It finally arrived...my last chance race for a Kona slot, and I felt race ready and very fit with my MAO training. There's something about the aura of the Lubbock race that really appeals to me...I think it's the great, down to earth race directors and the field of master's and grand master's Hawaii AG world champion athletes that always seem to make this a must do race each year. I think the young crowd doesn't view Lubbock as a "destination" race, so we see many fewer youngsters...but the one's there this year were top notch! This year was a particularly competitive one, with large numbers of former Hawaii AG world champs and ex-professional women competing for the coveted Kona slots. I didn't really know who my main AG competition was until Jerry (race announcer extraordinaire) spelled it out for me the night before the race...so much for avoiding pre-race nerves!
Race morning I was in great spirits. I said my little pre-race prayer asking God for the safety of all the racers, with of course the underlying main self-serving purpose of my need prayer...no mechanical breakdowns on the bike! Truthfully, I made the mistake of thinking...well, one flat might be okay...but no broken chains, frames, derailleurs, etc!
On to the race...
Swim: Now this was an interesting one! Watching the 1st wave go off (the pros), I laughed as they all ran to the edge of the water and just kept running in calf-deep water...for a long way...we're talking several hundred meters! I noticed that the runners definitely had an edge over the swimmers, so I figured I would be following suit, along with the vast majority of my AG competitors, and that's exactly what happened...in every wave. Apparently there was a cinder block buried somewhere along the way that sent several people into a water faceplant along the shore, so I was pretty cautious trekking along the shore behind the gals in my wave. After getting totally winded from running in knee-deep water, I was finally able to take the dive and begin the swim leg. I felt really good and felt like I was keeping a good pace, but found it very hard to find a good pair of feet. Fortunately, I finally found some in the last 6-700 meters and stayed with them the rest of the way...only later to discover they were the feet of my 40-44 AG competitor who would dominate later on the run. I felt fantastic getting out of the water. With all of the extra swim training I've done this year with MAO, the swim leg doesn't seem to deplete me at all.
Bike: I jumped onto my bike in a hurry and headed up the first 2 steep hills of the bike found within the first mile of the race. On that 2nd hill I was passed by that same gal who I would become familiar with later when she would fly by me on the run : (. I decided to just hang back a bit and see what kind of pace she was going to ride and also it helped keep me from going ballistic too early on. After about 5 miles (the perfect warm-up for me), I put the hammer down and dropped her and another gal that managed to pass me early on. I felt absolutely fantastic and was flying down the road and up the hills effortlessly and making up tons of time. I had a very healthy lead on all of my AG competitors by mile 40 of the bike when it happened...that strange feeling in your bars like there is no padding between you and the road. I looked down to discover my front tire was pancake flat as I crested the hill of the canyon. I couldn't believe it...but got to work right away to change the flat. I had a cheap spare tubular that had been folded up for about 4 years (i.e. the whole prestretch thing was history) with no glue on it either and I was a little worried that it would fail me. I whipped out my trusty #10 scalpel blade, chopped the $120 tire in half and ripped it off the rim of my nice new Zipp 404. Then I went to take off the valve extender, as it would be impossible to fill my spare without it. It was applied with a bit of lock-tight solution and boy did that stuff live up to it's name! I was cussing a bit as I kept trying to use my teeth to unscrew the darn thing from the valve...with mud flying everywhere as I was spinning this torn tire all over the place (did I mention it was raining and wet the whole time with no grip available?). After about 4 attempts, it finally looked like it was coming loose!...I was ecstatic. I kept prying it off with my teeth only to discover the entire inner part of the valve stem had come with it! Now I was a little annoyed : ). I tried the teeth thing again with the little valve thing to no avail. At that point, some other guy flatted about 50 feet behind me and said he was out of the race with his second flat (what's with all of the flats anyway!!). He offered me one of his valve extenders and I left him with