SC HALF…good practice
Saturday afternoon I drove up to Greenwood, SC to compete in Sunday’s SC Half Iron race. I surprisingly enjoyed having some alone time on the drive into Greenwood, going out to dinner, and relaxing in a cheap hotel room.
Race morning: woke up @ 4:15am, drank 2 cups of coffee, ate 1 cliff bar and one banana. I took a hot shower to wake myself up, then hit the road at 5am. I drank 1 bottle of EFS sportsdrink on my 20min drive to the park. I got to the park early and got a great parking spot…100 yards from transition. I was going to cover 70.3miles that day, no need to burn any extra energy lugging my gear to transition. I got my transition set up, then got on the scale for the pre race weigh-in…175lbs! A little heavy since I loaded up on sodium the day before so I could retain some extra fluid that I knew I would need on a hot day. I went for a short run, then gathered my gear for the swim start. I did a quick warm up swim to loosen up, then got ready for the start.
SWIM: My swim has not felt great lately, so I spent the last couple of weeks just working on my technique. This worked as I feel like I had the best swim so far for me this season. The water was really warm (89degrees) and people were complaining that the swim course was long, but I did well relative to my competition. I was the 2nd person in my wave and 1st in my age group to finish the swim.
BIKE: Last race it took me 15min before I settled into a decent rhythm on the bike…this time it only took about 5min. I kept my effort level moderate on the bike and followed my nutrition plan perfectly. I always have the desire to push harder on the bike, but I am afraid of what would happen to me on the run. The bike course was really rough…I feel like that drained some of my energy. Every time I would hit smooth roads, my speed would increase 5mph. I was able to hold the avg pace I was hoping for (22mph), but I still feel like I am giving too much time to my competitors who are strong bikers. Overall, a pretty solid bike.
RUN: I started the run wanting to hit 7:15miles for every mile. This worked fine for the first 3.5miles, then something happened. I lost my desire to race and suffer a bit. I guess I was looking at this race as a training race and it was hurting more than I wanted at the time. I stopped running, walked for 2min…did some negative self talk, then did some positive self talk and dug myself out of the hole. I started running again and eventually found a decent rhythm. I was even able to pick up my pace towards the end of the race. I finished the race with a new personal best and a 2nd place finish in my age group.
POST RACE: Immediately after the finish, I stepped on the scale for my post race weigh-in…165lbs! I lost 10lbs. Good thing I drank 5 bottles of fluid on the bike and drank probably 8oz fluid/mile during the run. I could have gotten an IV at the med-tent, but I felt fine, so I just drank my weight back up to the 170’s. There was an awesome food spread for the racers and even bruster’s ice cream. I stayed for the award ceremony, then hit the road to head back to Athens. I got home at 5pm, then Bree and I went to a Thai restaurant for a celebratory dinner. She won her age group at the Tri to Beat Cancer in Athens that morning. It was a nice finish to a long and ultimately successful day. Next on the agenda: Augusta 70.3.
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