Timberman 70.3 Race Report

8 weeks since Ironman CdA and I was back at it for Timberman, a half-iron. Weather was gorgeous and I was up at 4:30am for final prep, eating, etc. My uncle was up at 5:15am and we headed out to Lake Winnipesaukee, a 25 minute drive from his house, where the race was to start. Temperature was in the mid 60's and clear. It was going to be a good day. I was particularly psyched because this was to be the first race where I had a contingent of family watching the race. Tracy had joined me in Austin, but no one was at CdA. Tracy, my mom and Rich, my aunt and uncle, cousin Merri, and 3 of my 4 kids were all planning to be there. I was extremely happy to have the support and I knew that it would make the day that much better.

I had dropped off my bike the day before, so when I got dropped off on race day, I headed into transition with my gear bag and set up my nutrition for the day. I was pleased to see that we were going to be allowed to set up all of our gear at our bikes, instead of having to deal with multiple transition bags, which is what was required with both Ironman races I had done to that point. Of course, I quickly discovered that I hadn't gotten their early enough to claim the space that I needed/wanted, and was forced to jam my gear in between 2 others that were liberal in their placement of their gear. Ugh. Water, gatorade, gels, and protein bars. Pumped up the tires, set up my gear - shoes, helmut, glasses, number belt, etc.

The official start of the race was 7am, but my wave wasn't going off until 7:50am, so I had some time to hydrate, put on my wetsuit, and jam caffeine into my body. The beach was lined with racers and a familiar voice was announcing each start, exactly 5 minutes apart. By the time my wave was to go off, the pros would all be out of the water and on their bikes. The day was about to start and I was relaxed and ready. I even had enough time to reflect on how different my mindset was between my first race in Austin and this one at Timberman. This time, I knew exactly what to expect from the race and this one was more about the journey and the day then about times. Don't get me wrong, I was still aiming at a 6-hour-ish mark, but I wasn't stressing about it. I was going to go out and attack the course. Swim, bike, and run as hard as I could push it and if that meant that I blew up, so-be-it. Let's see what I can get my body to do, but also enjoy the day and the journey. I had finished both full and half irons now, so if this one ended in a DNF because I was pushing too hard, I could live with that.

Three minutes before our start and they announced the wave and asked us to line up at water's edge. With 2 minutes to go, they had us wade into the water and wait for the start. I lined up to the outside, mid-pack, so that I wouldn't be caught too badly in the fray that was to take place as we started. The kicking and banging at the swim start is one of my least favorite things. 3, 2, 1...GO!

Now, this is the part where you discover that 1 small change can have a fairly big impact on your race. A few minutes before the start, I heard someone suggest to another that they put their goggles on first, then their swim cap, so that they wouldnt lose their goggles if they got knocked around during the fray. I had never done that before and never had a problem. But, I thought it made sense, so I switched what I usually do and put my goggles on under my cap. Then, I didn't both to double-check the fit of my goggles in the water. As a result, I spent the first 1/2 mile of the swim dealing with badly leaking goggles. Emptying, adjusting, etc., over and over until I finally got them to stop leaking around the 1/2 mile mark, but it had taken its toll and would impact my swim time. And, as I suspected and would confirm in T1, I had lost a contact lense in the midst of it all and would have to take time to put in a new one.

Out of the swim in 41:41 and into transition. As I was running up the beach and pulled off my wetsuit, I glanced down at my watch to see my time. NO WATCH. What?! Must have fallen off as I was taking off my wetsuit. I went back, against a stream of racers, looking for my Garmin watch and, luckily, found it there are the beach. More time wasted. Not only did it come off, but it came apart at the pin that connects the band to the unit itself...it would take time to fix it. As soon as I got into transition, I tried fixing the watch. No luck. I spent what seemed like an eternity trying to get that little pin into both sides of the main unit. No luck. I put it down and went for my spare contact lenses and got that in. Then, I got the rest of my gear on before trying, one more time to fix my watch. As I was taking the time to fix my watch, I kept thinking about whether or not to just abandon my watch and go without it. On the bike, I largely use my bike computer, so that wouldn't be so bad, but the run uses it heavily to monitor my heart rate and pace. Luckily, I got it to snap back in and I was off and out of transition. With all of the messing with my watch, I screwed up the times, so I didn't find out until the end of the race that my T1 time was 8:42. Not short, but given how much time I thought I had spend in T1, I was pleasantly surprised.

