Pumpkinman Half-Iron 2012 Race Report

Let me just start with the disclaimer that this blog will have (almost) no pictures from:

• Before the race: We made it to the race location barely in time to register, set up and get down to the athlete meeting at the swim start.
• During the race: The Russian and I were both racing and the Noggin stayed with friends in Cambridge, MA for the day so there were no fans (super or otherwise) to take pictures.
• After the race: I can only describe my state after the race as "please help me" so there was no real desire on my part to go the transition area, get my camera and take pictures at that point.  The Russian was also suffering so I cut him some slack in that department too.

For those who aren't interested in the long version of the race report, here's the quick wrap-up.

• Pre-race: Due to the hip still feeling like it was out to get me and the lack of training over the last three to four weeks, I was seriously mentally preparing myself for my first DNF.
• The swim: I swam and (most importantly) lived. [Time 47:04]
• The bike: I biked the longest distance I have ever done in my life and it felt like at least half of it was the aero position. [Time 3:11:58]
• The run: This is where the "please help" me part comes in.  Safe to say that this ranks in the top 5 in terms of suffering in my life. Maybe top 3. [Time 2:08:34]
• Overall: So proud of myself for finishing and leaving it ALL out there. [Time 6:17:03]

If you're still reading, here's the more detailed (super long) version.

Pre-race
As the Russian (and everyone else who ever speaks to me) knows I was complaining about my hip for the 6 weeks prior to the race.  I thought I had it figured out with my visits to the chiro, but a sprint distance tri later it was back to square one.  The last two weeks before Pumpkinman I completely laid-off running and reduced the biking just hoping that a magic fairy would come along, sprinkle some dust on it and all would be better for the race.  Even up to the day before, I was feeling my hip when I walked up the stairs at our friends' house.

Shout out to K, J & L who hosted me, the Russian and the Noggin for the weekend.  This is the second time they have hosted us for a race weekend and they are so sweet, gracious and understanding about our (general and race specific) craziness.  In addition, this weekend they watched the Noggin for the day while the Russian and I were racing (our first race together since I got pregnant).  We can't thank them enough.  We promise next time we visit there will be no races involved.

The Swim [47:04]
The swim was mostly uneventful except for a few light kicks to the head (mine).  It was a double-loop triangle course.  Personally I would have preferred to have a single loop or point-to-point, but I think logistically this was easier for them.  This double-loop thing was a theme for the race and worked (the bike) better for me in some areas than others (the run).  I did vaguely better than I anticipated, though truthfully I had no real idea how long the distance should take me.

T1 [6:55]
The swim ends with a very steep run (I walked) up a hill into transition.  You should guess that there is going to be something wrong when a "challenge" is advertised for T1.  I did not rise to the challenge.  I took my sweet time making my way to transition and trying to remove my wetsuit.  Note to self - remember to put bodyglide on wrists so you don't look like a major idiot trying to wrestle your arms out of your too tight wetsuit. In addition to the hill climb and wetsuit fiasco, I lost time in T1 trying to get my Garmin to turn on since I wanted to know what my progress on the bike was.  Darn thing chose a heck of a time to crap out.

The Bike [3:11:58]
The bike course was beautiful, and fairly flat with some rollers.  The roads for the most part were really nice except for one bumpy section at the beginning of each loop. The double-loop really worked for me here because in the second loop I knew where I could push it in aero and where I could expect to be a bit slower. I spent quite a lot of time in aero because the roads were so flat and empty that I was comfortable with my bike handling.  I got passed by the elite men and women and a few other people rocking disc wheels (on their second loop).  I did a bit of passing during the bike, but was on the road by myself for most of the ride. I got passed at the very very end of the bike by a few people, but at that point I really didn't care.

