The day
prior to the race was filled with its usual anxiety, but by the time the alarm
went off on Saturday morning, I was ready to go. There was some concern about
the weather, but as the sun began to rise while we went through the pre-race
motions, it appeared any impending doom would remain at bay. Before I knew it,
transition was closing, and we were all headed to the beach for an on-time
start. This held right up until… the start time.
The first
wave was supposed to enter the water at 6:20, while I was slotted to start with
the other 30-34 y/o males at 6:45. However, 6:20 came and went with folks still
standing on the beach. Then all of the sudden kayaks started heading back to
shore – not what you want to see if you’re hoping to swim. A few minutes later
people started herding together and we were told that for the first time in the
32(!) year history of the event, there would be no swimming. Needless to say,
this was a major letdown, and I was about ready to just skip the race and play
in the waves.
In place
of the swim there was a TT start into a short beach run. I made the mistake of
taking off my wetsuit too early and stood wet and shivering. Not ideal. Finally
though I was off and up the beach, into transition, and out on my bike.
Heading out
with the tailwind was great, but I was having a hard time dialing in my effort
level after standing around on the beach for so long. I was hoping to get
splits every 5mi with the goal of staying under 13min per. This would put me on
pace for a 2:20 which, given my recent (lack of) training, I would’ve been pretty
happy with. Unfortunately there were only markers every 10mi, but when the
first one came just under 23min into the ride, I was feeling pretty good. Although
I was happy to have put time in the bank, I knew the first 5mi included a
pretty healthy tailwind which would be no fun on the return trip.
Shortly after
a BRO rode up on me, and I decided it was time to start racing. If I was going
to be doing this, I might as well get it over with as quickly as possible. A couple
of others joined us, and we slowly made our way through the field. (I am happy
to report we saw multiple officials along the way, and multiple penalties were dispensed.)
Once we
made the turn back south our split from mile 30 to 40 slowed, but was still
under 25min, so I was pleased. However, I was also starting to get some major
tightness in my gluts and hamstrings, likely due to the combination of lack of
training and recent switch to longer cranks.
The last
five miles were straight into a headwind and no fun at all, but I managed to
hold it together for a solid 2h17 ride. Needless to say, the new Trek SpeedConcept is pretty awesome.
I didn’t
feel great starting the run, but I’ve also certainly felt worse. My first
thought was that I sure was glad I only had to do it once! (IMFL is the same
course twice.) I quickly left the BROs I had been riding with and set out to
catch others up the road, specifically ladies and M25-29. First mile was 5:47,
and as long I was running under 6min pace, I was happy. I cruised along feeling
decent and trying to enjoy the day. I also knew it was all (figuratively) all downhill
once I left the park. At the turn, I only saw three guys (all 25-29) ahead of
me, but had no idea whether I was virtually in the lead or not. Once I left the
park I was keeping the pace in the 6:0xish range and feeling pretty good
(considering), but ready to be done. 10-11 was pretty rough, but by the time I reached
mile 12 it was all good, as I was pretty confident I’d get under 1h20, my rough
goal for this race.
Sure enough,
I finished in 1h19, and after a brief conversation with the 3 guys who crossed
the line ahead of me, I was pretty confident I’d finished with the fastest
time. Results confirmed this.
While I was
certainly bummed about the canceled swim, I was really pleased with the end result.
I had been wanting to race here since 2003ish but due to scheduling conflicts
had never been able to make it. So, it was really nice to be able to enjoy the
day and have a decent result. And, there was free beer immediately after the
race AND at the post race party that evening. What more could you want?
