Half-IM # 2: Regression Analysis
As someone who analyzes data for a living, I like repeatable
conditions. So if I like a race the
first time, I will probably go back to it and see how I do. This year's conditions at Steelhead were
fairly comparable to last year when I did my first half-Ironman (given the
possibilities of extreme heat and rough water).
The water was rougher than last year, but not terrible like
Racine this year or 2-3 years ago at Steelhead. The temperature was cooler,
less humid (low 54/hi 70. Winds 9 mph NNE).
There was a stronger wind than last year, but still manageable.
Swim: Straight and Wavy
I saw Chris Bannon on the beach, and we wished each other
luck – I moved back in the wave. I waded
past the breaking waves before diving over one.
In my wave in the swim start,
there was a lot of confusion and disorientation. One woman called out “Where
the F*#K am I ?!” The waves were
probably 1-2 feet, but what was really tough for me was that the sun was directly
ahead of us, low in the sky – so when I tried to sight the first 8 yellow buoys – I was looking
into a bright yellow sky, I ended up vertical in the water a lot while I craned
my neck. (It was much cloudier at the
beginning of last year’s race, so we did not have that glare.) I have slightly
smoked goggles, but I think now I will get some darker tinted/mirrored
ones. I never panicked, but I
considered grabbing on to one of the first few buoys while I got my
bearings. I have gotten in 6-7 open
water swims at Ohio Street Beach this year, but it was only choppy one of those
times, and I never went past the bath-like waters of the breakwall to
experience the “washing machine” effect closer to Oak Street Beach. Around the 3rd or 4th
buoy, I knew I could make it, but it was going to be more work than last year’s
mirror flat water. I actually thought it
was a good learning experience, because I have seen pretty rough water from
shore in races with storms (Rockman ’08)
and last year at Ironman Florida, so I
would rather have intermediate level waves before jumping into the Black
Diamond/Yellow Flag kind. I actually did
much better swimming straight this year.
Last year, on every buoy but two, I was veering far to the inside and
had to radically correct course the last 25 yards. This year, I stayed on the outside of every
buoy! Since I was getting passed by
swimmers in later waves, I had a good guide as where to swim, so I did not
sight as much, and avoided staring into the sun. They
had all the buoys numbered (8 yellow/8 red), so that was helpful. When we got to the turn buoy for the beach,
you could body surf in on the waves, and I went a little off course. When I stood up in the water, I was ready to
RUN to transition. My bike was at the
far end, so I wanted to get through the soft sand quick. But I did go off course a bit to kiss Laura
as she was taking my picture. She is used getting kissed on the run from my
marathons, but this time it was wetter.
Later she told me that someone asked if she knew me.
Swim Time: 52:45 (2012 – 49:18).
T1: Wardrobe Malfunction
No wetsuit strippers at Steelhead, so I found an open spot
in transition and peeled mine off. I was determined to do better than the double
digit T1 I had last year. I had half a
Stinger waffle, washed off my feet, and went to the nearby sunscreen slopping
station for cursory coverage. Last year
I wanted a short sleeve bike jersey and arm sleeves to cover my fair Irish skin
as much as possible, so I had to put that on in T1, and change to a run shirt
in T2. This year, I wore a sleeveless
triathlon shirt from start to finish, so that cut down the wardrobe changes,
but left me with odd tan/burn lines:
T1: 7:12 (2012 – 11:49)
Bike: Resistance is Futile
The bike course on Steelhead winds around a lot before
getting you on a long, gradual uphill straightaway on Blue Star Highway along
the lake going north. People get bunched
up a lot, and I don’t mind taking the turns (relatively) fast, because I figure
that will slow me down for a while. I
rode the bike course for practice a few weeks before Steelhead last year, so
this would be the third time I have ridden it, and I like to know what is
coming next, so that gave me even more of a comfort level this year.
The winds were barely 10 mph, but since they were from the
NNE, we rode into them most of the way from on the first half of the course. I had set my watch to beep every 7 and a
half minutes, to remind me to eat and drink.
I had Gus, stingers waffles, red licorice, and I grabbed a Bonk Bar from
the last Bike Aid Station. Those are good! However, the Ironman Perform that PowerBar
makes for Ironman events did not go down easy.
