I know it's been a VERY long time since my last post... but let's not worry about the past... let's just move forward. I'm going to try to be better. Anyway... on to the actual post...
My goal for the Rev3 HalfRev in Quassy was to finish as close to planned as possible. I wanted to use this race to build confidence going into the final weeks of training for Ironman Lake Placid and my “plan” wasn’t to race a great race, it was to race at my planned Ironman pace and end feeling tired, but like I could have kept going.
I have never been so happy to report that things did not go according to plan – but I’m getting ahead of myself. (Planned pace: 2:00/100m; 16mph; 10:30/mile)
First, I’ll go back to race prep… Like I said, I’m training for a 140.6 event, so a 70.3 race, seven weeks before shouldn’t be a big problem. However, about two months ago I started experiencing some knee pain following long (and then short) runs. This limited my run training, so needless to say, I was starting to worry about being able to run a marathon (11 miles farther than I’ve ever run before)… then, all of a sudden I realized, BOOM, I have a 70.3 in three weeks and I’m not even entirely confident about that… I had forgotten that along my journey to Lake Placid, I still had formidable obstacles to overcome. I decided that my confidence about Lake Placid would depend on how I feel the Tuesday following Rev3 (yesterday).
The morning started off not too different from most… I woke up to my alarm (3:50 a.m. – 40 minutes earlier than usual) and quickly made my way to the bathroom to get dressed while trying to avoid waking my wife. I made myself a cup of tea and some oatmeal. The big difference was that I was at the Hampton Inn in Southbury – a fine place to stay before the race, as they were kind enough to start serving the complimentary breakfast 2 hours earlier for us crazies!
We got to Quassy around 5:45 and I set up finished setting up my transition area – I got a nice spot right near the aisle, close to the bike exit! I took a quick trip to the WC, put on my wetsuit and made my way down to the beach. I took a quick scan of the course and counted the buoys so I’d be able to track my progress. Little did I know I wouldn’t be seeing too much of some of those bouys…
The pros started, then the M35-39… then my turn: M30-34. I started near the back… My name isn’t Chris McCormack and I’m not here to win, I’m here to finish (and getting kicked and punched, and kicking and punching others, isn’t going to help advance my cause). I quickly found my stroke and glided to the first turn… my mistake was making that turn… After the first third-ish of the swim course, a right turn takes swimmers east in Lake Quassapaug – directly in line with the rising sun. The result was buoys that were impossible for me to see. At one point, I couldn’t tell if I was on or off course because I hadn’t been able to find a buoy in a while and I couldn’t see more than a handful of swimmer near me – the next think I knew, I was practically colliding with a buoy… so at least I was on course! After the second turn, the arch for the end of the swim was visible on the beach and the buoys along the way became easier to see, again… I got out of the water feeling great and ran through the amusement park, and up to my bike.
Wetsuit: off. Jersey: on. Bike computer: turned on. Sunscreen: lathered. Sunglasses, helmet, shoes: check, check, check. Go!
I click-clocked my way to the bike mount line and started the 56-mile ride. I chomped on a couple gummies and looked down at my computer… I felt like I might be going too fast, but I had decided not to look at my average speed until mile 10, because I didn’t want to worry about it too early – so I just made sure to not push it. If I had to guess, maybe only 15% of the bike course is flat – the rest is up or down… Now, I understand that this isn’t the case, but despite ending up in the same spot, I am fairly certain that you climb at least 5 times as much as you descend – but I know that it’s equal.
The bike course is a really great course with almost all the roads being well paved (I only ejected one water bottle!) and shade for a good portion of it. The only downside is the manure smell from all the farms in the area… I guess it’s no worse than the exhaust I usually breathe in. In the end, I only felt like I was working hard for a few of the last 5 miles. Perfect!
I almost had a little trouble with my dismount coming back in to transition. I took my shoes off first, leaving them in the pedals, but my left leg did not want to make it all the way over the top tube… Luckily, it did at the last minute.
Helmet: off. Socks and shoes: on. Sunscreen: spackled. FuelBelt and bib: velcroed.
I always tend to run too fast off the bike… My legs feel like tight bags of jelly and they just flop forwards and backwards to easily… This was my problem in last year’s 70.3 race in Providence, and I didn’t want to make the same mistake again. I repeatedly checked my pace… I allowed myself to go a little fast because 1) I felt really good, 2) the run course starts with a good amount of minor-moderate downhill’s and 3) I felt really good. I knew I had biked at least a little faster than expected which meant two things… I could take it a little easier on the run and still finish with the expected overall time, or I could try and stay according to plan and see where I ended up… There is a third option, which was assuming that since I was able to bike a little faster and feel good, maybe I could run a little faster and feel good. I needed to ignore that option. I was in this race to prep for a full Ironman and I needed to stay strong in the weeks following this race to continue my training.
Each time I passed a mile marker and hit the lap button on my watch I assessed myself… How did I feel? Good. How was my pace? Good. Could I keep it up? I think so (again, I didn’t want to get ahead of myself). But I just kept “thinking so.”
Well, the entire run, up until about mile 11, I felt fantastic… Even the last 2+ miles felt okay… They were challenging and a little slower, because somebody had the awesome idea to finish the half marathon course off with a long steep climb… But as I made my way up Middlebury Rd and turned into the park, I still felt great as I made my way under the finishing arch.
I collected my finishers medal, finishers tee, a Gatorade and a Muscle Milk… I was greeted and congratulated by the most beautiful cheerleader ever, and I probably gabbed somewhat incoherently about the great race I just had, while waiting for the adrenaline to settle and the blood to return to my brain.
Back to that plan I mentioned earlier…
Swim Plan: 2:00/100meters
Swim Actual: 2:02/100 meters
Bike plan: 16mph
Bike Actual: 16.67mph
Run plan: 10:30/mile
Run actual: 10:11/mile
Overall plan: finish on pace, feeling tired but like I could have kept going
Overall actual: I finished more than 10 minutes ahead of schedule, definitely tired, but also strong and I could have kept going… Not for another 70.3… but I still have time.
Rev3 puts on a great event, and this race gave me such a boost heading into the final seven weeks before my Ironman… I had reservations a few weeks ago, but I was ready for 70.3 last Sunday and I’ll be ready for 140.6 in a month and a half!
