Augusta 70.3 Race Report

29 September 2013

Friday 27 September

We left shortly after 0900 for the long drive to Augusta.  This year we'd be meeting my parents and sister/brother-in-law (Carol&John) at the Marriott, the designated Race hotel.  I had jumped on the reservations as soon as I could, shortly after I received verification of race registration (which was within minutes of registration opening up!).  It was so nice to be able to stay in such a race-central location!  As usual, I had to work through race anxiety ... but this year, there were no major freak-outs.  As Mark put it, over the last week I wasn't "incorrigible... but close."  I'm glad I did 4 triathlons this season before the big A race - 3 sprints and one Olympic - as they were all confidence builders, especially with the swim leg.  I trust my training.  Doing a 75 mile bike ride on the Whites Ferry route shortly before the race helped; so did the weekly rides at Andrews AFB, where I would constantly battle head/crosswinds.  I'd still go off in my own little world, visualizing the race and dealing with "what ifs."  Let's just say, I need to learn how to be my own bike mechanic.  I'm better at changing tires, but need to learn how to fix all the other issues that can crop up.  By the way, I loved all the messages of support and cheer.  It really helps so much to know there are so many people behind you all the way. 

We arrived around 1730-ish; checked in, and figured we had just enough time to quickly check out the expo, pick up the packet and for Mark to get a new pair of Newtons (his old ones were so worn out that I could see through them) before meeting my family for dinner.  The swag was nothing special - nice bag, and a white race finisher shirt (again, white? Better not wear a black or red or blue ...you get the picture... bra with it.  Again.)  The highlight of packet pickup, however, was meeting Ann Parks.  She's on the Ironman staff, and helps with solutions for any and all issues any racer may have.  She answered our hearing aid handoff question by putting a yellow wristband on Mark's arm, so he could stand by the swim exit OR by my bike in transition - his choice - to hand me my hearing aids after the swim.  She was simply awesome. 

Dinner was at the Bonefish Grill; it was a good meal, albeit a bit noisy.  We had a nice dinner, and my family got to see how real my race anxiety gets.  John would make me laugh, Mark would get me back into the conversation, Mom would tell me to smile.    And despite all my talk of anxiety, I do feel lucky to be able to race triathlons.  Doctor H (an ART/Chiropractic practitioner, frequented by many of our  teammates) put an interesting twist on race anxiety when I visited him for one last pre-race tune-up, looking over all the weird twinges and aches that mysteriously popped up during the taper tantrum.  He (along with Shelly and many others) knows I absolutely despise taking tests.  I always have; there's just something about that word.  Doctor H said, "you've done all your testing already.  You've been tested throughout all of your months of training.  Think of this race as a celebration of all the hard work you've done."  Bingo.  After dinner, Mark and I went to bed EARLY - tonight is when I need a good, long, restful sleep.

Saturday 29 September

We slept until 0700.  I wanted to get up and move around, spread out my stuff and make sure I didn't forget anything before going back to the Expo to finish our shopping.  I especially wanted to make sure my nutrition and hydration needs were in order, with plenty of spares (which came in handy on race day).  I was getting so hungry, that I ordered a huge stack of buttermilk pancakes for breakfast. SO good.  I dearly wanted bacon, sausage, hash browns - but I know better, and they can wait until post-race.  Carol, Dad, Mark and I went to the Expo to poke around.  I must mention, us + race expo = credit card meltdown.  I finally drank the Newton Kool-Aid and bought myself a pair.  I had been holding off on buying them until I lost enough weight; I've lost 67 pounds and decided it was about time!  I can't wait to try them at a track workout. 

