ChiTri Triple Race Report

Chicago Triathlon 2016 

Chicago Triple 

August 27-28, 2016

Super Sprint
Olympic
Sprint



So this year, I went crazy and scheduled my races nearly back to back.  I did the Ohio Delaware Half Ironman 2016 the week before the Chicago Triathlon.  I do the ChiTri every year for the AIDS Foundation raising money so I could not skip it.  So I knew I'd be challenging myself a lot by doing all these races over two weekends.

Frankly I wasn't sure I could do them all.  I spent the week after Ohio in taper + recovery doing practically nothing but eating and resting.  I hydrated and used my infrared heating pad to reduce inflammation.  I got some extra rest.  It was a busy week for work too though so I had plenty to occupy myself.

Saturday  Super Sprint

This race continues to bedevil me.  I really dislike running mass starts as my heart rate spikes and it takes forever to get it back down.  I was hopeful that I'd do really well, but that ended after the first two minutes when I was struggling to catch my breath in sloshy waves, knowing I was wasting precious time instead of swimming.  A short swim that should take about 6 minutes or less took me 1l minutes instead.  Mental shrug,  keep going.  I hopped out and got to my bike pretty quick, Triple racers get a pretty nice slot in transition.  I like that.  My bike results were pretty good.  The first loop took me awhile to get going but the second and third loops were faster.  Not fast enough to make up for a dorky swim but faster.  I did my run and could only manage 13:30 pace.  Last year was faster, surprisingly.  I had a full on panic attack last year, but I ran considerably faster last year 10:30 miles.  Huh.  I didn't recall I had ever done that so I'm on the hunt to pick up my running pace again.  I came in at 57:48.  Last year was 52 minutes.  I'd need to get it closer to 30 mins total to be competitive in my age group.  Still some work to do.

Sunday International and Sprint

I guess the best news is that I'm not suffering on the races these days.  In the past, I'd have moments of joy, but usually it's just one long sufferfest and I'd be happy once it was over.  These days, I'm finding that I'm enjoying a good part of the race and feeling really strong.  That's a nice change from feeling weak and frustrated about how slowly I'm traveling.  So the goal for that day was to hit 3:30.  I got really close.  3:35.  Oh I tried to hurry and get that last few minutes shaved off but just missed.  Dang!  I wasn't going for any record on the Sprint after really putting out the effort on the OLY.  As it was I was dizzy when I finished and had to drink several bottles of water, some gels and some salt to recover enough to start the Sprint.  Good news was I had a lot more time to recover and rest.

I have to say think you to coach Joy, Allan and Chris for coming over to the swim start that morning to wish me well.  I was feeling a bit alone...nothing new but ..heck it sure is nice to know that someone is there hoping you do well.  I got tears in my eyes when coach Chris gave me his pep talk and I got a hug from Joy.  Not sure they realize how deeply they are appreciated, not just by me.  Chris told me to stick close to the wall that day and that was the best advice.  It was pretty peaceful over there away from the center and good positioning for getting to the swim out.  It's always so cool to come up to those steps and see people's feet and a hand waiting to help you out.  Those folks are awesome.

So the results how how I did.  The swim went great.  I came out fourth in my age group!  That's nice.  I worked hard to get to where I could compete in swimming.  I like that part of the race best.  Weirdly as I've had the most frightening episodes of panic attacks on the swim.  I had someone work with me on tapping to overcome that fear early this year.  As Coach Allan says "I have to email her and thank her"  because it actually seems to have worked quite well.  Not only was I able to swim hard, not something I've been able to do in races for fear of creating a panic attack and being breathless, but I felt really strong and confident in the water.  I had a long transition as I had to walk a bit on the long run but I expected that.  I might have jogged a bit faster but I think it would not have done me much good.  I got changed as quick as I could and hopped on my bike.  I had no idea what my legs would put out that day.  I knew that half ironman was just a week ago and it was possible I'd experience some sluggishness and feel worn out but I was surprised pleasantly to find I had a great deal of power.  I was doing 17-24 mph through the whole race and feeling pretty happy.  I love riding at that speed.

