Five days until Eagleman half ironman. These are the things on my mind:
The heat. Current Sunday forecast reads: "Partly cloudy, chance of a thunderstorm. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid 60s." That's okay - as long as the winds are moderate until noon, and the humidity is low. Hah! Low humidity in Cambridge, Maryland is an oxymoron. I'm not yet acclimatized to hot weather after our cold spring, but then again, few on the course will be, and as Linae pointed out, I'm familiar with how I need to handle my hydration and electrolytes in hot running races.
Sun and wind. Nothing I can do about it, of course, just be ready with plenty of sunblock and have mental stamina through upwind sections of the bike course. A little wind on the run course will probably feel good, though!
The early day. It's going to be a 3AM wakeup for me, which may be a bit rough. I've started to get up an hour earlier than usual - I may move it up to 2 hours earlier from now until the race, but 3AM is just Suck O'Clock. I'll plan on an extra-long sleep on Friday night, because let's be honest, I'll be staring at the ceiling Saturday night.
The currents. It worries me to think that I'll be starting during the highest tidal flow of the day, over 0.4 knots. Nothing I can do about it now, just be mentally prepared. I'm going to try to arrange a warmup swim on Saturday at the race site, just to calm my nerves a bit. I'll have to remember to just relax and make appropriate corrections if I start getting pushed off course.
The wetsuit. I'm not accustomed to the constrictive feeling of the neck. I hope it won't contribute to another hyperventilation debacle. I'll try it out at least one more time before the race, though.
Waves. I don't mind a few swells and a little chop. Fortunately the weather reports aren't calling for strong winds, but if we suddenly had sustained winds over 15-20 knots and some serious wave action on the Choptank, small craft advisories, etc., it just wouldn't be sensible for me to attempt the swim. I'm just too weak of a swimmer. I would hope that I would choose to DNS. I certainly never want to attempt Ironman Utah conditions.
Finishing the swim. I keep reminding myself that this swim is "only" 472 yards longer (28%) than the swim I did in the Columbia Triathlon. Even if I swim at the same slow speed I did there, it should only take me 14 additional minutes. Use the first half with the current as warmup, and plan for a hard swim on the second half. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.... Fortunately I see that they have allowed 15 full minutes between the start of the "senior wave" (my wave - gack, I'm not ready for AARP status!) and the next wave. I still expect to be overtaken by several successive waves of swimmers, but I know that if I start seeing navy blue caps when I'm not very near the finish I'm in trouble, because that wave starts 55 minutes after me, and the swim cutoff is 1:10.
Changing clothes in transition. This may cost me a couple of minutes in transitions, but I think the added comfort will pay off in the overall time. I'm swimming with a jogbra and plain thin lycra shorts under the wetsuit. Then in T1 after stripping the wetsuit I will add a bike jersey and bike shorts on top of all that. (Yes, I've practiced cycling in the 2 pairs of shorts and it seems to work well.) Then in T2 I will remove the jersey and bike shorts, then throw on a clean dry Coolmax shirt, my visor, and race belt, and run in the lycra shorts. Plus swapping my bike and run shoes. I may want to practice these transitions on Friday when I have all my gear assembled.
Managing my fluid, electrolyte, and fuel replenishment on the bike course. I've got my watch timer set up to beep at 30-minute intervals. Right now I'm planning to ingest at least 1 bottle of water or Gatorade (20-24 ounces), 1 Succeed buffered salt capsule, and half a Powerbar or a Powergel in each half-hour time period. I'm much more familiar with managing my refueling during running races, so I'm not worried about the run leg. My number one job on the bike (aside from getting around the course) is to get myself to the run leg feeling reasonably good and topped off with fuel.
Flats? That would annoy me and slow me down, but I have everything I need to handle a couple of flats and keep going, after some considerable delay, no doubt.
The bike leg distance. 56 miles and close to 4 hours on the bike will be a BIG challenge for me, to be sure. My longest training ride has been 30 miles, which is not nearly enough. It's almost like doing a marathon with no long runs over 14 miles. I expect to be in considerable discomfort by the bike leg finish - but at least you can't drown on the bike leg.
The run? That doesn't worry me. While I respect the half marathon distance, and expect that I may be feeling kind of rotten when I get off the bike, I've done a couple dozen half marathons and I know I can handle the slow, relentless forward progression that it will take to finish it. With people starting on course as long as 1:34 behind me, I probably won't be the last person to reach the finish line. Being passed all day? No problem, I am TOTALLY accustomed to that! And after running out last time, I'm pretty sure that the race organizers will make sure that there are enough medals for the late finishers.
My gear? I think all the stuff I need is just about ready. I have a pile of things assembled in the dining room protected by a baby corral so the girls don't start picking through it and strewing it around the house. I have to pack my bike bento box and run waist-belt, and fill my bike water bottles, but that's about it. Yes, Vertical Man, my water bottles are already clean! My regular Tri Gear Checklist is here, and I've already printed it out and checked off a lot of stuff.
What else? Am I forgetting something major? I'm sure there's more. I may add to this post as I think of more things. Get them down in writing, and maybe they won't be spinning around in my head quite so madly. It all seems very complicated right now, but maybe after I have more triathlon experience the whole thing will seem simpler. I feel that if I walk through all the worst-case disaster scenarios in my head, I'll be ready to cope with any that occur on race day. Thanks for bearing with me through these mental gymnastics!
Oh yeah. I almost forgot the most important parts: Remember to HAVE FUN and THANK THE VOLUNTEERS!
And I should never forget that like Zack -- I, too, have a Secret Weapon!
8 comments:
Hey, this is a great checklist. I'm going to use it for my Steelhead race in August (minus the clothing stuff, which probably wouldn't work for me!) And now I'm planning to keep several CLEAN water bottles in my tri gear bin that goes in the trunk of my car.
I always have backups of critical, small things that you can't race without, like spare goggles, sunglasses, etc. That feeling of heading down to the water and having your goggle's strap break is one I prefer to avoid!
You obsess with the best of them! :-) You can try freezing your water bottles the night before. That way you'll have cool water to drink on the bike. As for the swim, I try singing a song in my head that matches the rhythm of my stroke. Barenaked Ladies always works for me.
GO NANCY!!
Nancy, I wish you the best of luck. I hope I have the guts to try a Half Ironman one day! I'll be rooting for you!
Brett
you're gonna do great nancy. just remember to try not to worry about the things you can't control. if it's hot and windy, then it's hot and windy for everyone else too, and everyone's times will be slower. don't push too hard early on, no matter how good you feel. bank that energy for later, chances are you'll need it.
enjoy the day, and don't forget to grab your daughters as you cross that finish line!
Hey Nancy, I think you're going to do just fine. Boy, I understand the obsessing and all that. Are you doing visualizations on the stuff you're freaking/I mean, nervous about? At least it's a little different way to use that emotional energy. I am so excited for you though -- this is going to be really great, and I can't wait to hear all about it! Wuhoo!
I think that is pretty complete list including the frantic what if...
Your going to do fine because in your mind your finishing. They will have to drag you off the course my friend.
"but at least you can't drown on the bike leg."
You will be darned amazing. As long as you are breathing and moving forward, nothing will be able to stop you. Like a freight train, baby!
This is an AWESOME list! How are you set for after the race? I love to have a pair of slide on beach shoes or something, maybe even cushy socks - you may want to get out of the tennies after all that!
Also, a clean shirt and towel spritzed with citrus (any air freshener will do) is very cool.
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