mine (nothing that 2 pairs of pliers wouldn't fix!). He was my tri guardian angel for the day, as I was out of the race without that black chunk of metal. Then came stretching the cheap, ancient, glueless tire onto the rim...but I think I had superhuman strength at that time so it didn't take as long as usual. My CO2 cartridge actually worked, and I was off seconds later. I kept in mind that I probably shouldn't go too crazy on the last 16 miles, as I still had a 13 mile run to do, but I do think I took it a notch higher than I would have without the flat. So how long did I spend on the side of the road?? Well, I didn't know myself until I got home and downloaded my HR monitor data an hour ago. Looks like I wasted a minimum of 7 minutes with the tubular fiasco...but fortunately it wasn't 9 minutes (stay tuned for why...). AHR on the bike: 149 (incl. 7 min tire fight rest)
Run: I came into transition and noticed there still weren't many bikes around...a good sign, but figured there had to be some gals in my AG ahead of me with the long delay I had. I started my run with the best run legs I can remember in years. My first mile was a 7:30 and I was feeling comfortable at that pace, but then again, that mile didn't include any monster hills. I suffered some on the bigger hills, allowing myself to do my little hill running technique of 10 counts walking, 20 counts running up the steeper parts, while trying to take maximum advantage of the downhills. It was really hard to tell who was who on the run and where I was sitting in my age group, but one thing I knew for sure was that Peggy Yetman (the winner of our AG) definitely passed me between miles 4 and 5...and it was one of those where you ask yourself...am I running, or am I walking backwards? types of passes. She was flying...like Miranda Carfrae pace...really! I cruised along with some high points and low points, but the best part was miles 9-12. Now usually those are some of the hardest miles for me when I really slow down, but not this time. I actually managed to negative split this race (thanks Luis & Mark!), getting me to the line with a 1:42 half split (stellar for me in recent years). Now if only I could get back down to those 1:38's of my early triathlon days...maybe next year! I do seem to be getting faster with age. I finished the race in 5 hours flat and in 2nd place in the W40-44 division. I've done this race 3 times and every single time I've finished in 5 hours flat...but this time, I had an extra 7 minutes lost on the side of the road. To me, that means I'm still getting faster with age : ). I love that! AHR on the run (first half 154; last half 157)
Overall it was a fantastic day for me and with the exception of the flat, I had a perfect race and really had a blast! I thanked every volunteer and every policeman at every intersection, and they were all so great. I also really enjoyed racing with so many friends that I only get to see once in a blue moon when we happen to do the same races.
Oh...and that coveted Kona slot went to Peggy Yetman. However, there were a few slots
unaccounted for in other female divisions, making me first in line to get the first rolled down Ironman slot!! Whew!!! A happy ending to a fantastic day. As far as the 7+ minute time loss...Peggy Yetman beat me by NINE minutes (she ran a 1:27 half marathon!), so the flat didn't alter the outcome of the day...a thought that really made me happy, as losing a race from a mechanical is not the best feeling!
Until next time!
On to the race...
Swim: Now this was an interesting one! Watching the 1st wave go off (the pros), I laughed as they all ran to the edge of the water and just kept running in calf-deep water...for a long way...we're talking several hundred meters! I noticed that the runners definitely had an edge over the swimmers, so I figured I would be following suit, along with the vast majority of my AG competitors, and that's exactly what happened...in every wave. Apparently there was a cinder block buried somewhere along the way that sent several people into a water faceplant along the shore, so I was pretty cautious trekking along the shore behind the gals in my wave. After getting totally winded from running in knee-deep water, I was finally able to take the dive and begin the swim leg. I felt really good and felt like I was keeping a good pace, but found it very hard to find a good pair of feet. Fortunately, I finally found some in the last 6-700 meters and stayed with them the rest of the way...only later to discover they were the feet of my 40-44 AG competitor who would dominate later on the run. I felt fantastic getting out of the water. With all of the extra swim training I've done this year with MAO, the swim leg doesn't seem to deplete me at all.