Thanks to Bruce Critelli for taking this shot, I never saw him but heard him holler at me. 

 I can feel my race wheels singing beneath me and it feels like I'm flying.  Compared to prior races my bike pace is about 1-3 mph faster on average.   I used one Huma gel and a bottle of water and half a bottle of Rocket Fuel.  The run, still working on that one.  Running has always been my nemesis. It's where I fall below 50%.  Makes me sad but determined to get better.  I really pushed myself to speed up for the run, especially as I saw the time sliding toward 3:40.  I got across the finish line in 3:35 but it cost me.  Despite using salt every mile and sometimes twice, I was spent and dizzy.  It was pretty hot and humid and I knew I was going to have to slow it down on the sprint  but I was so happy to have a new PR for this race.  This race was my first triathlon in 2010.  For comparison, here are my results on that fateful day.  Fateful because it was the beginning of a new chapter in my life and I had no idea.  Total finish time?  4:28:31.  Wow.  I've shaved off nearly an hour from my first race. Only took me seven years to do it.  Ha!

For the Sprint I drank two bottles of water and ate a pack of shot blocks on the way over to the swim start.  I donned my lava pants on more time and put on my brand new goggles.  I have to say, the adage "nothing new on race day" had me concerned because I had not used these goggles once but knew that I needed some that were more clear for the early morning.  Wonder of wonders, these did NOT fog up.  I was really happy to be able to see.  That does help a lot.
The sprint swim started out pretty good.  I had a great pace, I could see I was middle to front of the pack until about half way.  However, I was feeling my lava pans sliding down as I swam and knew I'd have to do something about that soon.  Suddenly someone hit my legs and they both went into full cramp. I mean so hard I could not move.  I had to roll over on my back and wait for a minute to keep going. I was pissed off but that's one of my issues.  I have leg cramps A LOT.  I get them on the bike and the swim and sometimes they threaten on the run.  It's frustrating.  It's been a lifelong problem, not just in triathlon.  I did fix my lava pants and get them back on to finish swimming.  (I must've lost some weight because that has never happened before)
Anyway, I swam a good part of the rest with no kicking at all.  I didn't really even look at the time.  I took my time walking to transition and getting onto the bike.  I knew I'd have to slow it down a bit and keep eating to keep going.  I was surprised at the speed I did maintain despite that.  I was pretty spent by the run though and knew as I left transition I'd have to walk a lot.  I met up with a woman with whom I'd been trading places on the bike and run all day.  Christina and I walked together and crossed the finish line together.  We enjoyed talking about our racing and our lives.  Turns out we have a mutual acquaintance; Leslie Battle, all time Athena national champion.  She also wears Pierce Shoes so we talked about the shoes for a bit.

My first pass along the T2 tent, so happy to see everyone! 

So thus ends the racing season for me, except for the upcoming Big Shoulders 2.5 K swim.  I'm looking forward to that day.  Seriously, in spite of the cramping and the panic attacks, swimming is my favorite part of the sport.  It makes sense to me in a way the other two do not.  I get how to go faster and that does not require lots of strength.  It's more like being one with the universe and I enjoy that peacefulness of a good swim in a washing machine.  LOL. Well the washing machine is not my favorite. I do feel closer to my brother, the guy for whom I began doing these.  He's smiling and laughing and making fun of me for finally realizing something he knew all along; swimming is fun.  He swims with me whenever I'm in the water.


