FL Challenge 1/2 Ironman 1998 Report Page 2
E-mail Adam
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| Bike: On every bike ride out of the transition area I always gun it pretty fast to start then settle in and kick back a little. I had decided that last year I went entirely too fast on the bike in the early hilly part having no energy for the flats later. On the first 8 miles of flats I passed a bunch of people thinking, "They're going too slow, and "Gee, my HRM alarm must be stuck… it keeps beeping." "I'm probably going too fast." I said to myself, "After passing this person I'll slow down… no this person… no let me get that person… wait this guy is trying to catch up to me..." Aside from a few minutes, when I was eating, or easing off a bit on a technical downhill section, I spent the entire rest of the ride listening to my HRM alarm tell me I was an idiot and to slow down. Yes, I could have turned it off but, I thought the punishment was fair. I actually felt invincible! I was passing everyone. Throughout the entire bike not a single person passed me. On the steep hill climbs I did lay off a bit and not crush it like last year only to die out on the flats. There were some very dangerous, sharp, sandy and gravel laden turns that I was very worried about wiping out on. I saw flashes of me sliding across the pavement on my face. I was very conservative. I'm surprised that I did not see a single person wiped out. At the second water station I decided to accept some water. Let me say, I love race volunteers. The work and support they give the participants is tremendous. 99% of the time they always have a great attitude about it and do the best they can, and in this pouring rain they were fantastic. At this water station I am given a plastic water bottle; the kind you buy in the store with the sport pull top. I go to take a drink and notice it has the plastic safety seal on it. Great! At 25+ mph on my aerobars I tear it off with my teeth. I proudly pull the top open and… nothing. And now for my next act, I unscrew the top with my teeth and somehow manage to pull off the other safety seal. Henceforth, all water received on the bike would have to be dealt with in this manner. It kind of added to the challenge I guess. During a race I always like to have fun by chatting with other racers, talking about the weather and trying to make humorous comments. But, for some reason today people were just not into chit chat. So I gave up and just rode. I ate 2 halves of my Cliff Bar, and ended up drinking all 2 bottles of my Metabol II during the ride. My cycle-computer shorted out at about mile 16. I have had too many problems with this Cat-Eye. The race photographer took this shot of me. After the hilly section I had fears of bonking on the flat 25 mile loop. For the first 10 miles of it I was a little fatigued but OK. This 19 year old kid was hanging with me since the hilly section. He was a nice kid named Hugo from Brazil and ended up getting first in his age-group. We talked for about 15 miles. He also ended winning the Softride bicycle during the raffle at the awards ceremony. Good for him. At about mile 45 I got another burst of energy and just put the hammer down. I lost Hugo and just started to pass a bunch more people. I was flying past people like I was on a motorcycle. During the finish-line socializing many people were complaining of a headwind towards the end, but I honestly did not even notice, and headwinds usually always kill me. I do not know what got into me, but I couldn't believe it myself. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I had to go to the bathroom. I contemplated stopping to relieve myself, but decided to use it as inspiration. Bike Time: 2:31:43 4th in AG (22.1 mph average 15th fastest of the day) (Last year it was 20.8mph) Transition 2: Not concerned about my time and just wanting to have a healthy race I took my time on this one. On the way out I hit the Port-O-John. No TP! At least it was raining. My new plan on longer races is to carry my own large water-bottle and fill it up while running through every water-station. This worked great at Gulf Coast ˝ Ironman and again here. Transition 2 Time: 2:50 32nd in AG Run: This year I have not been a runner. Due to my ACL, or lack of, I have not been able to do any AT runs or speed work at all. I just go at a slow to medium pace the whole time. My plan was no different here; stay in a comfortable zone and protect the knee. On the run my HR did stay within the zone I set on the HRM and the alarm finally stopped going off. My knee was so bad lately that I have not run in about 5 days. On the way out of the transition area I caught up to a German guy Harold. We ran and chatted for the first 3 miles. I warned him about the big hill and told him I was going to walk it. I did, he decided to stay at his pace. He beat me to the top by about 20 yards and 8 seconds but spent many more heartbeats and energy than I. This would pay off later because I passed him at mile 6 after he slowed down. |