Mark went off to "buy me something", so I poked around, getting a couple pieces of Augusta 70.3 gear (to be worn after the race - I am NOT going to mess with my race mojo by wearing any of it before!)    We went to the race briefing, just in case there were any changes we needed to know about.  I wore my Gator Bait shirt - the one that says "It's Gator Time" on the front, and Gator Bait 1.2,  Gator Spinning 56, Gator Chasing 13.1 and Gator Slayer 70.3 on the back.  Many people from the Augusta training group (a great group of triathletes on Facebook, providing training/racing tips and heaping servings of encouragement and support) wore the same shirt, leading to many smiles, chats and new friendships.

My family wanted to go explore Augusta, but I needed to rest and keep my feet up for the remainder of the day.  They had a great time taking boat tours on the river.  Carol came around 1300 to go through the race checklist one last time.  I packed everything up into my tri bag and took a nap.  Around 1600, Mark and I walked my bike over to transition.  It was a 3 mile walk; leisurely, but still - time on my feet.  I racked the bike, and looked around to make sure I had the "lay of the land" as far as the bike start/finish and run start locations.   I put my hands in the water to judge the temperature for myself (I'll be buying my own water thermometer for next season). After walking back, I reviewed the race plan and put my race day schedule on a small piece of paper to stuff in my bag on the bike.  We had dinner with my family, Coach Shelly, teammates Dan, Kevin (both racing), Kevin's mom and Laura (cheerleader).  We tried to squeeze in a few more people, but the restaurant management just could not fit us all in.  As soon as we were settled, the waitress handed me a plate with something folded inside a napkin.  It was a small alligator puppet!  Carol and John snuck it in somehow.  Had my typical pre-race spaghetti and marinara sauce, lots of bread and a single glass of wine to take the race anxiety edge off.   Went off to bed early.   

Race Day, Sunday 29 September

We got up at 0430.  I had been rolling around since 3ish anyway.  Got up, and ate all of my breakfast by 0515.  My swim wave started at 0820, so I needed to have my "big calories" in by 3 hours before my race start.  I had greek yogurt with peach; a packet of oatmeal; 1/2 slice of bread with Chocodream; and then a banana on the way out of the room.  And, never underestimate the power of a good bathroom trip before the race.  Sorry to put it out there folks, but it's a cold, hard fact in endurance sports.  It can absolutely make or break your race.  :-)

We left the room at 0530 and got on the transition area bus.  Got my number written on my arm, and calf marked with my age.  I asked the volunteer to put a smiley face on my right calf - she laughed and did so.  It's become a race day tradition for me.  Mark went in with me to make sure my tires were at the right pressure, then left.  I spread out my stuff and noticed there was no bike racked next to mine - hooray, I love having just a little extra room!  I laid out my wetsuit, cycling stuff (including pre-stuffing the jersey with nutrition) and run gear.  It was 53 degrees and clear. The water temperature was 69.  To me that's a little chilly; but I had raced in other tris at 68ish degrees and was fine.  So I opted for the short-sleeve wetsuit.  Now I'm all set.... time to race.  One last trip to the portapotties and I went out.  I met Mark by the bus; he stayed behind to wait for me at the swim exit.  I handed him my hearing aids and off I went.  Dropped my morning bag off at the baggage area and put on my wetsuit; it was a little chilly so it helped me stay warm.  I noticed more people were wearing long-sleeve rather than short-sleeve wetsuits.  I had brought both, but decided to stick with the short-sleeve. I ate my last big chunk of food, a honey stinger waffle, at 0700.  Exchanged bear hugs with Dan, a high-five with Shelly, and hung out with Elena until my wave was called forward.  The Golden Knights parachute team put a show on for us, with the last skydiver unfurling a huge American flag.  It was really cool.   Sucked down a powerbar gel at 0750 and drank a bunch of water.  I'm ready to swim now.    I couldn't hear anything, but boy I could feel the energy and music!  I noticed that no one was getting in and treading water; instead they were sitting /standing on the dock and jumping in.  I figured the current was stronger - and it was; 5560 cfs, compared to 4020 cfs last year.  I don't like jumping in - I need a little time to get used to the cooler water and put my face in so I'm not shocked by the cool water.  So I walked to the far end of the dock, slid in and hung on to the dock post, as I saw a few others do, and let water in my wetsuit.  I dipped my face a few times, careful to do it away from the other racers (you know what they're doing in their wetsuits!!)  There were some complainers, kvetching about the cold water, but I just smiled and said have a great race.