Reflections on the Triple

I love doing this race.  I did it the first time last year, after I won a raffle and got a free entry.  I was in serious doubt about whether I could finish a triple, thinking it was only for truly badass triathletes like Lynn Flentye, who kept saying I could do it.  I thought she was badass but also a bit crazy at the time.  Turns out she's smart and badass.   I know now that it's for anyone who wants to test themselves.  It's a test but it's a level of camaraderie that you don't get much else.  A small group who see each other repeatedly during two days who know how hard you are working as they do it themselves.  It's fun to have them recognize you on the trail, on top of your friends who compete as well.  I don't know if I'll do it again next year, I'm thinking maybe I'll want to volunteer for the Kid's Tri again or something.  I need to give back my time for all I've used.  So many volunteers at these races spend hours to make a race successful, working full days at fatiguing work.   Sounds like fun doesn't it?  It is.  To see people meeting their goals and so happy to get to the finish, it's fun and satisfying on a spiritual level.  I'd say try the triple at least once in your life.

Ironman OHIO 70.3 Race Report

Ironman Ohio makes my 10th Half Iron attempted and my 8th completed one.  I've done:
1)Honu (DNF) 2)Steelhead, 3)Las Vega World Championship, 4) New Orleans, 5)Haines City, 6)Racine, 7)Muncie, 8)Grand Rapids (rain out) 9)Milkman and 10) Ohio.

I like the 70.3 distance.  It's a big challenge but I feel capable of doing it, despite the first DNF and the rain out.  I've walked several of them due to lack of training or illness pre-race, but that race, more than the OLY or Sprint distance makes me feel like I've really challenged myself and accomplished something big.  Yes my IM LOU is an important milestone and I'm very pleased that I did that one. However, as far as training requirements, I think I can get ready for the HIM more easily and be ready for a race than I can for a full IM LOU.  That may change over the years because I can see my body is improving every year but we shall see  For now, the HIM is my favorite distance.

This year I was very happy to be doing the race with a lot of friends in triathlon.  I was hoping to see them on the course (probably as they zoomed by on the bike) and to enjoy the pre and post race times with them.  And I did but I was alone a lot more on this race than expected.  Partially because I was faster and did not get passed by many and partially because of the timing of the waves.  We all had dinner sort of around the restaurant the night before.  That was a little sad that we were not all together as a group.  But the food was good with good company at the table:  Tim Sanker, Marni Willenson and her two kids, Linda Pryce, and Bill Hineline.  Linda was a bit stressed about the swim as were many other athletes headed into this race.

Water temps had been high all week making it appear that the swim would be wetsuit optional but anyone with a wetsuit would be going in the last wave, or the "party wave" as Jamie Jacobsen called it.  Linda was not comfortable without the wetsuit but also concerned about her ability to meet the cutoffs.  As it turned out, she finished just fine and here she sashays down the finisher chute.   I was happy to leave the wetsuit behind.  I gave Linda my lava pants for a faster swim and transition but also to keep the heat from being an issue on her core.  She said it worked well.  Clearly! 

So the night before the race the weather was really terrible.  Tornado touched down in Delaware and driving rain had me concerned for my bike at the transition.  This race also had two transition areas 8 miles apart which is always a logistical nightmare if you are alone.  I found out you could leave your run gear at the T2 area the day before and Masumi Yoneyama and I planned our travel so we could do that and leave my car there overnight.  So I was wondering as that tornado passed through if I'd have ANY mode of transportation the next day.  All was well the next day.  No tangle of bikes or tipped over car.

Masumi and I arrived about 5:50 to T1 and this was plenty of time to air up the tires, check the bike computer, set out my gear and get ready.   I was pretty happy, but forgot to eat my last gu before the swim.  As I headed into the start chute, I realized I was hungry.  Damn!  First mistake.  I was too busy talking with folks and forgot all about my nutrition.  I had eaten a lot that morning and knew I would be fine for the swim but maybe at a deficit as I began the ride.  Shoot.

