Oly No. 2

So, last weekend I did my second Olympic distance race this year. (Refresher: Oly No. 1 was St. Anthony's). It did not go as well as I'd hoped.

For some perspective: St. A's was flat flat flat. The Tugaloo Triathlon was in North Georgia. Not quite in the mountains, but close enough. I have been preparing for Beach 2 Battleship, which is described as "pancake flat." So I haven't been training hills. Also, the St. A's swim was shortened by 500 meters due to conditions. So, before even racing Tugaloo, I knew I couldn't objectively compare the two races. Still, with my increased training for B2B, I hoped for similar results.

Let me also add that the week before the race, I had an extreme forced taper due to field work. So, with my excuses properly logged, here is my race report.

Swim: With a water temp of 75* the swim was wetsuit legal. However, I decided not to wear mine so as to not have to mess with taking it off. Bad decision. The couple minutes in transition would have been more than offset by having a better swim. The water temp actually felt great, but for some reason, I just could not relax or get into a rythym. Kept feeling like I was hyperventilating. I don't think it was due to the water temp, but can't rule it out. I think I just couldn't relax. I did love the time trial start though. 42:51 (St. A's- 22:53 - again, 500 meters shorter, but still, much faster pace)

T1: Longish run to transition but not too bad. Took a minute to catch my breath from the swim though, so a little longer than I would have liked, but overall, shorter than I thought. 2:46

Bike: Here, I actually felt good. As I said earlier, I haven't been training hills, and this was a very hilly course. So I sat back and took the hills easy. The first 15 miles flew by, and the next ten weren't bad. However, it's here that I believe I made my main error. I had one bottle of water, one bottle of Nuun, and one gel. In hindsight, I needed quite a few more calories. 1:41:55 (St. A's- 1:31:51)

T2: Nothing major to report- except that another error was made here- I'd brought my compression calf sleeves as they help big time on the run with the shin splints I sometimes get running off the bike. However, I decided not to waste the time putting them on, as I've been doing bricks recently, and felt fine. Bad idea. 2:26

Run: Felt great off the bike initially. Settled in at a moderate pace. Just took water at the first aid station right outside of transition, and at the second one, around mile 1. They were serving gatoraide, which is too sweet for me, and leaves bad taste in my mouth. Just after mile one, my left calf and shin decided to imitate a rock. Granite. Maybe gneiss. A very hard rock at any rate. Slowed to a walk to try to walk it out, could barely even hobble. It hurt so badly I started crying, sat down on the side of the road, and contemplated dropping out. Spent a couple minutes trying to massage my leg. It loosened up a smidge, and I walked/hobbled to the aid station at mile 2. It didn't get better, but it didn't get worse either. I took some gatoraide and some water, and told myself I'd get to mile 3 and decide. Around mile 3, things started to finally loosen up a little. Still painful, but I decided I could tought it out. Even if I had to walk/hobble the whole way, I would finish. Some more gatoraide and water at the next aid station, and I was finally able to run. I ran the last 2 miles at a relatively decent pace. All the out and backs on the course had me convinced I was dead last though ( I wasn't, although close to). 1:17:xx (St. A's 1:08:xx)
Overall: 3:47:33 (St. A's 3:14:xx). I wanted to come in under 3:30. Considering my issues on the swim and run, I was pretty ok with this time. I was dead last in my age group, and close to the bottom overall. But I feel good for gutting out the finish, and am chalking up this race as a lesson learned in the nutrition department. I think my issues on the run are almost solely due to not taking in enough nutrition earlier on. Will spend the next month dialing in a nutrition plan for B2B to avoid similar problems.