It's 0820 and time to swim!  The race anxiety shawl lifted and floated away.  The water was a bit chilly, but with the sun beating down on us, it actually felt pretty nice.  I still use the "relax, strong" mantra Shelly told me about last year; it was like being in a floating mosh pit, so I tried to find my own space out there.  I swam right down between the buoys and the shore where the current was the strongest.  I got knocked on the head and almost lost my goggles; I reached out and grabbed the guy's leg and yanked it hard to let him know what I thought about that. My dad asked me if he said anything or called me any names, and I said I had no idea - and I don't care, because I couldn't hear him anyway!   I actually passed a few swimmers and drafted off a couple of others.  The sun was shining right into my eyes, so I paid attention to the numbered/colored buoys (9 yellow, 9 orange) and didn't miss the last red buoy that guided everyone to the swim exit.  There was no way I was going to miss it and have to turn around and swim against the current. I love having the buoys on my left, as I breathe to the left.  That meant I could take 10-12 strokes before sighting, whereas normally I need to sight every 3-4 strokes.  I came out feeling like I had a great swim; looking at my Garmin confirmed it.  I was really happy with taking 2-3 minutes off last years' time.  I saw my family and gave my mom a high-five.  Mark handed me back my hearing aids, and off I went to the wetsuit strippers.  That transition is a long one - it's about a 1/4 mile long. I had trouble getting all the water out of my ears.  I jammed my hearing aids in anyway, knowing I was going to pay for it later (and I did, with a slight swimmer's ear infection in the right ear).  Tip for next time - cotton balls soaked in alcohol, which will suck the water right out.  35:05.

I dumped my swim stuff in transition and yanked my jersey on.  It was a challenge because I'm wet and it clung weirdly to all the wrong places. I'm glad I left it partially zipped; the last time I put it on, I struggled with the zipper, wasting precious transition minutes.  I stopped tugging it around and figured I'd yank it back into the right places when it had a chance to dry out. I went with the jersey instead of a tri top, because the jersey would cover the areas under my arms where I knew I'd chafe badly.  Then I noticed there was all kinds of grass and twig bits stuck to my feet.  At the Reston Olympic three weeks ago, there was some thorn grass stuck to my toes that I didn't know about until the run.  My toes started to burn up and hurt and I had no clue why - I actually thought it might've been a stress fracture in the making! It wasn't until afterwards that I found those suckers embedded under my toes!  As a precaution, I washed my feet off, dried them and yanked my socks and cycling gear on.  9:09.

I saw my family and they cheered me on as I exited transition.  The bike ride was really nice.  I was supposed to maintain about 80% FTP, but ended up lower than that, even though I put some work in on the hills.  I am doing way better at cycling, especially powering downhills to make the uphill sections easier. The course seemed so much easier this year; I've been working really hard on the bike, including doing a 75 mile ride with Elena and Cindy two weeks ago, and it just felt wonderful.  It was a bumpy ride, especially around miles 20ish-30ish.  I was concerned that my tires were going flat, but it was the road.  It was VERY crowded on the bike course.  I am getting pretty good at hill climbing; that would be where I passed a lot of people.  It got a little hairy with trying to pass while others are trying to pass you.  I hit 40.5 mph - my fastest bike speed ever on the tri bike - down the last hill.  I was riding with a bunch of people and we were laughing our heads off, zooming down the hill; and before I knew it, I was already more than two-thirds up the next hill!  I nailed every one of the bike exchanges; I would dump the remaining water into my aero bottle (pre-filled with EFS), throw the bottle at the target, and grab a new one from a volunteer.  The bike course was heavily supported by the Georgia Army Guardsmen.  As a Guard wife (ANG), I loved it.  I told a bunch of them I was a Guard wife, and got thumbs up and cheers in return.  I made sure to thank all of the volunteers - they are the reason these races are even able to take place.  It would not happen without them.   And as Coach Shelly said - if you start to grouch at them, that means YOUR nutrition is off - so eat up and be nice to them.  They get up even earlier than you and stay out there almost the entire day - because they're inspired by the racers and/or want to give something back.

