We arrived into town on Thursday prior to the race, which is always my preference – it gives you a couple days to get settled and take care of pre-race business. I registered, which didn’t take very long and then went on a 2-ish hour bike ride out on the course. I rode the hilly part with my friend Bernhard, who was also racing. We enjoyed the ride and scouted out the course. My family was in town and my parents were also showing up on Saturday, along with another good friend of mine, so I had a substantial support crew. On top of that, there were 10 or so other Total Intensity athletes racing, so it was nice to have some company.
Friday morning involved an OW swim in Lake Coeur d’Alene. Leading up to this race there is always a lot of nervousness about the water being really cold, but it rose nicely the last couple of weeks prior and was not uncomfortable, especially compared to water I am used to (Sierra Nevada runoff/snowmelt)! It was a short swim, but I just wanted to get used to the water. It also was not too choppy which was nice. I followed that up with a ride on the run course, which is really nice! It goes out along the lake and is quite scenic. Not super hard, but there are a few hills to deal with. After my little bit of training Friday, I was relaxed and confident.
Saturday I got my stuff checked in and Emily went on a ride on the course herself. Meanwhile, I hung out with our kids and watched the US World Cup game. Very disappointed in the game, but I did stay off my feet most of the day. Saturday, my friends and parents got into town also, and we all had dinner together at a nice Italian place. When we got back, I made all my PB&J sandwiches and got stuff ready for the AM.
The night before a race I usually don’t sleep very well, but it wasn’t bad this time around. I think I am getting more relaxed for these things. My alarm went off early and I got up, rinsed off to wake up, ate my pre-race meal – good, old-fashioned PB&J and a banana with peanut butter. I supplemented with OJ. Then we headed down to the lake. My Wife and Dad went with me. I got my socks put in my T1 bag, which I had forgot the day before, and then just relaxed for a while. Then I got in line at the port-o-potty, which wasn’t horribly long. It took me maybe 20-30 minutes. Then I found Bernhard and we got our wetsuits on and went towards the beach. Gave my wife a last kiss goodbye and meandered down to the beach.
The starts of these things are mass-chaos. 2400+ athletes all on a narrow, short beach, with lots of nerves. Bernhard, his friend Carson, and I lined ourselves up about 2/3rd of the way out and towards the front 1/3rd. In hindsight, this was probably a little fast for me, but I honestly don’t think it matters that much. You get in the washing machine no matter where you start. We wished each other luck and the canon went off before I knew it. It was a mass of humanity attempting to swim into the lake, but you can’t really even get a stroke – it’s like gorilla swimming with your head up almost the whole time. I tried to just relax and roll with it, no matter how much contact there was, mostly because you don’t want to give too much energy to your fellow athletes and get frustrated or angry. The lake was also much, much choppier on race day. Regardless, I plodded my way out into the lake, one buoy at a time. I actually made it to the turnaround point quicker than I expected, but holy cow, was it a madhouse at the turns!!! A complete scrum. I basically dog-paddled around about 15-20 yards away from the buoy and was still crushed. I also had to adjust my watch band, which was interesting to try to do while swimming and avoiding so many people. Still couldn’t get much clean water on the way back for the 1st lap, but kept plodding along. I made it out of the water from the 1st lap in about 35 and change, which I was fairly pleased with given the circumstances. It was actually nice to get out and run for a few steps before heading back in. On the 2nd lap, it still wasn’t much better heading out. I also managed to lose my RoadID right off my wrist somehow. Oh well, some scuba diver in the lake will find it someday. The turn was still pretty rough, but then finally, on the way back the 2nd time, I got into a little bit of a rhythm going from buoy to buoy. I felt pretty good. Got out of the water in 1:14 and change. I was a little concerned about the energy expenditure, but was ecstatic to have that part done. Plus my times keep coming down. 1:22 to 1:17 to 1:14. I am probably capable of faster, but was generally pleased with that.
T1 was a little frustrating. I got my wetsuit stripped off, which is way cool and very helpful, grabbed my stuff and went into the changing tent. No problem so far, but then, when I got to my bike, got everything ready, and tried to take it off the rack, I couldn’t get it off. I lost probably 30-45 seconds, but for such a long day, it doesn’t matter a ton. Once I get a little faster, it may matter more, but the goal for the day was a solid marathon.