I finished my own bottle of Gatorade, and I almost finished one of the
Performs on the course. Last year they
gave us Gatorade, and I did not think to look at what they provided to try it
ahead of time. I should go the tablet
route for electrolytes to make my own to avoid that bad taste in my mouth
again.
The Steelhead course is interesting, there are rolling
hills, and a good shoulder to ride on Blue Star Highway. At that time of day, there actually was a lot
of shade on the course. There are a few
miles of a rough surface, but most of the roads are good. There is one spot with two rumble-strips
that they give confusing directions for – you only should cross the middle line
to avoid it if a volunteer is there to let you know there is no oncoming
traffic. Last year, even though other
people were riding in the oncoming lane, I did not want to get a penalty, so I
headed for shoulder, but found out the rumble strip went all the way to the
grass. This year, they had the rumble
strips painted better, and I could see
that they ended 6 inches before the middle line – and with skinny tires,
that’s all I need – so I avoided the strip, and did not cross the yellow line.
I think I keep a pretty even effort on the bike, winds and
hills will slow me down for a while. I
had some good 20+ miles, but also some close to 17. Usually I end up laying leapfrog with a
half-dozen riders most of the way – and get passed by a lot in the later
waves. But, I can get a good sprint
for a pass when I need to - which I will do when I want to avoid
drafting. About 30 miles into the bike,
I had just passed a woman, when the course marshal rode up on the back of the
motorcycle. She was kind of smirking
looking at me while she was looking at my bike tags, and writing down in her
book. She did not say anything, or show
me a red or yellow card, and I asked “What did I do?” The motorcycle driver slowed down to look at
riders behind me, and the marshal kept writing numbers down. I have never seen anyone get a penalty, so I
was not sure if they always explicitly told you right away, but I coasted/slowed down for a half a
minute, but then thought – if they want to catch up they can. I tried not to let it get to me, but I
thought maybe there was a chance they just put the penalty at your bike rack
spot in T2. Well, I figured if I am
going to have 2 or 4 minutes taken off, I better ride fast while I can.
On the 18 mile southern route back on Blue Star Highway,
there was frequent traffic. In some
spots, it is 2 lanes, so we had the shoulder, and vehicles would take the left
lane, so you could use a bit of the right lane.
But within 10 miles of Benton Harbor, it is 1 lane, so you better stay
on the shoulder as much as possible.
One guy passed me wide, using one-third of the traffic lane, and he did
not get back on the shoulder, even when he was 10 bike lengths ahead of
me. A truck was approaching, and I
yelled “Car Back” he got over quickly
just as the truck got to within 1 foot of him at 60 mph. A minute later, a woman passing me on the
hill said “You saved that guy’s ass”. A
few minutes later, I gave her a “Car Back!” as she was passing another rider on
a hill, and getting close to traffic.
In the last five miles of the bike course, that is a tough
climb. People spray painted “OMG!” And
“Ugh Hill” on it. Then there is a nice downhill glide as
you get close to the turn into the lakefront park. There a lots of people spilling out on the
sidewalk close to the road, and even more traffic. With a sharp right turn from the road onto a
bike path/sidewalk, you have to slow down. My least favorite part of steelhead is that
the turn right by the beach, surrounded by fencing, people hanging very close
to a narrow path that has sand drifting on it, then a couple hundred yards of a
wooden boardwalk. In the last half
mile/half mile of the bike, I try to downshift, so my legs are spinning more
like they would for running, so I was going a little slower, but still
I ride a Giant Defy, which I like overall, but I discovered
a problem with the rear hub while riding RAGBRAI 2 years ago the first season I
owned it. On long downhills, I could not
gain, let alone, maintain speed, I would expect coasting in an aero position.
On the steepest hills, when other people lighter than me were topping 40 mph
without pedaling, my bike shimmied and shook violently when I hit the low 30’s,
so I would have to feather the brakes.
