Race Report: Timberman 70.3

As most of you know, this race was a big toss-up for me.  After a string of bad races (and beating myself up over them) I decided to hire a coach last weekend. He told me I was overtrained, burnt out, and on the verge of catastrophic injury. The only way I would make it to the starting line for IMFL is if I take a serious rest break.  The problem was I had one little 70.3 in my way: Timberman.

We decided my goal for Timberman was to have an aggressive taper going into it, and then simply enjoy the race. Hammer the bike (while still staying within my 70.3 power zone) and go easy on the run. Due to pain last week, I was fearful I may had been developing a stress fracture, so the plan for the run was to bail if things started hurting. As John put it: "A DNF at Timberman is better than a DNS at Ironman Florida".

I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure I enjoyed the race. Due to my burnout, triathlon stopped being fun over a month ago.  I wanted to reclaim the feeling that got me into this race to begin with.

Pre-race
The morning of the race we drove to Gunstock Resort and opted to take the shuttles as opposed to parking at the venue, because we heard horror stories about traffic and parking issues from past years.  I woke at 4, had my pre-race coffee and oatmeal with raisins and protein powder, and headed to the race site. I ran into @swimrjul in transition and she helped me with my tempermental extender so I could get air in my race tires (thanks chicka!). I chatted it up with the ladies around me, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.  On the way out of transition I ran into @IMbethwalsh and we shared some pre-race vibes and a promise NOT to chat with each other on the bike like we did at Kona! Before I knew it we were headed down to the swim start.

My wave didn't go off for an hour after the gun, so I got to watch all the other waves go and soak up the race vibes.  I ran into @billrisch and we hung out at the start.

He was there with his Dad so the 4 of us (me, Bill, Dr. C and Bill's dad) kept each other company as we waited and waited.  Finally it was go time.  I shimmied in my wetsuit, kissed Dr. C goodbye, and jumped into my wave. I found @swimrjul and asked if I could stay on her feet for a bit. Thankfully she said I could!  The girls in our age group were in good spirits.  There was a  lot of "good luck ladies" being said as we walked into the water. I told everyone to go out there and "chick as many guys as you can!" That got everyone laughing.  Before I knew it the announcer was counting down. 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...

The swim:
As soon as the gun went off we dolphin dived our way into the water. Here's a video of our wave going off:

I hung onto Jul's feet and did my best not to tap her toes. The pace was good and solid. I noticed the main pack veering off to the right a bit, but decided to hang onto the feet. I have a tendency to think it's a good option to bail on feet only to suffer later on. I focused on keeping my breathing steady and my strokes long. Pull, 2, 3...breathe. Pull, 2, 3...breathe. Once we made the first turn I was feeling good and decided I could kick things up a notch. Not seeing any good feet options I made a bold move and abandoned the feet, leaving me feet-less for the last 2/3 of the swim. As my heart rate got up I had to switch from an every 3rd stroke breathing to a 2/3 breathing pattern. My heart rate was high but it was still doable. I started to run into caps from the previous waves and decided to NOT be a douche (hear that, men in the wave behind me?) and go around the swimmers instead of over them. Finally I saw the swim exit. I was getting a wee bit tired and was plenty happy to get out of the water. I got out of the water and tried to get my wetsuit off. I pulled if off my shoulders....only to have it get stuck around both arms. Oh crap. As I ran down the chute I struggled and struggled. I managed to get one arm out (as well of a chunk of my arm in the process). I saw the timing clock and squealed with glee.
Time: 32:34 (7th in AG)

T1:
Before I could do anything I had to get out of the wetsuit! I ran into the stripper area, only to see it be manned by small children. Don't get me wrong; volunteers, you're AMAZING. But you can't help it but feel panicked when you see small muscled kids as your wetsuit stripper options.  I ran up to two boys "pull with all your might, kids!" It took three of us to free my left arm. Since I put sports shield over my entire lower half of the body my legs popped right out.  I yelled back a quick thanks and ran to find my bike. Of course, I overshot my rack and had to turn around. Then I couldn't find my bike. Ah, transition confusion. Once I found my bike it was Garmin on, glasses on, helmet on, shoes on, race belt on...go!
Time: 2:17

The bike:
What can I say? I love the bike. Biking is definitely my strong point. Must be my tree-trunk be-donk-a-donk legs. I guess I can push the power better than the twig-legged fast runners in my age group. So when it was time to jump on the bike, I was happy as a clam. When I saw Dr. C I yelled out "32 minute swim, baby!" and  he snapped a photo as I was yelling:

The majority of the bike was "tuck and hammer".  I kept it right around 190 Watts (my goal half iron wattage)  and focused on keeping things steady and strong. There were some killer hills (even people walking their bike up some!) but I just focused on steady power. I think I got passed by 10 men at most from the wave behind me. No women passed me, but I was flying by them. The course was beautiful and the roads were in amazing condition. The crowd support was AWESOME! At the turn-around point a slow-moving lady in front of me swung far left, causing me to veer to the left to avoid a collision.  As a consequence I missed the timing mat and had to turn around and backtrack.  I think I lost about a minute since I had to wait for traffic to clear. I tried to keep upbeat about it but it was definitely a bit of a downer. It was also scary to see two major bike wrecks on the course. I saw one woman being loaded onto a body board. I really, really hope everyone was okay. Before I knew it, I was back at transition.
Time: 2:36:54 (1st in AG)

