Eric's Race Report

That was a surprising race for me. As I mentioned before, I hadn’t trained as much as I should have, so I expected a tough day. It was tough, of course, but far more good than bad this time.

Matt and I didn’t go quite as early as David and Alfonso, but still early enough to get everything done without stressing. We even had a few minutes to relax on the beach before the swim. With 2,600+ people all dressed the same (wetsuit and swim cap) it’s hard to find anyone, but I ended up sitting with Matt and Alfonso and seeing David right before the start. We both lined up right in the middle, but a little ways back to let the fast swimmers go. For some reason it seemed there were much larger crowds at both ends of the start line (the photos support this). Anyway, I expected to get beat up during the crowded swim. It wasn’t any worse than any other race though, and I don’t remember being uncomfortable at any point. I made a concentrated effort to stay in drafts the whole race. As we were swimming the last mile I started to think it could be a good swim for me because there were more people around than during my last two IMs. I was elated to see 1:19 on my watch when I stood up on the beach. It was 1:20:15 by the time I hit the timing mat. That’s a slow swim for most, but fast for me and significantly better than I expected. I really expected 1:30 and wouldn’t have been surprised with 1:35 or worse, so that was a great way to start the day. I was surprised to see David in the changing tent. I couldn’t find an open chair, so I just got my shoes on standing up and therefore had a fast transition.

I wasn’t confident at all in my bike training miles, so I kept telling myself to take it easy. Still, while I might not have the endurance I should, I have the speed from years of cycling. So, even trying to take it easy I starting passing people quickly. Soon David caught up and we near one another for the next 40 miles. We were going much faster than most at this point so drafting issues (no drafting allowed) weren’t a big problem yet. Just before the big climb at Richter Pass I lost sight of David. This was fine as I knew I should probably slow down anyway. The climb wasn’t bad at all for once, but I was glad to get to the summit. The headwinds on the backside were bad and the next 20 miles were a pretty slow average speed. I quit passing people as much, so avoiding drafting became much more difficult. I didn’t feel like going fast enough to pass the packs that were forming, but staying behind them felt too slow. That was OK though, because I needed to conserve energy. In the past I hated the out-and-back section, but this year wasn’t too bad because the change in direction gave a break from the tailwind. I was getting pretty tired though and knew things were going downhill. At about mile 80 I had the first leg cramping that required stopping. It was only for a couple of minutes, and some e-caps quickly helped, but I was still feeling very tired. For the next 10 miles I got passed by a couple dozen people and passed nobody. I fought off cramps a few more times, but didn’t have to get off the bike again until halfway up the final climb. I didn’t cramp, but was completely exhausted. At that point I figured it was going to be a very long day. After a couple of minutes rest I started going again, but very slowly. Finally the downhill came and I was able to rest for several minutes. This helped and I felt better, not great, going back into town. My 5:45 bike time was pretty slow for me, but was about as good as I should have expected given the lack of miles.

For the first time in my last 3 IMs I was able to get my running shoes on without cramping – woohoo! I jogged out of transition and felt surprisingly ok. I stopped to walk just long enough to have some more e-caps and gel, then started running again much more quickly than in the past. I felt as good as I ever have at this point and told myself to run as long as possible, but walk at every aid station to get whatever I wanted and to walk up every hill. I didn’t look at my watch at all for the next 13 miles. I was surprised to run all the way up main street, past my family, and out past Skaha Lake. I walked the short hills and the longer hills towards the turnaround. Nearing the halfway point I was thinking this was going well and a PR was possible. I still hadn’t looked at my watch, but figured if I made it to the turnabout 9:30 into the race that would give me 2:30 to finish under twelve hours. 2:30 seemed pretty doable at that point. At the turnaround I looked at my watch 9:30:13! I knew a PR was entirely possible given no meltdown, but it would have been really easy to loose that much time with any kind of problem. So, I just kept to my plan, walk the hills and aid stations and run everything else. I was simply shocked that I was able to do this. I even forgot to walk an aid station or two and just laughed about it as I spilled water and Pepsi over myself. I felt good enough to run the smallest of hills, but did take a break on the gradual hill back into town. After that last break I ran the whole rest of the thing. My family was surprised to see me as they weren’t yet in position to watch the finish. As I ran past I told them to hurry if they wanted to see it. Luckily we had to run a final out and back, as that gave them enough time to hustle (run and scooter) the finish line just in time. I saw 11:45 as I came down the stretch and could barely believe I evenly split the marathon.

It turned out to be a great day with a PR by 22 minutes on very little training. My longest bike was 107 miles, but it didn’t go well at all. My longest run was 15 miles. My longest swim was 2 miles, but mostly I swam just 1 mile once a week. I think the key was getting the nutrition right on the run and having a good swim. I didn’t get the nutrition right on the bike, so there is still room for improvement. On Thursday most of my muscle soreness is fading, but I am nursing a sore and puffy ankle. I must have twisted it somewhere along the line. I am also loosing a toenail, a sure sign of a good run!