So the swim was a frustrating effort to pass/lose the woman who kept swimming on my right pushing me into the buoy line,  I tried several times to lose her, managed to a couple of times but damn it she kept showing up!  I knew it was her because she would swim a few strokes, then breast stroke, kick me and sight and go back to crawl.  I almost swam into two buoys trying to keep my distance from her.  Other than that it was an okay swim.  Not real slow but not my best.  I almost missed the second turn buoy and headed for the #4 orange buoy which was in line with #3 but I sort of said....I think I should be looking for a turn buoy and if I've not looked far enough right I might have missed it.  Sure enough, I sighted again and looked further right and found it.  Saved me swimming some extra yards.  Did have a nice finish, felt strong on the last 400 yards and was ready to get to the bike.  I was disappointed when I checked my time on getting out though.  Some folks are saying the swim was more like 2200 yds than 2000 so I may be okay with my time if that's true.  I got out of the water ahead of many in my division so that was a good start.  There were 53 finishers in the F 55+ division.

Total  1.2 mi   00:47:0500:47:050  pace: 2:26/100m  division rank:  19

T1 TIME 5:06

We had a run to get to the bike and then a run to get out that took me a few minutes.  I walked part of the way to catch my breathe.  I can say that I am able to run now.  In the past I would be completely out of breathe and unable to do more than walk so I'm happy to see that improvement.

Bike  Here is the bike course: IM OHIO 70.3 BIKE COURSE PREVIEW

It was advertised as a flat fast course.  Honestly, it was not flat. At times it was fast and my bike time was pretty good with a good pace.  I enjoyed the scenery a lot.  It was windy though so fighting cross winds was fatiguing.  It was hard to keep up the nutrition and hydration.  As I said I forgot the eat my planned gu before the swim so I got out with a slight deficit.  I took the time to drink some water before heading out and grabbed a packet to eat early.  My bike computer and my garmin both decided to malfunction at that point though so I was fooling with them for the first five miles.  I managed to suck down some nutrition and get my garmin working but I had to alter it to show just the bike course so I had no idea of my total overall time etc.  I was upset about that but heck it's go time!  I got sleepy at mile 40.  Good indicator of dehydration.  I upped the water consumption and got some more electrolytes in me. I was having slightly unhappy stomach for much of the ride but didn't use the Pepto tabs I carry on the bike.  It wasn't terrible and I'd rather see if I can fix it with nutrition than with medication.  I was however wishing like crazy I had an aspirin with me.  My right leg was aching from my butt down to my knee for the whole ride after about mile 15.  I was in a lot of pain and just wishing it was over for a good part of the ride.  I was changing my position, trying to stretch...but on a flatter course, you have no time when you cannot pedal.  It requires that you keep moving to keep your speed so I limited my stretches to the short downhills.  It wasn't enough.  I didn't have an aspirin because I used it on a prior ride. (Mistake #2)   Lesson:  do a better job preparing.  Normally I'm very good at anticipating and preparing for stuff, but this race was not my best one for that.  I did grab a gu on the last aid station.  Happily it was citrus flavor and had caffeine.  Saved me totally.  I was out of nutrition I wanted and I cannot normally stomach anything but citrus on the race.  I had an emergency gu but it was chocolate and the thought of eating that turned my stomach.  No way!  I sucked down that gu over the next few miles and felt much better.

Overall I did enjoy the ride except for the chip seal areas.  That was also tiring and not a good roll.  It did slow me down a lot to deal with those rough areas.  I'm not the best hill climber yet.. Still working on it.  I did try shifting down more on the uphill and managed to keep better speed so perhaps I've learned a new lesson in hill climbing.  My average speed was high for me.  Normally I'm at 14.8 or 15 so that was encouraging.  My division rank slipped down as often happens.

Total  56 mi   03:24:14    16.45 mph   division rank: 32
 T2: 3:51

I did a good job in T2.  In and out pretty fast but I had strapped on my phone carrier on my left arm for my HR monitor and got stopped by a ref.  For a minute my heart stopped when Roz said she would take my chip. I thought I was being DQd but she just wanted me to go back into transition but not with my chip.  HUGE RELIEF!  I lost about 3 mins going back but she waited and I picked up my chip and headed out.

