Kinetic Race Report

Post Race dryout

About a month ago, I realized I hadn’t done a triathlon (any distance) since the Ironman in September 2012, and the only two races I had signed up for were the Ironman branded races in Mt. Tremblant (the 70.3 in June and the 140.6 in August). The team was heading to Lake Anna for the Kinetic Half Ironman and the Kinetic Sprint, and as my training had gotten up to the mileage required, I decided to sign up for the Half Ironman in order to “dip my toes” back into the triathlon world in a more low key environment. Also, I wanted to make a weekend out of it – these races are at beautiful lakeside locations and the team grills/hangs out all weekend.

As I headed down to Lake Anna on Friday afternoon (spending three quality hours with Mary in the car), I couldn’t help but think about my (least) favorite computrainer course – ISLAGIATT (It Sounded Like A Good Idea At The Time). Racing always has me nervous, regardless of the distance & how well trained I am. I was treating this race as a well supported training day, but the logistics and the idea of the open water swim had me nervous.

We got to the campground around 5, said hello to our super drunk neighbors in the cabins next door, and headed off to Lake Anna for packet pickup and dinner with the Team.  We got back to the campsite around 8, and I decided to hang out with our rowdy neighbors for a bit (amusement) until ready for bed. As Mary mentioned in her post (go Mary!), they were an interesting crowd and one apologized to her for not being a gentleman. He apologized to the wrong woman! Needless to say, it was an interesting way to end the night. I headed to bed around 10, and of course, insomnia hit. I don’t think it was 100% race nerves, but I can’t say it wasn’t. I finally fell asleep around 2am, waking up around 4:20 for the race. True Ironman race simulation!

view from the cabin

Race Morning

Mary and I got to the race site around 5:30am, just in time to hear other racers complaining to the parking volunteer about how far they were from transition. Seriously?! You are complaining to someone a) volunteering their time at 5am and b) with no power to do anything about it?! Mary had a word with them, and then I headed to the Team Z tent for breakfast/last minute prep. One of the things I love about the team is the number of helping hands. Special thanks to Debbie for making sure I was all sunscreened up, John for helping me make it to transition, and Greg for helping me make it into my wetsuit. Around 6:50am I headed down to the swim.

Team Z getting ready

Swim (45:17 compared to 49:37 at Musselman 2012 - my lead up to Ironman Wisconsin)

Swim Start (for the sprint, but you get the idea)

I dislike swimming. I have finally been enjoying the Team Z swims, mainly because I really my lane mates and I am much less likely to quit halfway through. (I also had a breakthrough the swim after the race thanks to some coaching – taking three strokes off per lap. The angels sang!!) Despite my dislike, I was less nervous about this swim than others. The course was a triangle. At 7:08 my wave started. The first side of the triangle felt like it took FOREVER (30 minutes or more). I thought to myself, oh man, this swim is going to be an hour or more! I spent way to much time with my head up trying to site due to my issues before. However, I only actually stopped once to sight, and the last length of the triangle I forced myself to count 20 strokes before I lifted my head to site (of course I swam to the wrong end marker and had to swim parallel to the beach for a hundred yards or so). I came out of the water and checked my watch – 45 minutes!!! So much faster than the eternity it felt like, and nearly a 4 minute improvement over Musselman (the race I am using at the comparison). Overall, I am pleased with the swim and am happy with what I learned during it. I think the 20 stroke count before siting will really help me take another minute or two off, and hopefully my recent breakthrough will also help. My Ironman swim was 2 hours (major siting issues), so I am hoping this swim will mean strong improvement in August.

T1 (5:15 compared to 5:24)

 I will never be a super fast transitioner but I did reasonably well. I think it’s more important to take a minute to calm down after the swim than to race out to the bike (especially considering how I caused a crash at the beginning of the Ironman due to my disorientation).

Bike (3:21:27 compared to 3:38:05)

(all race photos courtesy of Team Z! and always extremely flattering)

The bike ride went pretty well overall. I just focused on a high cadence and was pleasantly surprised to see 16+ mph on my garmin. It was hard to get speed over the middle section with its rollers, but the back half had a nicely paved road that made up for it. Mary came roaring past me at one point, and I could tell she was going for the PR. I let her go and focused on getting to the end. Around mile 40 I really started to feel the 2 hours of sleep and just kept thinking about the coke on the run (despite having given up soda 5 years ago). The last 15 miles were rough but I made it through. Overall, I am really happy to have somewhat figured out the logistics of my nutrition and was able to really simulate what I planned to do in the Ironman. The Gatorade got way too sweet though & I am going to start trying some other products out.

T2 (3:09 compared to 3:26 - boy are my transitions consistent!)

Boy my thighs her getting off the bike! I grabbed my shoes, visor, and fuel belt and headed out.

Run (2:13:58 compared to 2:21:37)

I look so happy! (Looks can be deceiving)

This run was hard!! I started out with a nice pace, and managed to keep it (mostly) up. But it was hard and hilly and hurt. A lot. Around mile 1 I picked up another runner who was doing his first half ironman. He hadn’t really trained for it, so he was struggling. He got a drafting penalty on the bike because he likes to chat with people. We ran together the first 8 miles (with me telling him “patience, buttercup” without the buttercup), but when he needed to walk for a bit I kept going. I needed to be done!! The course was three loops. The second loop I was in the pain cave but kept going. The third loop I focused on just cheering on every runner I passed to take my mind off of it. Finally, I got to the last half mile and kicked it into high gear. Nothing beats running through the finish line in front of the Team Z tents.

Overall (6:29:04 compared to 6:58:09)

I am really happy I did this race. It hurt, a lot, but that is a good reminder of what it takes to do this stuff. I did really well, with a 29 minute improvement over my Musselman time (my half leading up to Wisconsin so hopefully that bodes well), I felt well trained, and I figured out a lot of the logistics for THE race day. The race was also a month earlier in the season than Musselman was to Wisconsin. The rest of the weekend was great, hanging out with the team and cheering on others. I went to bed at 8pm Sunday, but it was well worth it.

Team Dinner! (or lunch?)

(As an aside, I just re-read the Musselman race report & it brought back a lot of good memories (all I remembered was the rain). I noticed several themes were the same between reports: half ironman is HARD even if you treat it as a training day, races always make me nervous no matter the distance/training, and I pass time by chatting w/ or cheering people on. I also wrote-up my culpeper ride which I called "one of my least favorite team rides." Now I love it! which is a huge sign of progress.)