While I was able to eat some on the bike everything made me feel gassy.  I guess I am not used to digesting while working that hard on the bike.  Part of my plan had been to use Gatorade Endurance for calories in the bike, but that was somewhat derailed when I lost my second water bottle about halfway through.  I am not -  I repeat not - skilled at handling things while I am riding.  My water bottle from my last olympic tri is only the latest casualty (sad face).  At that point I realized that I really needed to pick up something else to drink.  Luckily, I was only 5 or so miles from the aid station.  When I got there I first tried to get one on the go by slowing down and trying to grab a bottle.  Instead I knocked it out of the poor girl's hand and screaming, "Sorry!".  I ended up stopping my bike at the far end of the aid station and getting a water bottle there. That worked much better, though I probably should have grabbed a Gatorade instead.  I definitely underfueled on the bike, which would come back and bite me in the butt big time on the run.

T2 [2:31]
Completely uneventful, though I was obviously moving slowly at this point.

The Run [2:08:34]
Starting out on the run I knew that I was going too fast, but could not make myself slow down. I had an unalterable desire to just get this thing done with. Due to my Garmin issues I didn't know how fast I was going, but I knew it was way too fast. My completely unsustainable pace lasted for all of a mile and a half, at which point I hit the first hill, which I walked up. The run was also a double-loop (out and back), which I figured out soon after the hill and roundly cursed once I realized I would be hitting that hill again. The only benefit to this format was that I was able to see (and kiss) the Russian three times.  That was nice.

The run pretty much went like this for the first ten miles. Run almost as hard as I can until I have no juice (thank you poor nutrition on the bike).  Give myself permission to walk the next 30-60 seconds.  Rinse and repeat.  I also gave myself permission to walk at the hills (of which it seemed there were more than a few), which meant I was running mostly on the downhills (ouchie on the quads). In the last two and half miles there was the added fun of my lower back spasming.  Prior to the first spasm I really felt like I was on course to hit 6:15, which was my super-secret-before-hip-injury goal (more on this later).  Even after the first spasm hit I still felt like it was just possible for me to hit this goal during miles 11 and 12 - mile 13, not so much.  To give you a point of reference, I was internally comparing the back spasms to labor pains (the difference in these two situations being that for the majority of my labor I had drugs).  Sorry to the people that were around me in the last few miles where I was moaning like a laboring cow.  The last mile I was mostly walking, except for the last hundred yards or so where I was running/about-to-fall-and-roll towards the finish line (Note: the chute to the finish line is down a grassy small incline.)

I crossed at the finish line at 6:17:03 with my chin pretty much glued to my chest (trying to alleviate the spasm in my back) and promptly doubled over in pain.  The Russian came up to ask me if I was okay, though I didn't recognize it was him (I was doubled over and staring at the ground) for a few minutes.  One day I am going to be one of those people that cross the finish line of an event like this with both arms in the air and a big smile. On a happy note, my hip did not bother me at all during the run.  It was probably feeling sorry for me because everything else hurt so much and decided to give me a break.

Post Race
I rested for a bit in the medical tent where they let me stretch and ice my back.  I also got some chicken broth, which was salty and warm (so nice).  I then got a very painful, but very helpful, massage/stretch of for my hips, back and quads.  The Russian and I rested a bit while eating our post-race thanksgiving dinner. We were too tired to walk up the hill to transition for me to get my camera so I didn't get any shots of the lovely lake, the awesome decorations (including scarecrows) or anything else.  We then headed back to Cambridge, where we had a delicious dinner with K, J & L (thanks again guys!).  After that we drove the four hours back to New Jersey.  Sitting in a car a total of 5.5 hours the day of a race like Pumpkinman - not recommended.

All in all, Pumpkinman was a fantastic race.  While I didn't love the double-loop swim and run, the bike was really really nice.  The scenery overall was lovely, the organization was great, and the volunteers so fantastic.  Big thanks to all those people out there on the course making it happen.  The t-shirts and other giveaways were great. I would recommend this race to anyone as a first half-iron and I am thinking I will be back to try to improve on my time and run experience.