I walked about a mile but was happy to feel my legs loosening up and allowing me to run.  I was doing 13:30 min mile pace for awhile but between walking and slowing due to heat and humidity I lost about a 1 min per mile pace eventually.  I had left my water bottle behind  (Mistake #3!) so I had to stop at every aid station on the run.  Sometimes I can skip them when I have my own water.  Again, not my best planned race.  The bottle was in my race gear bag but I forgot to grab it.  Normally it's in the shoes so I have to grab it to put my shoes on.  I did use my Pierce Shoes for faster transition.  And as usual I ran pretty well in them.  I actually am proud of my running improvements. I have much better posture and feel good on the run.  I ran for about 3/4 of the 13 miles so I was quite happy with that.  Not fast but good running.  At about mile 3 I ran into Nic Ruley...he ran up to me rather.  He tried to help me keep pace with him but my body is not able to keep up with a 30 yo runner like Nic.  I wish  I could....but no.  sad face.
Then I was passed by Masumi and Chris Navin in quick succession.  I heard later then all caught up with each other and ran together for awhile.  Sounds like that was fun.  sigh.
Then at about mile 11 Jamie Jacobsen passed me and I hollered hello to her.  There was one volunteer who was screaming her lungs out on a turn.  She was incredible in her energy and really putting a lot of love on the course.  I hollered that she was "awesome" as I went by and she looked at me surprised.  She was!  I met her through FB today and she said she is a coma survivor and volunteered not really knowing about IM or what she would be doing and was just amazed by all the athletes.  She was a real treasure.  What great lady.  At about mile 10 I came across a guy doubled over and asked if he was okay.  He said no, he needed salt.  He has just run out.  I stopped to give him my Base Salt tube and he took about six hits of salt and I left him trying to get started.  He passed me on a slow run but again I met him about 1/2 mile later as he was doubled over again.  This time he walked with me while he took more salt.  He ran off to finish after that.  I hope he was happy with his race.  Glad I could help him with his run.  I figured my run was not going to be too affected by that stop. It was not going to be a PR for me and a few more minutes were not going to kill me that day.   The  pace below does not indicate the running splits.  I was doing much faster on some of them when I looked.  I was pretty happy to have been at 14 min miles for a good part of the race.  Certainly walking all the aid stations and walking up the hills accounted for this overall time.  Plus, my best 13.1 standalone time is 3:15.  For all the damn walking and stopping I did, I nearly matched my best half marathon time.  I guess I'm improving.

Run 13.1 mi 03:22:42 15:28/mi div rank47
Total Race time: 07:42:58

My total race was not a PR (When I wrote this I thought it was true). I ran to the finish in the stadium (which was cool BTW) but none of my friends was there to see me or congratulate me. It was a quiet finish for me. I hunted for people after the race, missed every finish except for Katie Schmidt's which I saw as she ran down the street headed for the finish. It was not quite the day I had pictured in my head and I pouted a bit about being alone and not getting the time I had hoped for (still after that 7 hour HIM) but there will be other races and future improvements and maybe someone will be there to witness it with me that day.

In the mean time, first time finisher Anne Statton had a very proud finish that day. I wish I had seen her cross. Also a few other friends I haven't mentioned finished that day with me. Martin Christian and Sally Stresnak, Carol Steele, John Dizon and Tim Sanker. It's always cool when ALL your friends finish. Some of them finish in around 6 hours or less! Someday I'll be doing faster races...at least that's my goal.