Multiple bike dealers supporting RAGBRAI could not find any problem, and
the shop where I bought in Chicago it shrugged their shoulders and wiped their
hands of it. Last year for Steelhead,
Rich K lent me some Shimano C50’s, so their lighter weight and good hubs helped
me. This year, Laura bought me some
Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels for my birthday, and they have been rolling much
better. When I rode the Steelhead
course for practice last year, I got a flat - one of FOUR F-ING FLATS that I
got in 10 days! So I bought GatorSkin
tires and retaped the rims. No flats
since - but I got to thinking last
month, that those sturdier tires probably slowed me down a little bit. So I looked into tires, and read some about
rolling resistance. I did not want to go
totally tubeless, but I liked the
reviews I read of the Continental 4000, and the
Vittoria
Open Corsa EVO. Performance Bike had
the Vittorias 23 mms for one-third off the list price, so I got a set, and
latex tubes. I did feel like I was
tempting fate - Laura had gotten a flat in the Lake Zurich Tri, but she had
ridden over a big piece of glass, which will pierce a Gatorskin too. Overall, I could feel less resistance, on
most of the course; good handling on corners, but maybe a little rougher on the
chip and tar roads – I will have to play with the pressure – I was about
120-125. My bike training was not as
good this year as it was last year, so with a stronger wind, I have to give
some credit to the rims and tires for shaving a couple minutes off my bike
time:
I was happy with them, but I will keep the GatorSkins on for training rides. Now, my wife who always used to brake on the corners, wants these kind of tires, too – so maybe I will lend them to her when she rides for our Duathlon team –
RunForYourWife.
Bike Time: 2:53:00 (2012 -2:55:47)
T2: Half Full
When I got to T2, I saw an official that looked like the one
on the motorcycle, but maybe that was a coincidence. She seemed to be seeking out athletes to
cite. She did not say anything to me,
and I got my bike racked, got my running shoes, race bib and cap. I did not see anyone there to slap on
sunscreen, so I just used a sunscreen stick on my race. Last year in T2, I waited a long time
waiting for a bathroom. This year, I
figured if I had to, I would stop on the run course (which I did not need
to). So that cut my
Transition Two time by more than half from last year.
T2: 4:00
(2012-8:58)
Run: Legs of Steel
As I left transition, I was feeling more than ‘heavy legs’
going into the run. Everything suddenly
felt depleted. I was probably at an 8:15
pace at first, but it felt much slower. I was
buoyed by hearing Laura’s cheering a few hundred yards out. I actually heard her before I noticed Barb
Shoemaker with her omnipresent camera halfway between me and Laura. There were also teenage kids with – oh, Deb
Murphy and the teenaged Murphy twins. I
thought, so nice of those kids to cheer me on with such enthusiasm. Then I realized that their Dad was right
behind me. Good for Mike – he stepped up
his running with a sub 4 hour marathon this spring, and combining that with his
strong swimming, I was not that surprised to see him. I wished I could have done the run with him,
but I knew right then that it would be different than my debut half –IM last
year. We talked for the first half mile,
but once we started going up that hill, Mike kept going, and I slowed
down. I hoped I would not see him again,
because I knew I would not be able to step up my pace, but the only way I would
catch him would be if he blew up on the run, and I did not want that. That first mile, I felt like I had just hit
the wall around mile 20 of a marathon.
I had taken 200-300 calories per hour on the bike, with a Gu
at about 3 miles to go on the bike. I suspected lack of nutrition, so I had
another one as I walked through the first water stop on the run. The pace was okay for a few miles, but the
lower speed on the hills and walking all but 2 of the water stops really slowed
me down. I had done some tough long runs lately with John Molchin; fast
pace, as many hills as we can get around Mokena and New Lenox, but only 11-12
miles. I don’t know if I had even run 13
miles since Steelhead last year. I had
knee surgery for a torn meniscus in December, and I did not have a spring
marathon for the first time in 5 years.
One advantage was knowing the course - I knew the curves in the roads to cut the
tangents – where the Whirlpool campus trail was torn up, I switched to
grass. But that first loop was HARD for
me. I have 20+ marathons and
half-marathons combined, and there was only one other time where it crossed my
mind – “I might not make this/I don’t want to keep going. “ The first time was in the Buffalo Marathon
about mile 14 – I wished I had just stopped at where the half-marathon ended. This time, it was only at mile 5, after I had
climbed (for the first time) the REALLLY LOOONG hill that brings you out to
Blue Star Highway. At first, I thought
– “I am not even halfway through this – in Buffalo, at least I was 60%
done. But then I thought - “In Buffalo, I had 12 more miles to go – now
I only have 8.”