Bike: I jumped onto my bike in a hurry and headed up the first 2 steep hills of the bike found within the first mile of the race. On that 2nd hill I was passed by that same gal who I would become familiar with later when she would fly by me on the run : (. I decided to just hang back a bit and see what kind of pace she was going to ride and also it helped keep me from going ballistic too early on. After about 5 miles (the perfect warm-up for me), I put the hammer down and dropped her and another gal that managed to pass me early on. I felt absolutely fantastic and was flying down the road and up the hills effortlessly and making up tons of time. I had a very healthy lead on all of my AG competitors by mile 40 of the bike when it happened...that strange feeling in your bars like there is no padding between you and the road. I looked down to discover my front tire was pancake flat as I crested the hill of the canyon. I couldn't believe it...but got to work right away to change the flat. I had a cheap spare tubular that had been folded up for about 4 years (i.e. the whole prestretch thing was history) with no glue on it either and I was a little worried that it would fail me. I whipped out my trusty #10 scalpel blade, chopped the $120 tire in half and ripped it off the rim of my nice new Zipp 404. Then I went to take off the valve extender, as it would be impossible to fill my spare without it. It was applied with a bit of lock-tight solution and boy did that stuff live up to it's name! I was cussing a bit as I kept trying to use my teeth to unscrew the darn thing from the valve...with mud flying everywhere as I was spinning this torn tire all over the place (did I mention it was raining and wet the whole time with no grip available?). After about 4 attempts, it finally looked like it was coming loose!...I was ecstatic. I kept prying it off with my teeth only to discover the entire inner part of the valve stem had come with it! Now I was a little annoyed : ). I tried the teeth thing again with the little valve thing to no avail. At that point, some other guy flatted about 50 feet behind me and said he was out of the race with his second flat (what's with all of the flats anyway!!). He offered me one of his valve extenders and I left him with mine (nothing that 2 pairs of pliers wouldn't fix!). He was my tri guardian angel for the day, as I was out of the race without that black chunk of metal. Then came stretching the cheap, ancient, glueless tire onto the rim...but I think I had superhuman strength at that time so it didn't take as long as usual. My CO2 cartridge actually worked, and I was off seconds later. I kept in mind that I probably shouldn't go too crazy on the last 16 miles, as I still had a 13 mile run to do, but I do think I took it a notch higher than I would have without the flat. So how long did I spend on the side of the road?? Well, I didn't know myself until I got home and downloaded my HR monitor data an hour ago. Looks like I wasted a minimum of 7 minutes with the tubular fiasco...but fortunately it wasn't 9 minutes (stay tuned for why...). AHR on the bike: 149 (incl. 7 min tire fight rest)
Run: I came into transition and noticed there still weren't many bikes around...a good sign, but figured there had to be some gals in my AG ahead of me with the long delay I had. I started my run with the best run legs I can remember in years. My first mile was a 7:30 and I was feeling comfortable at that pace, but then again, that mile didn't include any monster hills. I suffered some on the bigger hills, allowing myself to do my little hill running technique of 10 counts walking, 20 counts running up the steeper parts, while trying to take maximum advantage of the downhills. It was really hard to tell who was who on the run and where I was sitting in my age group, but one thing I knew for sure was that Peggy Yetman (the winner of our AG) definitely passed me between miles 4 and 5...and it was one of those where you ask yourself...am I running, or am I walking backwards? types of passes. She was flying...like Miranda Carfrae pace...really! I cruised along with some high points and low points, but the best part was miles 9-12. Now usually those are some of the hardest miles for me when I really slow down, but not this time. I actually managed to negative split this race (thanks Luis & Mark!), getting me to the line with a 1:42 half split (stellar for me in recent years). Now if only I could get back down to those 1:38's of my early triathlon days...maybe next year! I do seem to be getting faster with age. I finished the race in 5 hours flat and in 2nd place in the W40-44 division. I've done this race 3 times and every single time I've finished in 5 hours flat...but this time, I had an extra 7 minutes lost on the side of the road. To me, that means I'm still getting faster with age : ). I love that! AHR on the run (first half 154; last half 157)
Overall it was a fantastic day for me and with the exception of the flat, I had a perfect race and really had a blast! I thanked every volunteer and every policeman at every intersection, and they were all so great. I also really enjoyed racing with so many friends that I only get to see once in a blue moon when we happen to do the same races.
Oh...and that coveted Kona slot went to Peggy Yetman. However, there were a few slots
unaccounted for in other female divisions, making me first in line to get the first rolled down Ironman slot!! Whew!!! A happy ending to a fantastic day. As far as the 7+ minute time loss...Peggy Yetman beat me by NINE minutes (she ran a 1:27 half marathon!), so the flat didn't alter the outcome of the day...a thought that really made me happy, as losing a race from a mechanical is not the best feeling!Until next time!