Race Goals
Prior to my hip injury I was thinking that I would aim for a 6:30 finishing time, but once I started thinking I might not even finish, I felt that a more realistic goal would be 7:00.  Way back when I first started thinking about doing a half-iron (before the Noggin was a gleam in his father's eye) the Russian and I had made an agreement that I could have a puppy if I finished the half-iron in 6:15.  So my super secret-ideal-scenario goal has always been 6:15.  I didn't meet the cutoff in Pumpkinman, but the Russian agreed with me that he would spot me a few minutes since I was wrestling with this hip injury.  The point is, "It's puppy time!".  I did a (very) little dance at the end of the race , once we agreed that my 6:17 qualified me for a puppy.  Of course, said puppy will have to wait until we're no longer living in a small condo next to the city, but I earned me that puppy!

Love
This blog is about me, but wanted to put the love out there for the Russian who killed it in 5:41:56.  He is aiming for a 5:30 finish (maybe next year) and an Ironman sometime in the future.  The point is, I have give my love to the Russian who has been encouraging/kicking my butt on this whole half-iron adventure. Thanks, Babe.

On a last note - no way am I ever doing an Ironman.  I think the half-iron distance is my limit, one which I try again.

My lovely medal that says I finished a half-ironman (whoa that sounds weird).

Some perspective - (just) in time

In the last month I've been battling with a bad hip and a bad attitude.  I was depressed, anxious, sad, and angry that all of the hard work I had put in during the summer was going to be wasted because my training was coming to a standstill and my hip was likely to bother me during Pumpkinman and beyond (Hello, Nike Marathon). Truthfully, I was acting like spoiled brat because I wasn't getting my way.  This is behavior I should recognize, since I deal with a three-year-old every day, but somehow I just didn't see it that way.

This weekend turned that attitude on its ridiculous head.  There were a number of things that helped set me straight, but the first was that I spent the day on Sunday with the Russian--just the two us.  Just the two of us.  That doesn't happen much.  We had lunch, watched a movie, laughed, and just plain enjoyed ourselves.  It probably seems weird that this is momentous for me. And, it is weird. With our busy work schedules, with a Noggin to look after, and both of us training for a half-ironman, there never seemed to be much time for that sort of thing.

What the day made me realize was that the training was sucking the enjoyment out of my life in other areas.  I was so focused on getting my training in and then on what I viewed as the colossal failure of my body (the hip injury) that I wasn't seeing what I was giving up to be doing this race.  And what might that be?

1. Sleep = At the peak of my training I was sleeping 4-6 hours a night.  Personally, this is not enough for me to function like a normal human being. Not even close.
2. Quality time with my family - While I would get up at 4 am (even on Saturdays) to workout and be done fairly early, my schedule would make me tired and cranky the rest of the day.  More power to you parents who can be the kind, supportive, engaged parents your kid deserves on little to no sleep.
3. Quality time to myself - My time to myself involved sweating, pain, and/or ice, but not so much enjoyment.  Not what I would call QT.

I guess the point is that doing races (at least for those of us who don't expect to win) should be at least just a tiny little bit fun.  The Russian has been telling me for weeks now (since the bad attitude started) that I should be enjoying the training, and that otherwise the whole thing is pointless.  Of course since he is never right and I am supremely stubborn, I've been wallowing instead of listening.  I've been running when I should have been resting my hip.  I've been unhappy instead of enjoying the summer before the Noggin goes to preschool.

While I don't think it's silly to care about your training or your race performance, it is silly to care beyond what it is really worth. Of course reaching your goals and improving yourself is important (I truly believe that), but it's really just not the be all and end all.

I've got a bit of the tunnel vision thing going on, so I have to remind myself to keep this idea front and center - there are so many things more important than a race.  So I hug my Noggin and I kiss my Russian and thank my lucky stars that the worst thing I'm facing is that I have a bad race next Sunday.

Oh - and I'm finally resting the hip (though it evilly doesn't seem to improving with rest).