Out on the bike and I could immediately tell I needed to start on my nutrition. I had learned at CdA what my legs and mind feel like when they need calories. So, I started right away and opened up a protein bar. I took one bite and realized that I was about to repeat my problem with the bars from CdA. Couldn't swallow. So, I threw the bar away and abandoned them. Luckily (or not), I had planned for this. I knew that this was a possiblity, so I had loaded up on gels that would take me through the bike, and adjusted my plan to take gels every 20 minutes, instead of alternating bars and gels every 30 minutes. And, to get past my hunger pangs, I would grab a banana or two out on the course.

This bike course was very hilly, with 9% grades in some cases. At CdA, I knock down my bike gears for those hills and saved my legs. Here, I attacked. I stayed in the highest gear I could manage and, in some cases, I cranked up a gear or two and got out of the saddle. It was a much better strategy, even though it hurt towards the end of each climb. I attacked the uphill and then spun out or, depending on the speed, rested my legs on the downhills. I was regularly doing 30+MPH on downhills and, at one point, hit a maximum speed of 47.2MPH according to my bike computer. Not exactly sure which hill that was, but I imagine it was the one that I braked into as I got a little nervous about how fast I was going.

Overall, it was a good bike ride. I was still happy to get off the bike, as I usually am, but I felt good coming off. As I came around the final turn and into transition, my entire family was there cheering me on. It was the first time I had seen them and found out later that they weren't able to make the swim because of traffic. I was psyched to see them and knew that I would look for and see them again, when I came out of transition. Bike 3:27:09. Not nearly as fast as I would have liked, but this was no flat course. Goal had been to match my Austin bike performance of just under 3 hours.

Off the bike and into T2 I felt pretty good. Legs were wobbly, but that is normal. If it weren't for my decision to put my medicated pads on my hips to prevent hip problems on the run, my T2 time would have been rocking. T2 was 4:45 and I was off on the run.

The whole time coming out of the main shoot and onto the course, I was looking for my crew. I found them on the opposite side of the entrance, where they had been, but wasn't able to get over to them, so I waved at them and went out on the course. I was feeling decent as I started the run. My cheering section had bolstered my spirit and I wasn't having any issues. I took cola (what?! they didn't flatten the cola???? bubbles wreaked havoc on me as I ran) at each station to make sure I staved off any nutrition problems, and threw ice in my hat wherever I could. At one point, they offered ice cold towels and I grabbed one and ran with it on my neck for the majority of the run, dumping ice water into it at each station to make sure I stayed cool.

There were all kinds of volunteers out and they were all having a good time. And so was I. I was chatting with some of them, doing a little dancing at stations where music was planing, and generally enjoying my time on the course. I felt strong for the first 6.5 mile loop and as I came back into the park for the start of my second loop, I saw my family again. This time, they were within reach, so I stopped, kissed my wife and my kids, and told my son that I would be back in one hour. He is all about time and numbers, so I knew he would be looking for me when I was coming to the finish. It was so great to have them there!

Around mile 8 or so, I started having GI issues. Stomach wasn't so great. There were periods of walking to try and get past those issues. Finally, after a mile or two, I was back in business. Still feeling really strong and good. If only the stomach had been OK, the whole run would have been good. The final mile of the run, I was moving. I felt really, really good and I was pushing hard. My final mile, after some slower miles, was 9:13. I was pretty happy with my ability to crank it up for that last mile +.

Coming into the finish, I looked for my family in the same spot they were during the first lap but didnt see them. I raced through the finish line, which is where I found them. Happiness all around! Total run time 2:17:34.

My total time for the race was 6:39:51. Not great, but I enjoyed the journey. I enjoyed the race and wasn't so hung up on the race itself or my times. I loved having my family there to experience the race with me, and see me work through such a long day and race. Timberman was a good and challenging course. We may just dance again, Timberman.