I was pretty much right on with nutrition, with 1/2 honey stinger waffle, 2 salt sticks, 4 Gu chomps, one powerbar gel, 20 oz water and 1/2 of the EFS each hour. I drank so much water, that I peed about 4 or 5 times on the bike - I succeeded, despite not ever being able to on training rides! Yay me. I realized I messed up by not bringing another Gu chomp bag with me (I needed 4 more).  No problem, I happened to have an extra honeystinger waffle stashed in the bento box, and broke that into 3 pieces as a substitute. As we were playing cat and mouse, a triathlete said she loved the smiley face on my leg and that it made her cheer up.  My first emotional moment came when I was cycling back over the bridge, less than 2 miles from transition.  I knew I was going to stomp my bike time from last year - by more than 10 minutes, and it didn't even feel that hard!  (Note from coach - because I coasted too much.) :-)  3:20:16.

I ditched the bike in transition and took a little time to put on some extra sunscreen and to empty out the rest of my bladder (trust me, if you see people squatting in transition - guess what.  Yep.)  It was getting hot; I was just thankful it wasn't humid!  I pulled on my visor and grabbed my water carrier, with the nutrition/salt sticks stuffed into the side pocket.  I ran out the run start...and started feeling a touch queasy.  I'm still not sure what that was about.  It could be the taste of sunscreen combined with warm water; or just that it was getting warm.  Or maybe I ate too much on the bike.  Whatever, just keep moving.  The plan was to run the entire 1/2 marathon and I was determined to stick with it.   And, I felt tired - not physically tired, but SLEEPY tired - as in "I hope there's a big fat overstuffed chair on the run course so I can take a nap!" Strange.    5:14

I kept moving my feet forward and was keeping up a pretty good pace for the first 10 miles.  I was getting hot.  I took powerbar gels every 30 minutes; and one salt stick per hour.   Looking back, I needed more salt throughout the race. I stuck to the race plan by walking through every aid station and drink a cup of water. Who cares if I had to pee on the run; what do you think is in the river water anyway?! Right? Those wet, cold sponges were.simply.awesome.  One time I thought I was squeezing a sponge over my shoulder, and it was an open powerbar gel - and got the gooey stuff all over my shirt!   I used one of sponges to scrub the salt off from my face - a pretty good sign I wasn't taking enough salt.   I had some extra saltsticks, and took one or two extra after the first hour; however it's too late by then - the body can't catch up that quickly. I had a brief panic when I thought was running out of powerbar gels - I'm pretty sure I packed 7 of them in the water carrier, but went through 5 and the pocket was empty! I'm not sure if they fell out or I just didn't double-check the number.  Fortunately, I had fortuitously left the extra powerbar gels from the bike in my jersey pockets and had enough to last the rest of the run.  I saw my family a couple of times on the course; a tremendous help, as I really needed any extra energy I could get.  I had to focus on one mile to the next; the first part to get over the nausea, and the second part to just.get.through.the.run.  I love running (it's my favorite of the three sports), but this was a challenge.  I'm glad there were many days where I didn't do my run until later in the day - it totally helped as far as preparing for this run, during the hotter part of the day.  I would think alternately of "mile 0 to mile 1... mile 1 to mile 2..." and "8 more miles before you're a 1/2 Ironman!... 7 more miles!..."  Mark said he could tell I was getting tired during the last third of the run,  as my feet were hitting the pavement more heavily.    Around mile 11, I was surprised by some pretty hard cramping in both of my calves and feet.  My feet were literally curling up like dead snakes and I couldn't stop them from twitching and cramping!  I'd walk for 20-30 seconds to shake them out and then keep on running.  I figured out if I lightened up the pace by 40-50 seconds per mile, I could maintain that pace without having to do the shake-leg-walk.     I walked with a woman for a little bit, who had two deaf sons and one was considering a CI.  I chatted with her, then told her I needed to keep running or my coach would kick my butt. :-) I was getting hot.  Really hot.  There were clouds everywhere except right over the sun!  Many folks were walking at this point; especially guys that had hammered past me on the bike.  I passed many, many people, especially on the second loop.  I hoped the smiley face on my leg cheered them up - a little bit, maybe.  I also had a guy say "who are you FeXY guys - you're all over the course, and man, you're fast!!" 