Swim: 1:14:23
T1: 5:48
Once out on the ride, I started very easy. My target power for the 1st hour was WAY easy. I was still cruising along fairly well, but a lot of people were passing me on the 1st hill. I didn’t mind, that was the plan. I just zero’ed in on the power meter and stuck to it. Once I got past the 1st hour, I raised the power target by a few watts and held it there as much as possible. The out and back along the lake was uneventful. I say Bernhard’s friend Carson pass me, so I knew I was out of the water before him, but I didn’t know how far ahead of me Bernhard was. Going back through town was fun with all the crowd support. Then I headed out towards the loop with the hills. Away from town and out into the country. I was enjoying the ride and sticking to my power target religiously. My nutrition plan was working out fine, too. A half-PB&J every hour and supplementing with Perpetuem. I felt fine the whole time. 1st lap was finished in like 2:57, which was fine. I knew I’d have a slow bike split compared to what I am capable of because of the strict power target – again, it was all about the run.
Coming back through town was really fun (again). I did the out-and-back again and then headed out for the loop for a 2nd time. Everything was going great and I felt fine. I was still focused on my power meter and wasn’t paying attention to much else. The 2nd lap was about the same as the first and I ended up with a 5:55 bike split. Not nearly as fast as I could go, but I wanted to be conservative and see how I could run.
I got off my bike, grabbed my T2 bag and ran into the changing tent. I had a fairly fast T2 and hit the run. I was my family right at the run out and gave my wife a kiss.
Bike: 5:55:46
T2: 1:58
The first mile of the run is on a short out and back. I felt fine getting started and was paying close attention to the Garmin so as not to go out too fast. I hit the first mile in the 8-8:15 minute range I think, which is about what I wanted. I tried to dial it in there and just keep that pace. I came back through transition after the first short turnaround and saw my family again, which was great. Now it was out through town and towards the lake.
Everything was going OK on the way out and I felt fine. On my way out, I saw Andy Potts coming back to town on his way to victory. I saw some of the other pros, too, which is always cool. Once I got out by the lake, I saw Martin M. who was tearing it up and at least 30 minutes ahead of me. I also saw Bernhard who was probably at least 15 minutes ahead. If I had a good day, I could catch him. Turns out that wasn’t the case. I made it to the first real hill at mile 7 and jogged up. Felt OK and turned around to come back down and head back towards town. Got through miles 8 and 9, but started feeling pretty bad. I think my nutrition was OK, but my legs were just shot and wouldn’t go. It was very frustrating because I had done LONG bricks in training and proven I could run 18+ miles after a hard 5+ hour ride. It just wasn’t meant to be. I managed to get back to town and finish the first lap and saw my family. I stopped for a minute and told Em I didn’t have it in me today and was just going to keep plodding along. At that point, I at least thought I could finish. Well, it just kept getting worse. By miles 14 and 15, I felt awful. Started getting a little light-headed and just plain couldn’t run. I gave in and started walking. Just trying to get to the next aid station. Not to be – I had to sit in the shade on the side of the road. I just sat there for a few minutes and reflected on what was happening and why!? I was relaxed and prepared for this race and physically capable of nailing one of these (or at least as much as they can be). I chatted with a family that was spectating. They were really encouraging and I eventually decided to give it another shot so I “ran” (if you can call it that) another minute or two. I was melting down, though. I had nothing left and the wheels fell off in a hurry. Mentally, emotionally, physically… When you do these things, you ALWAYS get to a point where you really, really want to stop running. In this case, for some reason that I’m not quite sure of, I gave in and listened. Maybe something was physically wrong, but who knows. I sat there for a while and finally called it a day and had a guy sag me in on a Gator. I talked to him a bit – turns out he was an experienced racer who works with WTC sometimes. He asked me how many of these things I had done and I told him it was my 3rd. He said “Ahh… people doing their first don’t know what to expect and the ignorance is helpful. Sometimes when you are more experienced and have more expectations, it can actually be worse.” Now I think I know what he meant. Anyway, he was a nice guy and let me use his phone to call my family. I told them my day was done. Brian (the Lawyer/Triathlete/WTC worker who picked me up) got me back to the park at the lake and I found my family. I had a little break-down moment but then pulled myself together. I just sat there for a bit while my worried family went and got the medical people. I don’t think it was really necessary, but anyway… While sitting there, I saw Desiree Ficker (former 2nd place finisher at Kona) and asked her how her day went. Turns out hers wasn’t good either. Sometimes it can happen to anyone.
So there you have it, my first DNF (and hopefully my last). I think you learn more from bad races than good ones and this was definitely the case here. IM is as much mental as it is physical and I have some theories as to what went awry (that’s a whole other long story), so we’ll see how I can change things next time around; I get another crack at it in Wisconsin in September! I have done that race before and am looking forward to seeing how much faster I am!
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