried my tears, pounded a Gu and began speed walking...because I was going to get to that damn finish line.

I spent the last 6 miles of that run catching up to other walkers and talking to them. I met a 62 year old woman that was going to miss the 8.5 hour cut off but she told me how proud her husband was of her whether she made the time cut off or not. I met a 21 year old guy who spoke no English but we walked together for 2 miles not saying a word.

Finally, with the finish line in sight and not a moment before, I began to jog.  I heard Julie Moss announce my name as I crossed the finish line and had a medal hung around my neck. I burst into tears as I grabbed Phil and said "oh my god that was so hard but we did it. We did it!" He laughed at me, like he always does when I cry for silly reasons :)

That half marathon took me 2 hours and 53 minutes for a grand finishing time of 6:57:28.

Post-Race:

It took me a while to gather my thoughts about this race. I was happy I finished. It is a huge accomplishment in and of itself to say that I completed a half Ironman. Yet I was disappointed with my performance. I still have questions of why my stomach crippled me from running.

Maybe this race was not a physical test for me, but a mental one. You rarely read triathlon blog posts about the mental struggles dealt with in training and racing. I am proud of myself for getting out of my suffer-fest at mile 7 and finishing the race with a huge smile. It may not have been my best performance. It certainly did not show my athletic capability. But it shows my drive, determination and heart.

Ironman Cozumel may not be the fastest executed Ironman, but I'll get to that finish line one way or another...even if I have to talk to every single person on that marathon course!