---Message from Jack---
Hey folks,
Congratulations on the multiple Team Ascent accomplishments this weekend. Looks like we kick ass with and without each other, even though I think I still prefer the team aspect of racing as opposed to individual. Especially when you can pull over to go potty. More details on that.
When I awoke at 4:30am on Sunday morning I thought that Josh must be out on the course and that probably sucked. As opposed to Josh, who forgot that I was racing today, but oh well! It was about 50 degrees outside and the water temp had dropped 9 degrees over the last two weeks since my Splash and Dash, so I was thankful to have a wetsuit. The swim portion did not go well. In my Splash and Dash race, I did the 1500m in about 26.5 minutes, so I expected to come in about 35 minutes for the 1.2miles. There were people everywhere and I couldn't get
into a consistent rhythm for too long of a period of time. Finally got out of the water and ran about 200yds up to the TA in about 41 minutes. Everyone I talked to said that the times were slow for whatever reason, but I didn't expect that. However, 5 minutes, in the big picture of the race is not really a big deal.
Hopped on the bike and started off on a short tour of Tempe, then out to McDowell road to the Beeline, up a ways, and then back to Tempe again, then out for the second loop. I think that we'll be doing that 4 times for the Ironman unless they change the course. It is a relatively flat course with a gentle uphill (and headwind) on the way out and thankfully the opposite on the way back. I was able to keep 19-21mph on the way out and up to 25-26mph on the way back. From about mile 2 on though, the cold had effected the hydration system in my body and was telling me to evacuate all extraneous fluids that it needed to heat. In other words, I needed a
port-a-potty really bad. So I held out for about 40 miles as the situation got worse. I passed a couple folks, put about a 100yards on them and decided that if they can pee while riding during the TDF, then I could do it too. So I located the currently hibernating unit and tried to go at 20 mph. The breeze had a terrific effect on the whole operation and I was happy that I had built a sufficient buffer between me and the folks behind. I drifted a little over the shoulder, which looked pretty clean, but I must have hit something because I got an instant flat. I pulled over to fix the flat, but not before taking about a full minute to finish the original chore. Needless to
say, it appeared that I was sufficiently hydrated. I got the flat fixed pretty quick (thank God for CO2) and was on my way. I actually was able to catch a bunch of folks that I had already passed recently, so I didn't feel too bad about the situation. I finished the rest of the ride without incident at 2 hours 39 minutes and averaging 21mph.
I got through the transition area pretty fast and started out on the half marathon. I was trying not to think of it that way though. I was thinking that if we only had 2 hours of running left in an adventure race, it would be a piece of cake. A woman shouted to her husband in the TA that "you're just going for a little jog now sweetie!". Funny. The run was basically a couple loops around the lake, which was good because there was plenty of opportunity to run by crowds of people that were alternatively cheering and looking real quizzical, like they were thinking -
"you're doing this for a free t-shirt"? I was thinking the same thing. About three miles into the run I started talking to this guy that was going a little faster than me, so I thought I would try and hang with him. After a couple miles he tells me that we are running almost exactly 8 minutes miles! I was shocked! Since the only display I had showing on my watch was my HR, I had no idea and was even more shocked when he told me that at that pace, we should be done in about 5:10. I was expecting somewhere closer to 6 hours. We talked a bit here and there to take our minds of how much this whole thing would seem like a much better idea in retrospect. We got to mile marker 12 a little ahead of pace and I thought I had a little left for the finish and he bid me goodbye. There was a long straightaway by the back of the ASU stadium (whatever road that is) that I could see about 6-7 people within a quarter mile that clearly needed a smackdown. Especially people that looked like they were in my age group. So I took off and passed a bunch of those people, and had a couple more to go when the street made a left for
the final 150 yards, which ran past a couple grandstands that were packed with people. Christina, and three other friends were at that turn ringing a bell and screaming my name and I didn't even hear them, as I think that my heart beat and labored breathing was drowning everything out. I passed a guy in my age group right at the turn and had another dude to pass with 50 yards left. The crowd came alive as Christina said that no one had any kind of kick to get the crowd going the whole half hour that she was standing there. The guy that I was trying to pass was looking around and smiling thinking that they were cheering for him. Alas, he was
the final, very surprised, victim of the day.
I was really happy and surprised with the overall time. I finished the race in 5:08, which in light of what you folks did this weekend, was a warm-up, but it felt like quite a drain. My run time was 1:42 with an average mile pace of 7:49. A couple days before the race, my tri coach sent me November's workout and in the email he said that this begins the training for the Ironman race. Turns out that all I have been doing so far was building a "Level 1" base. I guess it gets harder and faster from here on in. What was really helpful was that he had given me max heart
rates that I needed to keep under for the first third of the bike and run and then another, slightly higher number for the second two thirds of both events. I think that following those exactly really helped me to not blow-up on the run. I was so tempted on the bike to take off with anyone who passed me, regardless if they were the pro's on the second lap or not! I would have been dead on the run if I had done that for sure. Same with the run, although not as tempting, because I felt like I was going fast enough. I definitely have a new respect for HR training though. I'm not sure how this experience translates into an Ironman finishing time (or
even completion) since I have only been really training for less than two months, but I think that it is at least doable, with an amazing amount of effort. There was no point in the race that I thought that doing that portion of the race again would have been a good idea. But maybe with 5 months of training I might not have to be scraped off the pavement on April 9th.
So I guess that is my race report and you may have gotten a little more than you asked for, but I got on a roll.
Congrats to all again and see you soon.
Jack