  Epilogue: 

Racine Results from 2014

I looked up my Racine results because I was thinking I had been faster at that race but apparently I had a PR yesterday.  OMG!  (Racine Summary Swim00:45:03 Bike03:35:24 Run03:16:43 Overall07:49:0)  The race results from Racine are posted at right. There were only 21 competitors in 55+ that year. So I was in the bottom   I had mis-remembered that race as being 7:16 hrs but clearly it was not.  Not sure how I got that idea but hey, if I actually had a PR on Sunday, that's pretty cool.  I was asking myself how the heck  I could be doing so much more speed and end up slower than my past races.  DOH!  I guess I'll stop pouting now.

Ironman OHIO 70.3 Race Report

Ironman Ohio makes my 10th Half Iron attempted and my 8th completed one.  I've done:
1)Honu (DNF) 2)Steelhead, 3)Las Vega World Championship, 4) New Orleans, 5)Haines City, 6)Racine, 7)Muncie, 8)Grand Rapids (rain out) 9)Milkman and 10) Ohio.

I like the 70.3 distance.  It's a big challenge but I feel capable of doing it, despite the first DNF and the rain out.  I've walked several of them due to lack of training or illness pre-race, but that race, more than the OLY or Sprint distance makes me feel like I've really challenged myself and accomplished something big.  Yes my IM LOU is an important milestone and I'm very pleased that I did that one. However, as far as training requirements, I think I can get ready for the HIM more easily and be ready for a race than I can for a full IM LOU.  That may change over the years because I can see my body is improving every year but we shall see  For now, the HIM is my favorite distance.

This year I was very happy to be doing the race with a lot of friends in triathlon.  I was hoping to see them on the course (probably as they zoomed by on the bike) and to enjoy the pre and post race times with them.  And I did but I was alone a lot more on this race than expected.  Partially because I was faster and did not get passed by many and partially because of the timing of the waves.  We all had dinner sort of around the restaurant the night before.  That was a little sad that we were not all together as a group.  But the food was good with good company at the table:  Tim Sanker, Marni Willenson and her two kids, Linda Pryce, and Bill Hineline.  Linda was a bit stressed about the swim as were many other athletes headed into this race.

Water temps had been high all week making it appear that the swim would be wetsuit optional but anyone with a wetsuit would be going in the last wave, or the "party wave" as Jamie Jacobsen called it.  Linda was not comfortable without the wetsuit but also concerned about her ability to meet the cutoffs.  As it turned out, she finished just fine and here she sashays down the finisher chute.   I was happy to leave the wetsuit behind.  I gave Linda my lava pants for a faster swim and transition but also to keep the heat from being an issue on her core.  She said it worked well.  Clearly! 

So the night before the race the weather was really terrible.  Tornado touched down in Delaware and driving rain had me concerned for my bike at the transition.  This race also had two transition areas 8 miles apart which is always a logistical nightmare if you are alone.  I found out you could leave your run gear at the T2 area the day before and Masumi Yoneyama and I planned our travel so we could do that and leave my car there overnight.  So I was wondering as that tornado passed through if I'd have ANY mode of transportation the next day.  All was well the next day.  No tangle of bikes or tipped over car.

Masumi and I arrived about 5:50 to T1 and this was plenty of time to air up the tires, check the bike computer, set out my gear and get ready.   I was pretty happy, but forgot to eat my last gu before the swim.  As I headed into the start chute, I realized I was hungry.  Damn!  First mistake.  I was too busy talking with folks and forgot all about my nutrition.  I had eaten a lot that morning and knew I would be fine for the swim but maybe at a deficit as I began the ride.  Shoot.

So the swim was a frustrating effort to pass/lose the woman who kept swimming on my right pushing me into the buoy line,  I tried several times to lose her, managed to a couple of times but damn it she kept showing up!  I knew it was her because she would swim a few strokes, then breast stroke, kick me and sight and go back to crawl.  I almost swam into two buoys trying to keep my distance from her.  Other than that it was an okay swim.  Not real slow but not my best.  I almost missed the second turn buoy and headed for the #4 orange buoy which was in line with #3 but I sort of said....I think I should be looking for a turn buoy and if I've not looked far enough right I might have missed it.  Sure enough, I sighted again and looked further right and found it.  Saved me swimming some extra yards.  Did have a nice finish, felt strong on the last 400 yards and was ready to get to the bike.  I was disappointed when I checked my time on getting out though.  Some folks are saying the swim was more like 2200 yds than 2000 so I may be okay with my time if that's true.  I got out of the water ahead of many in my division so that was a good start.  There were 53 finishers in the F 55+ division.