I was so happy to finally reach mile 12, and started counting off each 10th of a mile.  I saw Shelly as Laura was cheering me on; Shelly told me she was going to cry - "you got this, keep running!" I said not to cry, I'm not at the finish line just yet!!  I made the final turn down the street to the finishing chute.  I started to cry a little, and more and more as I got closer to the finish line. I realized I was going to beat my goal time of 7 hours by at least 15 minutes. I simply couldn't believe I really had done it; someone who wasn't athletic growing up, and didn't know how to swim until a few years ago.  I built up my triathlon capabilities one race at time, losing over 67 pounds along the way.  I'm definitely proof that with a good dose of perseverance and persistence, one can - really - accomplish anything.   2:34:41 (actually a few seconds faster than the Navy Half I did two weeks ago!)

Overall time 6:44:25

I've done it - I've made Shelly, a tough Naval Academy chick and three-time Ironman, cry!  She was crying and laughing.  Mark was emotional, and there were plenty of joyous tears from Carol, Mom&Dad and John (who greeted me with the alligator finger puppet).  I really wanted my family there at the finish line for my first 70.3 - it was that important to me, and I'm very appreciative they were all there.  Carol put on the 70.3 necklace around my neck, and Mark gave me the mysterious "something" - which turned out to be my much-coveted 70.3 sticker and a 70.3 beer glass; along with two rolls of sweet tarts, a long-standing joke between us.  I saw Lena at the finish - we exchanged tight hugs and congratulations.  I felt a little unsteady on my feet; my legs were threatening to cramp all over and give out, so we started walking back to the hotel.  I just could not wait to get into the shower, to wash off EFS, gooey powerbar, salt, sweat, dried stinky river water all over me.  I was totally wincing and cringing as I got into the shower, because that's when I find out where I missed with the bodyglide and was prepared to yelp.  Happily, only two small spots! Yay!  Small victories.  We had dinner with my family, plus Lena and her friend Mark H (who also raced with us).  It sure was funny to see Lena walking in the same way I was - like we were walking on stilts.  I chowed down that dinner like nobody's business.  And chowed down the next day's breakfast - in fact, I was eating like a garbage disposal for 24-48 hours post-race.  Chick-Fil-A? Oh, yes please.  Chinese food? Don't mind if I do.    It's taken about 3 days for most of the stiffness and calf/quad aches to go away - pretty much right on schedule.  And of course I've signed up for another 70.3 - In Raleigh, NC.  I have room  to improve, but looking over the results, I'm pretty happy with my time; and the fact I finished in about the middle of the women racers, and about the middle of my age group.

I believe in seeking out challenges to push yourself, push your limits and do the things you thought you never could do, big OR small. Even though every one of us has one or more challenge - mine just happens to be a hearing loss - we're all capable of taking our potential as far as we can go, and it can go very far!  I will keep on doing triathlons, as doing them push me hard both in terms of physical and mental capabilities.  I am a better person, wife, friend - everything - for it. Looking forward to the 2014 season!