At the water stop on Blue Star Highway, there was a 61 year
old woman who had been leapfrogging me throughout the run course. I saw her take a gel, and I figured I would
get one, too – but I was just near the last volunteer- when she took the
another gel – the Last One! I said
something jokingly, and she happily gave me that one. We were talking as we came to the turn off for the second
loop. Barb was there taking pictures,
and Laura was giving me big cheers. I
mentioned to the other runner that that was my real energy boost, and she said
“Yeah, I saw you two making out earlier on the beach.” So, she must have been right behind me coming
out of the swim, and saw me kiss Laura.
The second loop did not get drastically worse that the
first, and knowing that I did not have to go through it again helped my
focus. Every third stop, I had more of
the awful Ironman Perform, to make sure I did not cramp up, and I think I had 3
Gus total, and lots of water, even though it was not too hot..
My left knee is one that had surgery, but a few times, my
right knee felt like it was going to ‘buckle’, and have my leg fall out from
under me. I came to the long hill
before Blue Star Highway, and I considered walking it to save energy for the
last two miles. But, there was a
chipper, young guy asking people he ran next to – “Where would you rather be –
here, or the office?” I told him – “Here
- the office can wait till tomorrow.” He
said he took the day off, because it was his first half. He was 24, or 26, and when we made the 180
degree turn for the hill, I cut the corner tight, caught back up to him, and
trudged up the hill – slow, but not walking.
I walked halfway through the water stop on Blue Star Highway, hydrated,
and thanked the ladies there for being at one of the worst places to hand out
water – a highway. I cringed in fear for
some kids handing out water from the right lane with their backs to traffic . I
tell them, please, stay on the grass, we will reach over with our left hands. I saw Barb Shoemaker at the split to get to
the finish, and she told me Laura had gone on to the finish. With less than 2 miles to go, I knew it
would take less than an 8 minute pace to break six hours. In other half marathons and triathlons, I
could pull that off at the finish, if not most of the race- but today, I couldn’t see it. I cruised through the last water stop
without stopping. I was going faster
than previous miles, but I wasn’t gaining on other runners.
In the last mile, Higman Hill drops so precipitously, if you
let gravity take over, you are almost out of control. The increase in speed is almost not worth the
pounding and risk of injury – but I tried to take advantage of it. There is a sharp right turn going back toward
the lake, and you start to see a lot of spectators around.
Going back under Blue Star Highway, I heard
some cheering that I though was Laura.
It turns out it was a couple of college age girls. (It took two of them to match her volume!). Then,
100 yards past them, Laura’s voice carried in on the lake breeze- “Come on Love!” I yelled back at her, and told her to come
pick me up off the ground at the finish.
My watch beeped for 13 miles as I was running the last straightaway
along the beach. Chipper 24 year old
dude was in front of me, waving to the fans,
I surged to catch him. The clock
said 6:11:55. There were about a hundred yards to go. I was not getting
the usual adrenaline surge of the finish line, if I was pumping my arms, they
did not seem to help. I have had some
strong finishes : a 1:30 quarter mile in Green bay to qualify for Boston with
less than 20 seconds to spare; beating a
friend 4 years younger than me by five
steps in the Palos Turkey Trot, to snatch
3rd place in our age group away from him. (In Green Bay, I collapsed
– in the Turkey trot, I almost puked
after the finish.) In those races, and in Steelhead 2012, I felt great 80%-90% of the time, and was in
pain 10-20%. Today, it was the reverse.
There were two other people next to Chipper Young Dude, they
were taking up the middle 75% of the chute.
If I could have, I would have plowed through them - I saw the clock go to 6:12, maybe and 3 seconds. I gave the best kick I had – I would be less
than a minute slower than last year. I
did not collapse after the finish, but I think a few of the volunteers wondered
if I would. In all the 7 triathlons I
have done, in T2, I always think, or even say out loud - “Now comes the fun part!”. Today, the run ,overall, was not fun.
I had some smiles and enjoyable moments during it, and those moments,
and the muscle memory of all the other time I had raced 13.1 or 26.2 miles got
me through the pain of the other miles.
I guess it was karma teaching me a lesson. My
approach to running changed this last year, with my knee surgery – I was
prepared for the slower times, but not for the less enjoyable experience. It gave me a little taste of what the shirts people
wear that say ‘Running Sucks’. I don’t
feel that way, but I understand it. But when I do my next Half-ironman, I will be
sure the run doesn't suck just because I did not follow a training plan.
Run Time: 2:02:13 (2012
– 1:53:27)
Total Time: 6:00:07
(2012 – 5:59:19)
