It's over.
This past Saturday I checked an item off the my bucket list. I competed a half-ironman distance triathlon.
Ever since I was in grade school I wanted to complete this distance...all because I saw a group of people wearing the race t-shirt. Yup, that's right. One day when I was young my family and I were eating dinner at this Italian restaurant in Springfield, IL and I saw a group of triathletes carb loading (or they could have been celebrating a finish...which, I guess would make more sense if they were wearing the shirts) and I knew that I wanted a similar shirt. So, it was fitting that just by happen-stance we went to the same restaurant for my pre-race meal.
I learned quite a few things during this past five or so months...both about myself and the triathlons.
Training
If I were to be completely honest when looking back over my training, I would have to say I was training at about 75%. I didn't do as many two-a-day training sessions as was recommended, cut many long runs and rides short, and wasn't as discipline as I could have been about waking up early on the weekends to get the training done so I could have a "normal" weekend. I tried really hard not to let the tri overtake my (and my wife's) entire life, and sometimes that meant going out on Friday or Saturday nights even though I knew I had a long run in the morning.
Diet
This portion of the training went really great. I feel that I was very disciplined about eating the meals that were on my meal plan and deviated only a little bit. The time requirement for this was mainly on the front-end and during the planning. One weekend I spent 5 or 6 hours researching various foods and the number of grams of carbs and protein in each, and created a meal plan. Since creating this meal plan, my diet has been almost exactly the same each week. I really didn't mind eating the same food over and over...and will probably continue to use a similar meal plan in the future...with a few less carbs.
Gear
Triathlon gear is expensive. I tried my best to train and compete on a budget, which means none of my gear was top of the line...but it all worked was better than anything I started out with. I started training on the bike by wearing mesh shorts, running shoes, and was on a mountain bike. In the pool I wore board shorts and old goggles.
My plan was to buy the most important items first, and then hope that I was able to save enough for the less important items. The bike was the first purchase on the list and it made a huge difference mentally and training-wise I felt that as long as I had the proper bike then I would be able to stand a chance to finish this race. Obviously, I wish I could have bought the best of everything right at the start, but my plan worked and made me really appreciate the specialized gear when I got it.
Race Day
Race day started at 4:30 a.m. and I was a mixed bag of nerves, anxiousness, and tension. I just wanted to start so I could quit thinking about everything and just "go".
The first 5 minutes of the swim was a bit dicey, but after I saw the first bouy I was good to go. It was windy and the water was choppy, so it made for slow going. My plan was to let everyone in my wave go ahead of me and I was going to swim on the outside of the lane to try and avoid getting kicked. This plan worked great and I was happy that I was able to stick to it. The only issue I had was that I took the angle wrong on the last turn and swam about 50 yards out of my way...when I realized this I was able to correct and finished with no problems.
The biking portion was by far the toughest...which was a surprise. I typically rode at about 18.5-20 mph during training. During parts of the race, I was doing all I could to go 14 mph. The wind was not being very friendly during the ride, and it seemed that no matter which way the road curved we were always pedaling into the wind. The roads we road on were riddled with shoddy pothole patch jobs, cracks, bumps, and gravel. Oh the gravel...it got me. At about mile 32 my front tire went flat. Not on of those slow flats, one second I was cruising along, the next my tire was completely flat, and the next second I was on the ground. I had an extra tube and pump, so no huge deal.
I had no clue how I was going to run. My legs were shot after the bike, and 13.1 miles seemed so daunting. I just told myself to take it slow and drink plenty of water. After having a banana, briefly talking to my support crew in the transition area, and taking a moment to get my head right, I was ready to tackle the run. The first 7 miles surprised me and went by smoother than I could have imagined. Up to this point I was running about 15 seconds slower than my normal pace, which I was really happy about. Mile 7 seemed to drag on, and I needed to walk. My quads were threatening to cramp, and I was just about out of gas. Luckily, every running station had runners gel, sports drink, and towels soaked in ice water which made it possible to press on. It was really hot (89 or 90 and really, really humid) so the cold towels were very welcome. To make sure I was staying hydrated I was drinking between 18-22 ounces of sports drink every mile (They say that if you're thirsty it's too late...your body is almost dehydrated. I was so thirsty that I couldn't drink enough.) I altered my strategy of running the entire thing to running 5 minutes and walking 1, I did this for quite a while and it seemed to work. Then, 5 minutes seemed like an eternity to run and my quads were not happy, so I switched to run 3, walk 1. I kept altering the run/walk splits based on how my quads felt. This strategy seemed to work great because it broke down the few remaining miles into doable sections.
When I crossed the finish line I was ecstatic! I felt so proud of myself and so grateful for the family and friends that came to support me. I felt truly blessed.
If I were to do another...
I would join a triathlon club. This would help hold me accountable and would break up the boredom of the long hours of training. I found a training program online and was fortunate to have someone who has completed an Ironman distance tri to ask questions (Thanks Carrie!) but I think the team aspect would be nice. I would also try train at a higher level than 75%.
All in all, I was proud of my performance and am happy to check it off my list.
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