Thought I should write it up while it's fresh in my head. In fact a bit too fresh. I wasn't feeling as sad about DNF on race day as I am feeling today. Too bad all the hard work didn't pay off. Yet, I am glad I dropped out, so that I can fight another day and get my revenge.
Did a short pre-race sharpening spin in the AM and drove to Johnsons Beach in Guerneville at around 10:30 AM to scope out the swim area and T1. It was a bit windy and chilly, so after a quick look we headed to Windsor High School for packet pickup. Picked up the race packet and dropped run gear in T2 and headed for lunch. Rest of the day was pretty laid back. Went to bed at 10 PM.
Race morning
Surprising, I slept well and was woken up by the alarm at 4 AM. Drank some warm water to get the bowels moving, which worked like a charm. Had a bowl of granola, yogurt and fruit. We reached Johnsons Beach at 5:30 AM. There was a short walk from parking to T1, and we had to drop off our bike/run special needs bags on the way to T1. By the time I was done setting up transition, it was already 6:20 AM, with only 10 mins left for my wave start. Putting was the sleeveless wetsuit was much easier. I scurried to the swim start with 2 mins to spare.
Swim: 1:03:18 ~ 1:30/100y or 1:38/100m
It was a deep start and I lined up at the front. The gun went off at 6:30 sharp. I started very easy as I didn't have time to warm up. After 10 mins or so, I picked up a pair of feet to draft. He was going roughly at the same speed, so with drafting, I was going super super easy. I made the turn-around of the first loop in 17 mins. After some time a faster guy passed me and I immediately shifted on his draft. I was now going steady effort, but the draft was helping. After loop 1, I lost my draft but very soon I found another one. I held onto his feet until after the turn-around when he decided to suddenly accelerate. I fell back and kept chugging the last 5 mins at steady effort. This was one of the most successful OW swims I ever had, with almost 70% of the time drafting. I was feeling pretty good and warmed up for the long day ahead. Also swim time was ~10 mins faster than goal time, so I was happy.
T1: 6:04
Again, quicker than I expected, and considering I had to put on the bike jersey, gloves and arm warmers. All the planning paid off. I switched off the 910XT and pressed Start on the Edge 500. Helmet on, goggles on, stuffed all remaining gear in the bag and handed it to the volunteer, and off on the bike.
Bike: 6:49:xx (Moving time: 6:29:xx)
Walked up the initial steep bump as most folks did at 70.3 couple of weeks ago. Started the bike super easy trying to get my HR below 140, but even after 15 mins at ~140W, HR was still hovering just over 140. Eventually settled in between 135-140 bpm except for intermittent surges while nutrition intake and short hills. It was overcast and cold on the bike and the arm warmers and gloves definitely helped. Solid nutrition went as per plan, but hydration got messed up.
- AidStation : Dist : Expected : Actual
- ------------------------------
----------- - Transition1 : 0mi : 00:00 : 00:00
- AidStation1 : 18mi : 1:04:00 : 1:00:15
- AidStation2 : 29mi : 1:42:00 : 1:37:14
- AidStation3 : 39mi : 2:18:00 : 2:14:13
- AidStation4 : 56mi : 3:18:00 : 3:14:27
- AidStation5 : 75mi : 4:25:00 : 4:21:11
- AidStation6 : 86mi : 5:04:00 : 5:01:16
- AidStation7 : 96mi : 5:39:00 : 5:40:59
- Finish : 112mi : 6:35:00 : 6:49:27
The above table compares my expected sub-splits for the bike with the actual timing. I was on-track till mile 96, but something went wrong after that. I averaged 13.8mph for the last 16 miles. Ugh. Throughout the ride, I was stopping to pee at every aid station, but towards the end I even stopped between the aid stations a few times. In addition I felt like my legs were seizing up, so decided to take it easy. I couldn't explain why this was happening. I would later find out that it was just the beginning of Hyponatremia, which caused me to drop out of the run. All in all, I peed 10 times on the bike! Whoa, that's outrageous. I was actually trying to follow coach's advice of not drinking too much, but with a combination of cold weather and being too paranoid about dehydration I ended up over-hydrating.
On the high side, I was feeling good all the way and was in aero position throughout. No back, neck, hip pain or any other issues, which means I have nailed the bike fit and doing planks + core workout regularly helped a lot.
T2: 9:20
It was a long transition as I took my own sweet time to stretch, put on TriSlide, fresh socks and shoes. Also used the port-a-potty. Yes. AGAIN!
Run: DNF - Dropped out at mile 15
As per my race plan, I walked all the hills and then some more. I was feeling pretty weak right from the beginning. I though I'd get in some Cola and fluids and will bounce back after a few miles. Hah! FLUIDS! Well, my condition kept getting worse. I got a few 11 min miles in there, but that was the fastest I could go. There was no cramping or injury or any such issue which I was actually more scared of going into the run. I was peeing at every aid station (every 1 mile.) After the turn-around of the second loop, I stopped at the mile 15 aid station and told the volunteer there that I wanted to drop out. He took good care of me until the official race vehicle came to transport me back to the finish. He also texted my wife to let her know that I will be in the medic tent. I chatted with the volunteers on the way back to the finish. They were a couple of teenagers who were part of the paid support crew.
The medic tent
It was actually in the high school gymnasium. The medic was very kind and attentive. He asked me to lie down on a cot and gave me a blanket as I was shivering a bit. He weighed me and shockingly, I was at 141.xx lbs, which is 7+ lbs overweight - all water weight. I typically hover around 133 lbs. My wife and daughter soon got there and I could clearly see the worried expression on my wife's face, which quickly morphed into relief when she saw I was OK. My daughter was excited to see me and gave me a kiss on the cheek which was more refreshing than any Cola I had on the run course. The medic wanted to keep me under watch for some time and asked to go to the restroom as often as I can. It's not like you can try such a thing, but I ended up going 5 times in the next hour, alternating with a highly concentrated salt pill.
There was a guy lying next to me who was dehydrated, but managed to finish. He had peed only 3 times during the whole day, compared to my record of 25! Every time I'd get up to go to the restroom, he'd throw his hands up the air. Poor guy had a bottle of water, juice and a smoothie, still nothing. I assured him he'd be alright and congratulated him that he still managed to finish. I was finally out of there by 9 PM and we drove back to the hotel.
Lessons learned
This actually deserves a separate post by itself, but the most important thing I learned was - drumroll - do not over-hydrate. Doh! Anyone can tell that. But in all seriousness, I learned that my hydration strategy during training was actually perfect. I felt strong on all transition runs after long 80+ mile bike rides even in hotter weather. Just because there is water available, doesn't mean you should drink it.
Overall it was a great experience and I have definitely learned a TON for my next IM.
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