T2:
I jumped off my bike and ran to the rack. I saw the rack and uttered "oh sh%t". My rack was a ghost town: no bikes in sight. I threw on my Brooks T7 racers and grabbed my GU and hat, and ran out as I got everything situated.
Time: 1:55

The run:
As soon as I started on the run I knew I was in trouble. I had an agonizing side stitch. I backed off the pace and focused on breathing and striding. If I couldn't get this pain under control, it was going to be a long, long race. About a half mile out I saw Chrissie Wellington coming in and I yelled "GO CHRISSIE!". By mile 2 the side stitch was manageable. "Okay, you can do this," I said, "1/6 of the way done." I kept going at a steady, but slow, pace. I wanted to keep everything slow so I could stay out of the miserable zone. At mile 2 I heard someone say "Hi Frayed Laces!" It was Janine (Justine? sorry, the lactic acid blurred my memory!), a FL reader. She was kicking butt on the run! I got to mile 3 and saw Alett (@petfxr) cheering me on.  That was a HUGE boost and I gave her the biggest smile I could. At the turn around point (the course was a two-loop out and back) there was awesome crowd support including a barbershop quartet! I blew the men kisses as I ran by. I was still feeling good.  I passed by Alett again. "I'm actually having fun!" I yelled at her. I kept on trucking, but was starting to get really hot. I avoided fluids the first 4 miles to prevent more side stitches and took in my first water and GU Roctane at mile 4. I started dumping water on my head and shoving sponges in my top--whatever it took to help lower the heart rate. There was a KILLER hill at mile 5/11 but I refused to let it beat me. I shortened my stride and powered up that hill. At mile 6 I saw Dr. C for the first time and gave him a big kiss:

The turnaround for the first loop is yards from the finish, which is necessary but cruel. I headed back out and knew I was about to enter the dark zone.  Sure enough, I started hurting. I saw Dr. C again at mile 7. I told him I was suffering, but that I'd make it.

I walked the aid stations to help lower my heart rate a bit and get fluids in. I dumped ice in my top and kept on trucking. I refused to walk outside of aid stations. I wanted to--oh how I wanted to--but didn't want to be a big sissy. The final turnaround was at mile 10. I saw Alett again and gave her a smile. I checked my time: "Hmm, maybe I can get a PR?" I quickly dismissed the idea. "Just run for fun. Don't make yourself miserable. Don't set any goals." I still had power left in the engine, so I decided to try to pick it up a bit. The hill at mile 11 nearly destroyed me, but I managed to truck up it. I would have been faster if I power walked it, but didn't want to give into the walking demons. At the top, I celebrated. My heart rate was soaring, but I wanted to keep it up till the end. So I dug deep. I pushed and pushed. I was flying and passing people left and right. Then, the nausea hit. The last 2 miles were me uttering "don't puke; don't puke" with each step. I convinced myself competitors were hot on my heels and I flew down the chute, passing more people with each step. The crowd was fired up and cheering me on. I saw the race clock. Holy crap, I'm doing it! A PR! I raised my arms high and proud and leapt across the finish line with a huge grin on my face.

Time: 1:54:30 (6th in AG)
Overall: 5:08:10 (6th in AG)

Post-race:
Chrissie Wellington, triathlon ambassador extraordinaire, was at the finish handing out medals. I was so excited when I saw her. I got my medal, told her about my PR, and told her she was such an inspiration to us all. Thankfully Dr. C was there to capture it all on camera.

 Waiting for my turn

Getting the medal 

A hug and a picture 

Telling her about my PR 

Still in my Chrissie/PR glow, I staggered down towards the beach and ran into Caroline, another FL reader. She had a great race too! We talked about the race and had some awesome girltalk so celebrate our victories.

Girltalk with Caroline

Smiles!

At the food tent I ran into @IMbethwalsh and she told me about her race. Naturally, she dominated, but she said she did blow up on the run (which for her means a 1:34 run). Her mom was still out racing, but ended up getting 4th in her AG!

More smiles!

After the race Dr. C showed me the photos and videos he got of the pros. He got awesome shots of Rasmus Henning and Chrissie Wellington (he got these as he was missing me come off the bike because he didn't expect me to finish so quickly!) Here's his awesome bounty from the day:

Male Pro off the Bike

More pros

Chrissie off the bike

 Chrissie on the run

Nothing but smiles!

As we were laying on the grass enjoying the atmosphere, the announcer came on and told everyone that a severe thunderstorm was headed our way, it was serious, and we needed to leave immediately. The started shutting down the race course. I grabbed my bike and headed to the monstrous line for the shuttles back to Gunstock.  I have to hand it to the race organizers: they managed to patiently and efficiently evacuate about 5,000 people at once from the venue. Kudos to them, and kudos to putting on an AWESOME race! I will DEFINITELY do this race again, and so should you!