On Saturday the day before the race, seeing that I didn't have to commit a whole day to packet pickup and bike drop off, I was able to spend the day with Sara and Finn. I started out the morning with a 45 minute ride and 15 minute run. I felt a bit frisky out there - went hard for the first 5 miles of the ride and had to make myself chill out on the last 10. My run ended up being a 2 miler at 7:30 pace - a little faster than I intended, but it just felt right. After my tune-up workout, we decided to spend our Saturday apple picking. It turns out that Apple Crest Farms in Hampton Falls, NH had a festival going on. Seeing that we were at a farm, you would think I would still be surrounded by healthy people and getting that pre-race energy - you know being around a bunch of people that eat fruit and vegetables.... Completely the opposite. There were so many unhealthy people there it was amazing. Everyone was walking around eating ice-cream and donuts and almost no one chomping on an apple. Wake up America..... In full disclosure the apple pie and ice-cream was awesome, but I was racing 70.3 miles the next day and we did bring home a boat load of apples….
I always say that the night’s sleep before the race doesn't mean a thing. It is the night before that matters. I think Finn may have heard me say this out loud. He actually passed out around 8 PM, but Sara and I decided to watch a movie instead of hitting the hay early. Well, we checked him at 10:15 right before were going to go to sleep and he was in serious need of a changing. I'm talking a two person tag team wipes up the back type of changing. Just when we get him all cleaned up, he is laying there naked and his fire hose goes off. He got me, Sara, and his own hair. There was no more debating, he needed a full on bath. By the time we got to bed it was 11 and I had 5 hours of sleep coming to me at best. Those 5 hours included lots of tossing / turning, and not much sleeping. Oh well, 4 AM came and it was time to get up and go to work.
Breakfast was a little coffee, bagel with PB and cream cheese, fiber one pop tart, and 2 bananas. I arrived at transition pretty early and had plenty of time to get racked up and chat with some of my friends that were racing.
6:45 pre-race instructional meeting was followed a moment of silence for Sept. 11th and the national anthem. Elite's went off at 7:00 and men 39 and under went off at 7:01. The swim start was on the beach and at the start signal we ran into the water and were off. There was a lot of contact in the first few minutes. At one point I went to breathe on my right side and someone's hand ended up in my mouth. After a few minutes things settled in and I found some clear water. At one point there was a guy on my left that kept swimming into me even though there was plenty of water for him to swim next to me. After 7 strokes of getting wacked by this guy, I finally gave him a shove - enough buddy. After that, the rest of the swim was incident free. I exited the water in 30:45 – 1:27 minutes per 100 yards.
T1 included a run up the GIANT hill to the transition area. 2 minutes and 38 seconds later I was on my bike.
The bike course was enjoyable. I pushed fairly hard from the get go. At the 26 mile mark, I was on pace to go under 2:30. The wind picked up on the second half and I’m sure I fatigued a bit. I passed a few folks and a few folks passed me. I was surprised when a few elites passed me on the bike, I must have out swam them. Finished the bike in 2:34:54 – 21.7 MPH.
T2 was uneventful. Saw my buddy Jeremy Fletcher who was telling me that I had a sub 5 wrapped up, just need to settle into the run. 1 minute 8 seconds later, my visor was on and I was heading out for the half mary.
6:45 pre-race instructional meeting was followed a moment of silence for Sept. 11th and the national anthem. Elite's went off at 7:00 and men 39 and under went off at 7:01. The swim start was on the beach and at the start signal we ran into the water and were off. There was a lot of contact in the first few minutes. At one point I went to breathe on my right side and someone's hand ended up in my mouth. After a few minutes things settled in and I found some clear water. At one point there was a guy on my left that kept swimming into me even though there was plenty of water for him to swim next to me. After 7 strokes of getting wacked by this guy, I finally gave him a shove - enough buddy. After that, the rest of the swim was incident free. I exited the water in 30:45 – 1:27 minutes per 100 yards.
T1 included a run up the GIANT hill to the transition area. 2 minutes and 38 seconds later I was on my bike.
The bike course was enjoyable. I pushed fairly hard from the get go. At the 26 mile mark, I was on pace to go under 2:30. The wind picked up on the second half and I’m sure I fatigued a bit. I passed a few folks and a few folks passed me. I was surprised when a few elites passed me on the bike, I must have out swam them. Finished the bike in 2:34:54 – 21.7 MPH.
T2 was uneventful. Saw my buddy Jeremy Fletcher who was telling me that I had a sub 5 wrapped up, just need to settle into the run. 1 minute 8 seconds later, my visor was on and I was heading out for the half mary.
As I started the run I saw Paul Cavanaugh pull into transition. I knew that fast dude would soon be reeling me in, but I figured I’d make him earn it. Surprisingly, I settled right in for the run. I was out towards the front of the race, so it was pretty lonely out there for the first few miles. Eventually I saw some of the elites including the race leader making their way back. Around mile 6, I was caught by a guy in my age group that told me his hamstrings were cramping. I had some extra salt pills that I gave him and I think he eventually passed me. There were three turnarounds in the run, so you got to see lots of runners going by in the opposite direction. I saw a bunch of friends out there – Jason, Derek, Matthew, Peter to name a few – as well as some friends cheering. Of course at every turn around I could see Paul getting closer and closer to me – I felt like Chris Lieto waiting for the eventual pass by Crowie in Kona. After 11 miles, I was caught. Paul ran with me for about a mile or so, but he had more reserves and I told him not to slow down for me. There is a painful hill right at the end, but the sounds of the finish line helped me to power through it. As I came around towards the finisher shoot I saw Jeremy and Jeff Donatello. They said something about how I was smashing my 5 hour goal and I responded with something that included an F-bomb – I’m sorry to the parents and kids that were cheering and overheard that. When I crossed the line, I had absolutely nothing left in the tank. Run time was 1:40:08 – 7:38 minutes per mile. This was only 2 minutes and 40 seconds slower than my current standalone half marathon.
Nutrition:
- 1 Hammer Gel before the swim, 3 on the bike and 1 on the run
- 2 Salt Stick tables at the start of the bike, 1 hour, 2 hour, and middle of the run
- 500 Calories of liquid nutrition on the bike (drank about 3/4's of it) - 3 scoops of carbo pro and 1 scoop of Hammer HED
Final Results:
- 4:49:35
- 44th overall out of 349 finisher – (42nd if you exclude the two relay teams that beat me)
- 7th out of 25 in my age group
- PR’s all around for the half distance.
Sara and Finn weren’t able to make it to the race, so that was a bummer. I told them all of the gory details of the race when I got home and a cheeseburger never tasted as good as it did that evening….
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| Finn hanging at the apple picking festival |
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| My girlfriend all dressed up the night before the race |
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| Transition before the race |
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| My little spot in transition... All setup and ready to rock. |
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| A view of the pond from the top of the hill. That hill is steeper than it looks |
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| Reward from a hard effort... A juicy all natural burger... |
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| And desert to boot.... Grilled peaches and vanilla ice-cream. |