Total  1.2 mi   00:47:0500:47:050  pace: 2:26/100m  division rank:  19

T1 TIME 5:06

We had a run to get to the bike and then a run to get out that took me a few minutes.  I walked part of the way to catch my breathe.  I can say that I am able to run now.  In the past I would be completely out of breathe and unable to do more than walk so I'm happy to see that improvement.

Bike  Here is the bike course: IM OHIO 70.3 BIKE COURSE PREVIEW

It was advertised as a flat fast course.  Honestly, it was not flat. At times it was fast and my bike time was pretty good with a good pace.  I enjoyed the scenery a lot.  It was windy though so fighting cross winds was fatiguing.  It was hard to keep up the nutrition and hydration.  As I said I forgot the eat my planned gu before the swim so I got out with a slight deficit.  I took the time to drink some water before heading out and grabbed a packet to eat early.  My bike computer and my garmin both decided to malfunction at that point though so I was fooling with them for the first five miles.  I managed to suck down some nutrition and get my garmin working but I had to alter it to show just the bike course so I had no idea of my total overall time etc.  I was upset about that but heck it's go time!  I got sleepy at mile 40.  Good indicator of dehydration.  I upped the water consumption and got some more electrolytes in me. I was having slightly unhappy stomach for much of the ride but didn't use the Pepto tabs I carry on the bike.  It wasn't terrible and I'd rather see if I can fix it with nutrition than with medication.  I was however wishing like crazy I had an aspirin with me.  My right leg was aching from my butt down to my knee for the whole ride after about mile 15.  I was in a lot of pain and just wishing it was over for a good part of the ride.  I was changing my position, trying to stretch...but on a flatter course, you have no time when you cannot pedal.  It requires that you keep moving to keep your speed so I limited my stretches to the short downhills.  It wasn't enough.  I didn't have an aspirin because I used it on a prior ride. (Mistake #2)   Lesson:  do a better job preparing.  Normally I'm very good at anticipating and preparing for stuff, but this race was not my best one for that.  I did grab a gu on the last aid station.  Happily it was citrus flavor and had caffeine.  Saved me totally.  I was out of nutrition I wanted and I cannot normally stomach anything but citrus on the race.  I had an emergency gu but it was chocolate and the thought of eating that turned my stomach.  No way!  I sucked down that gu over the next few miles and felt much better.

Overall I did enjoy the ride except for the chip seal areas.  That was also tiring and not a good roll.  It did slow me down a lot to deal with those rough areas.  I'm not the best hill climber yet.. Still working on it.  I did try shifting down more on the uphill and managed to keep better speed so perhaps I've learned a new lesson in hill climbing.  My average speed was high for me.  Normally I'm at 14.8 or 15 so that was encouraging.  My division rank slipped down as often happens.

Total  56 mi   03:24:14    16.45 mph   division rank: 32
 T2: 3:51

I did a good job in T2.  In and out pretty fast but I had strapped on my phone carrier on my left arm for my HR monitor and got stopped by a ref.  For a minute my heart stopped when Roz said she would take my chip. I thought I was being DQd but she just wanted me to go back into transition but not with my chip.  HUGE RELIEF!  I lost about 3 mins going back but she waited and I picked up my chip and headed out.

