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Grabbed my transition bag, sat down on the grass and relaxssssssssssssed (if you know what I mean). Ironman isn't pretty but it is always honest. Threw on my shoes and thought to myself that my new elastic laces were great. Spin the race belt, hop up grab some zinc cream and head over to the sunscreen ladies for a full body lather. They did an outstanding job but I wanted a bit more protection and whacked on some zinc. I must have gone a little crazy because everybody was calling me Casper the whole way up Main Street. Transition Two (T2) 00:02:59 On the run at 07:14:18 Goals For IMC2000 (might as well, make a prediction here as well) Bike 05:30:00 (same conditions) to 05:45:00 (if hot with winds) My legs were not happy at all but I was able to manage about a ten minute per mile pace. There were a few people to chat with and I adopted my normal race strategy of taking it easy for the first two miles and waiting for my legs to open up (I hoped). After two miles, a guy suddenly stopped in front of me and I had to come to a quick stop. Very bad move, huge cramps shot up both sides and I went absolutely rigid with pain. Luckily I was able to stay on my feet and made a mental note to avoid sudden speed changes. There were lots of folks on the run and the leaders had not yet passed me heading back to town. I was rolling along saying hi to the people on the side of the road and keeping my skinsuit nice and wet to cool me down. Had some problems finding the Lemon/Lime and adopted a strategy of slamming down two or three glasses whenever I came across it. If there was no Lemon/Lime then just water. Grabbed some pretzels to nibble between rest stations. I was running about 9 minute miles at this point and decided to try to push it up to 8 minute miles. That lasted for 400 meters until I started gagging and getting dry heaves. I didn't actually throw up but knew that it would be close if I continued. I knew that I was out of contention for a slot and didn't need one anyhow because I had my lottery slot. It was at this point that I made an unconscious decision to back off and "enjoy" the rest of the run. I was still pushing but not as hard as I could. At the mile six aid station, I had to pull into the portapotty for some private reflection. As I sat down my legs sent me a message that it would sure be nice to spend an hour right there. It was warm and comfortable. However, I made myself get up and immediately get back to the race. Heading out of the aid station, I got a young girl to place two glasses of ice in my skinsuit. A fantastic way to cool down. However, I adjusted my suit and the ice fell down the front and back of my suit simultaneously. With ice on my balls and hamstrings I was certain that I was going to cramp. However, in a strange way it felt pretty good. After another mile it melted away and I was back to normal. Around this time the leaders started to pass me heading back into town. They were pushing hard but all of them looked like they were hurting bad with the exception of a Japanese runner who was flying. I saw Coach Troy and said hi. He was in the zone (or a world of pain?) and just kept on pushing past. Later Lori Bowden came by and she looked like she was hurting. Looking at Lori, I realised that if I wanted to earn a Kona slot next year then it was likely that I would have to hurt that much. I thought about my willingness to endure pain over the next mile. Perhaps some additional short course races would lift my pain threshold. The road up to the turnaround seemed to go forever but I made it. I took precisely nothing from my special needs bag and headed home. Run Turnaround 01:59:17 483rd position (net gain of 161) Next Page |  Ironvirgin no more. |