Nutmegman Half Iron

This weekend was my final tune up race before IM Florida. I chose this half ironman because of the timing but also because in its short two years of existence the race director has a reputation for putting together the most challenging triathlons.

Swim: 30:56

The swim was a two lap course with a short beach run. The fog didn't lift at 7 am so they waited until 7:30. It didn't lift so they put us in the water. I was hoping for a good swim since the last few weeks have been good in the pool. With heavy fog I worried about sighting but quickly caught some feet and decided to hang on. I felt good going out and hit the beach for the short run in just under 15 mins. I hoped to maybe better it in the second loop but found myself alone with no feet to hang onto. I decided to push hard at the turn and ended up swimming straight and sighting well despite the fog for a decent time.

Bike: 3:09

After a tough transition - wetsuit zipper got stuck - I hit the bike which started on a hill. This wouldn't be the last hill. It was a 3 lap course of sick hills. They described the race as flat and rolling but his was nothing but. As soon as I exited the park and hit the first downhill I was optimistic not having seen the full course yet. The first stair stepper climb worked me over pretty good. My legs felt like lead which had to be from my crash weekend and this week's work. After three or four more climbs I finally got loose and warm. It was about 50 when we hit the bike and it was freezing cold on the downhills. This course featured 5,000+ feet of climbing compared to Timberman's 3,000. After suffering through the first loop which took just under an hour I knew it was going to be a long day. With the lap style course I could easily see where I stood in the positioning. On the first loop I was probably 18th and dropped a few people before taking on the second lap. The climbs were flat out brutal. My HR was topping out at 164+ on some climbs and pinned at 155 on the very few flat sections. I was taking gels every 20 and salt every hour and figured I might run out since there was no way I was getting it done under 3 like I hoped. Everyone was suffering and people were dropping out like crazy. You'd climb for about 30 minutes get a wicked fast downhill (topped out at 56 mph on one) and then get back into a beast of a climb. I cruised into transition to only see about 14 bikes in ahead of me so that was good but I couldn't even imagine running 13 but I just went into zone mode and cruised through transition and set out for the run.

Run: 1:38

The run course was equally as bad as the bike. You started out on a hill which totally burned and was impossible to loosen up. It was a two loop run that was just evil. I cramped up on the first big climb and thought that was my day, but I took a gel and just ran through the upper thigh cramp. It brought me to a halt again but then I just shortened my stride and worked through it. I finally saw the leaders coming back at mile 3 and realized I wasn't in too bad a shape. The whole race I was alone so it was comforting to see people every now and again. I took gels at miles 3,6, and 9. On the flats I was moving with my HR at a steady 159-162. At the turn I was under an hour which was comforting because I thought with all the hills I was going to maybe be putting down a 2 hour run. The second loop went much faster and was much easier. I cruised the uphills and paced well on the flats. My goal was to catch two other heatsters that had about a 5 minute lead on me. At mile 10 I decided to go for broke and stopped watching the HR. When I did peak at it was at 172. I caught the two guys on a downhill and then cruised up another hill and down another hill to the finish. I was so exhausted I didn't even stop my watch or even look at it. I didn't know until I saw the results that I set a PR for the run in a half iron.

Totals:

Time: 5:20 - 2nd in age group - 11th overall

Results here

Summary:

This race was evil. There were times on the bike when I wanted to bail, but seeing others drop gave me more incentive and seeing that I wasn't too far off the lead pack kept me going. On the run I'm not sure what happened but I stayed focused, stuck to my nutrition and finished really strong. I've never climbed so many hills in a triathlon and have never confronted a more difficult run. Timberman is the only other half I've done and this by far is harder and makes you dig deeper. It was the hardest race I've ever done and it was just such a huge high to finish that I didn't even care about my overall time. The great thing is I finished 11th overall and 2nd in my age group. I also caught and passed a couple guys who are very good triathletes. It was a very satisfying day that really tortured my body in a good way.