I walked about a mile but was happy to feel my legs loosening up and allowing me to run.  I was doing 13:30 min mile pace for awhile but between walking and slowing due to heat and humidity I lost about a 1 min per mile pace eventually.  I had left my water bottle behind  (Mistake #3!) so I had to stop at every aid station on the run.  Sometimes I can skip them when I have my own water.  Again, not my best planned race.  The bottle was in my race gear bag but I forgot to grab it.  Normally it's in the shoes so I have to grab it to put my shoes on.  I did use my Pierce Shoes for faster transition.  And as usual I ran pretty well in them.  I actually am proud of my running improvements. I have much better posture and feel good on the run.  I ran for about 3/4 of the 13 miles so I was quite happy with that.  Not fast but good running.  At about mile 3 I ran into Nic Ruley...he ran up to me rather.  He tried to help me keep pace with him but my body is not able to keep up with a 30 yo runner like Nic.  I wish  I could....but no.  sad face.
Then I was passed by Masumi and Chris Navin in quick succession.  I heard later then all caught up with each other and ran together for awhile.  Sounds like that was fun.  sigh.
Then at about mile 11 Jamie Jacobsen passed me and I hollered hello to her.  There was one volunteer who was screaming her lungs out on a turn.  She was incredible in her energy and really putting a lot of love on the course.  I hollered that she was "awesome" as I went by and she looked at me surprised.  She was!  I met her through FB today and she said she is a coma survivor and volunteered not really knowing about IM or what she would be doing and was just amazed by all the athletes.  She was a real treasure.  What great lady.  At about mile 10 I came across a guy doubled over and asked if he was okay.  He said no, he needed salt.  He has just run out.  I stopped to give him my Base Salt tube and he took about six hits of salt and I left him trying to get started.  He passed me on a slow run but again I met him about 1/2 mile later as he was doubled over again.  This time he walked with me while he took more salt.  He ran off to finish after that.  I hope he was happy with his race.  Glad I could help him with his run.  I figured my run was not going to be too affected by that stop. It was not going to be a PR for me and a few more minutes were not going to kill me that day.   The  pace below does not indicate the running splits.  I was doing much faster on some of them when I looked.  I was pretty happy to have been at 14 min miles for a good part of the race.  Certainly walking all the aid stations and walking up the hills accounted for this overall time.  Plus, my best 13.1 standalone time is 3:15.  For all the damn walking and stopping I did, I nearly matched my best half marathon time.  I guess I'm improving.

Run 13.1 mi 03:22:42 15:28/mi div rank47
Total Race time: 07:42:58

My total race was not a PR (When I wrote this I thought it was true). I ran to the finish in the stadium (which was cool BTW) but none of my friends was there to see me or congratulate me. It was a quiet finish for me. I hunted for people after the race, missed every finish except for Katie Schmidt's which I saw as she ran down the street headed for the finish. It was not quite the day I had pictured in my head and I pouted a bit about being alone and not getting the time I had hoped for (still after that 7 hour HIM) but there will be other races and future improvements and maybe someone will be there to witness it with me that day.

In the mean time, first time finisher Anne Statton had a very proud finish that day. I wish I had seen her cross. Also a few other friends I haven't mentioned finished that day with me. Martin Christian and Sally Stresnak, Carol Steele, John Dizon and Tim Sanker. It's always cool when ALL your friends finish. Some of them finish in around 6 hours or less! Someday I'll be doing faster races...at least that's my goal.

  Epilogue: 

Racine Results from 2014

I looked up my Racine results because I was thinking I had been faster at that race but apparently I had a PR yesterday.  OMG!  (Racine Summary Swim00:45:03 Bike03:35:24 Run03:16:43 Overall07:49:0)  The race results from Racine are posted at right. There were only 21 competitors in 55+ that year. So I was in the bottom   I had mis-remembered that race as being 7:16 hrs but clearly it was not.  Not sure how I got that idea but hey, if I actually had a PR on Sunday, that's pretty cool.  I was asking myself how the heck  I could be doing so much more speed and end up slower than my past races.  DOH!  I guess I'll stop pouting now.