So this is my first race report and I thought about the title "The Wheels Came Off The Buss" as this weekend was humbling with enough lessons to last a lifetime. TO give you some background this wasn't my first rodeo (actually my 7th half iron), and was what I would consider a B race in preparation for the real event coming in August IM Canada. I had been up to this point a tree that was growing to the sky (I had PR'd every time I raced regardless of the course with my best time coming at Clearwater at 4:36, and my best "real" course time coming at Lake Stevens at 5:02). I put in a hell of an offseason in terms of training bought a new bike, worked on a new efficient stroke in the pool, and put in some serious hill work for running and was gettting some solid splits for distance (6:45 to 7:00 a mile over 13 miles) and had some real break throughs in training. Then about 6 weeks ago some things weren't goin as planned (a strained calf kept me from running for about 4 weeks and I developed some form of chest cough that made me sound like I smoke a carton a day), however I doubled my efforts on the bike, and in the water, and got back on the pavement about two weeks before Boise and my fitness seemed A OK. So headed into the event I felt confident that I had a sub 5 hour day in front of me and who knows maybe even could break 4:50.
Friday: We drive the course and I am feeling even more confident in that sub 5 time given the lack of significant hills, the wind was blwing but I had been told it should calm down before Saturdays race. I check out the transition I am located perfectly to find my bike and get set up; so we head off to dinner. A great dinner with family and friends at the best italian place in Boise "Asiago's" leaves me feeling full, confident, excited, and supported. As we wrap up a family pot starts betting on finishing times I can't help but laugh.
Race Day: Wake up in the morning without the usual hurry and stress (thank God for 2:00pm start times I tell myself, and not a hint of wind "this is gonna be an amazing day"). I eat my usual breakfast of oatmeal, peanut butter, and bannana. Check on my nutrition plan (strong perpetuem on the bike, hammer gel on the run), get dressed and I am ready to go. As we get there I am stoked and can't help but notice all the sizing up of the alpha males and females going on around me (nothing quite like 1800 type A's trapped in a small space together). As I head into the staging area I am light hearted, loose, focused, and joking with a good friend I train with that has similar goals to mine (get back to Clearwater). I give one last kiss to the Mrs and get in the water. In the water I start on the outside to avoid the wrestling match that would soon begin, people are too busy complaining about how cold the water is but I have been in colder (Pac Crest last year was waaay worse). AS the horn goes off I relax and find my form and about half way to the first turn bouy I realize that I am waaaayy to far from that wrestling match and after my wide first turn elect to change my sighting strategy (more often was very necessary). I soon find my stroke between the first and second turn and really hit my stride in the last 800meters or so, I can't help but image how fast I must have been. A quick look down at the watch and I see 36:30 WTF? That is the slowest I have ever swam 1.2, I think to myself the water temp might have made a difference but I feel really good not tired or anything so I will more than make it up on the bike. Head through T2 with no issues and it's time for me to lay the smack down! As I am warming up for the decent I gingerly approach a couple of speedbumps to avoid loosing my bottles and watch a couple of hammer heads attempt to jump them and loose both bottles (I can't help but snicker). After the decent down the damn I get my first taste of the wind as I look down at my HRM and see a whopping 168bpm and my speed at 16-18mph (waaaay off), I tell myself that my heart rate will normalize in a bit and that eventually I'll get a tail wind (little did I know that wouldn't be for about 30 miles). As I continue to progress I am flying by people and feeling great I still am not paying too much attention to my heart rate as I continue to pass people like their not moving. I keep looking down and my HRM is still north of 160 not to mention I am really grinding out a low cadence 80's (I tell myself that I will make it up in fuel), I take my first big sip of perpetuem and I feel like somebody stabbed me in the stomach (that's not good, but I tell myself that I'll just nurse it and get used to it). AS we head out to the prison I am ripping by people and I pick an easy gear for the climb and rip on pass people (I can't help but pat myself on the back for all of the offseason work and strength training I had done, I mean I have never been this fast relative to everyone else). I hit the decent down to 10 mile creek and that is where the real suffering begins; 25 mph head winds that refused to let up a single bit but I am holding up better then everyone else so I forge ahead. We finally get to the turn around point and I am quicly up to 29mph with my HRM at 145-150! alright the second half of this race is gonna be fast I tell myself. AS we hit the next aid station I get out of the saddle to climb and instant both quads cramp! Uh this has never happened I tell myself, maybe I need some more nutrition so I drink some more and quickly my body rejects it right to the pavement. I stay calm deciding to grab some quic gatorade (not good). As I head toward the decent the wind that was seemingly non exististent on the way up literrally is blowing people off their bikes! I continue to progress noticing that I don't feel nearly as strong as before and can't get out of the saddle without cramping. Somehow the damn wind is back in my face but atleast I am still passing people left and right. As we get closer to town I start to realize that I am in bad shape everything is cramping and I am sick to my stomach (I start wondering what I am going to do on the run. Coming into transition I look down at 2:53 and change (I tell myself not bad for 25mph headwinds in your face for 40miles) I have never felt this terrible and quickly think to myself for the first time ever "should I just call it a day?". As I look to my family I decide it's not an option and my wife instantly realizes something is not right (I later found out she asked my dad his thoughts and they both thought I was going to quit right there on the spot). I decide that the level of pain I am in with every movement can't be replicated and the mistakes I made with nutrition and pacing will not be repeated so I should "learn from this pain". I make my way through town to mile marker 1 and did something I have never done and told myself I'd never do.... I stopped and walked. The cramping was so bad that I couldn't move without knife like pain running through my entire body. I go to stretch my quad and my hamstring siezes I take a face plant right into the grass! A volunteer asks if I am alright I say yep just wanted to lay around for a bit! As I get up I decide to run a mile walk for 30 seconds and repeat. This works until about mile 6 when my hip flexer cramps (now I can't even swing my leg). I stop and seriously debate the next lap (I tell myself to HTFU and move forward). After getting out of town I move to a very dark place and everything you can imagine pops into my head (quit, turn around, drop out of Canada, drop the sport, sell the bike, grab a beer, you name it I thought it). Eventually I see my friend and we catch up he makes me feel better about the wind and conditions and I tell myself this is a learning lesson and my attitude gets a lot better. As I continue the cramps move all over and I head into town defeated. Crossing the line I never felt happier to sit down looking at my watch seeing a 2:12 half marathon think that is 30 mins slower than I have ever ran and finishing with a personal worst at 5:49.In reflection I was upset confused and depressed initially but has since turned to an incredible learning lesson as I enter the real season for my run towards Canada. Overall I am not proud of the time, but I am very proud of how I responded to the adversity (even if it was self induced). My key learning were 1) My original nutrition plan for IM Canada needs to be reworked (perpetuem in the form of pancake batter won't work on the bike) 2) Somedays conditions out of your control will throw you and the rest of the field off of their race day plans 3) Listen to your heart rate 4) If you don't do the prior it will catch up with you 5) Find some way to get more salts in on the bike before it's too late. 6) Don't get caught up in the clock. These are the lessons the cruel beast named Boise taught me but I'll be back next year to exact my revenge! Until then I'll keep my head down, dial in my nutrition, and listen to my body!