1st Half Iron Distance Race!
Date: October 17th, 2015
Event: Half Iron Distance Aquabike (1.2 mile ocean swim, 56 mile bike)
Time: 5:10:12
(Swim: 45:15, T1: 13:49, Bike: 4:11:09)
Female Aquabike Place: 12/12...last, but still proud.
***TRIATHLON #10***
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Race ready!!! ------>
The Swim- 1.2 mile ocean swim (45:15)
Average Pace: 2:09 per 100yd
I was calmly confident in my training and my fitness and fully expected a great day out on the race course. This was my first wetsuit legal swim and the first in a waterway with a strong current. It was really cold on race morning. I was appreciative of my wetsuit both on land and in the water. They started the full swim first, 1.2 miles up the waterway from the half group. We had some time to wait on the dock.
The whole time I was waiting, I was thinking about my surgeries, the pain, all the rehab, physical therapy, and training I had done to get to this point. As I wrote on my forearm for motivation on race day, I have taken these broken feet and learned to TRI, try, and try, and keep trying. I have had low points on this journey, and come close to giving up, maybe I have given up for a few minutes or a few hours, or even a day, or days. While this is true, I have always found a way to get myself back on track and keep moving towards my goals.
The full swimmers passed by us, and I knew that it wasn't long before we would be in the water. They called up the first group and got them started, then the next and so on, until my group was called. I got in the water and realized how well the wetsuit was doing its job, as I could feel the water was chilly with my hands and feet, but my body felt perfectly comfortable. Not too hot, not too cold. Before I knew it, the gun went off, and it was time to race. I started swimming and immediately I knew there was a problem. I felt uncoordinated and dizzy. I found it hard to breathe. My stomach was unsettled. Every time I turned my head to get a breath, I got more dizzy. Then my science brain kicked into full gear...your vestibular apparatus (the little balance and spatial orientation sensor that feeds back to your brain) is located in your ears. Every time I turned my head to breathe, I was getting more dizzy because I was throwing off my balance even more. In the pool, I wouldn't be turning my head as much, rather I would be relying on my body rotation to allow me to take a breath without much movement of my head. However, this was choppy water, extremely choppy water. The water was flowing one direction and the wind was flowing another, churning up the water like a washing machine. I had to more aggressively turn and even lift my head out of the water to get a clear patch of air to breathe.
It didn't take me long to realize that I was full blown seasick, less than 100 yds into the race. Now, what to do about surviving the swim.
First, I threw my time goals out of my mind and knew that this was about making it to the dock at the finish of the swim.
Second, I told myself not to panic. I actually treaded water for a moment to center myself and refocus on my mission.
Third, I had to come up with a plan to be able to swim freestyle, as it is by far the most efficient stroke, and the one I definitely wanted to stick with for the 1.2 mile swim I had ahead of me. I came up with a 4-5 stroke freestyle pattern followed by 1 breaststroke arm stroke while continuing to kick freestyle to allow me to pull my head out of the water, sight, and breathe. I was extremely appreciative of my advanced swim training that provided me the skills to come up with a plan to get through the swim while feeling nauseas the whole time.
That 45 minutes felt like it was a lifetime. I felt like I was battling the water, fighting to make it to the end of the swim, and to not give up on the race, and my goal of the ultimate comeback. When I climbed the ladder at the finish dock to get out of the water, a huge wave a relief came over me. I am hard headed and never plan to get a DNF (Did not finish) in a race, so I kept swimming, even though I was feeling sick enough that I probably should have let myself be rescued by the safety officials patrolling the water. When I got out, the wetsuit strippers pulled my wetsuit off and I was on my way to the transition area.
It took me some time to get my bearings again after the swim, hence my nearly 14 minute transition time. I wasn't running or rushing, I went at the pace I was capable of to switch into my biking gear.
The Bike- 56 miles (4:11:09)
Average Speed: 13.4 mph
After that sickly swim, I was looking forward to the transition to the bike. I walked my bike out of the transition area (still not caring about my time at all) and mounted it. I got going and I felt ok as I was navigating out of town. About 10 miles in, the sea sickness returned. Why? Well...I borrowed an aero water bottle to go in the holder between my aero bars (the orange and green striped bars seen in the picture) from a tri friend. Well...little did I know that that bottle would swish, swash, and slush back and forth just like the sea for the entire bike ride. That sound took me right back to the nausea and dizzy feelings I had while in the water. At some point, I started closing my eyes and thinking of better times for brief moments and opening them just to make sure I wasn't going to crash into anything. The course was long, flat, and straight. Just like my international race, the course was quite boring. The challenging part was that on top of the sea sickness continuing on to the bike ride, I was battling serious cross and head winds. At one point, a head wind was coming at me so hard that I was putting in the power to go 18-19 mph on the bike (as I trained for) and I was only going around 12 mph. I had no plans to be on my bike for 4 hrs today, but that was what was in the cards based on the adversity that I faced. Once I hit 40 miles, I really was over the experience and ready to ride to the finish line and be done for the day. I fought through the last 16 miles by eating 2 peanut M&Ms every 5 miles as the carrot to get me through to the finish.
Battling through the bike course was even tougher than the swim course, but I finished that too!!! And again, just like in the International distance race last month, I was happy to be done after the bike portion. Simply elated that I didn't have a half marathon to run. Sure, I had the fitness to do it, that is not my limitation, I just don't enjoy the long stuff any more and this race was the cherry on the top of that cupcake. 5 hrs out on the course!!!! I made it!!!
The CELEBRATION!!!!
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Reflection
DFL (Dead freaking (or a bad word) last) > DNF (Did not finish) and >> DNS (Did not start). It was a rough day out there for me, but I did finish. It was slow, turtle place, much slower than I trained for and a performance beneath my fitness level. But you know what, I was out there trying my best. Your best changes by the day, and most importantly, I DID NOT QUIT!!! I had the opportunity to quit several times, but I kept going. These surgeries have taught me to always keep going. And as the quote reads below, "QUIT" isn't exactly in my vocabulary. To me...I feel that this athletic feat marks a full comeback and makes me feel that I really don't have anything else to prove. I have regained my athleticism from my surgeries. I have learned to run again. I am out here competing with athletes, just as I was before. Of course, I fall much further down on the ranking list than I am accustomed to, but to be out there finishing races of this magnitude, races that are tough for anyone to finish...I mean today I went over 57 miles between swimming and biking, makes me extremely proud to be back out there competing. No matter your circumstances...DO NOT EVER LOSE SIGHT OF YOUR GOALS OR QUIT LIVING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS
