Earlier in the week the forecast called for 95 degrees. I'm not sure if that would have been worse than the T-storms that passed through during the race. It was raining on the drive out to Rockford but nothing major. I'd covered my seat and handle bars with plastic bags when I racked my bike the day before. I also had to use bungee cords to keep my bike from banging against the racks due to the heavy winds on Saturday. The rain had stopped by the time I got to transition on Sunday morning. We had to park outside Rock Cut State Park and walk about 1/2 a mile to transition. Usually that's not a big problem but when you're carrying your bag full of race "accessories" it can get heavy. Especially with full water bottles. As we waded into the water for the start the weather looked like it was going to cooperate. But it was just fooling with us.
This was my second mass swim start. I stayed back to avoid being swam over. The swim was two loops in a triangle shape. It was pure chaos at the first turn. I was off track to the inside and had to move across the flow of swimmers to get around the buoy. That’s a quick way to get your heart rate up. On the way to the second buoy we went through a patch of weeds that made breathing difficult since I wasn't really interested in eating them. On the second loop I tried to stay in the deeper water and avoided most of the weeds. My swim time was only a few minutes slower than my best time last year. And I was treating this as a training race so I felt good about it.
As usual I had some difficulty in T1. My wetsuit got stuck on my left heel. I almost fell over trying to get it loose. But I took my time knowing the real challenge lay ahead of me on the bike. The course was an out and back, mostly flat except for a few miles of rollers within the first and last 10 miles. The wind was pretty rough out in the open farmland roads. It was blowing between 15-20 mph. Most of the time it was a cross or a head wind. I tried to focus on staying comfortable knowing it was only a matter of time before my back started to spasm. I made it further than I expected before that familiar feeling of a slowly closing vice on my sacrum. I did my best to stretch while riding but as usual nothing really helped. I knew there was a port-a-pottie at the turn around so I decided when I got there I'd take a leek and stretch my back. I figured it was a small price to pay for some comfort on the way back. I think I lost maybe 3-4 minutes total. But then the wind was at my tail and I hammered the first few miles back pushing just over 30mph (something I never do). It wasn't long before I started to see the lightning on the horizon. I was hoping it was heading in the other direction but no such luck. The first rain drop found it's way past the top of my sunglasses and right into my eye. And then all it's big brothers came down in buckets. Due to the basic danger involved I usually avoid training in the rain. So this was new territory for me. I took it easy on the few turns on the course and just tried to keep my speed up. But the wind picked up and the gust were insane. My wife said they were making announcements at the park that the cell was producing 60mph gusts. The rain was like someone throwing a handful of needles at you. I started to feel like I was standing still trying to push through the wind. I wasn't sure how close the lightning was. At one point I was ready to bail and hide under the front porch of a farm house. But just then I saw someone out of the corner of the eye. It was a volunteer. I'd made it back to the first aid station and the volunteers were still standing out there suffering through the weather just like I was. I knew I couldn’t stop now. If they were willing to support me then I was willing to continue racing. The rain soon let up. I think concentrating on holding on for dear life helped my back because it wasn't bothering me at all. When I made it back to the rollers, there were streams of water and huge puddles in the valleys. Talk about adding some rolling resistance to the tires. The best part about the storms was the temperature drop. Just when it was starting to creep up to 80 degrees the storms rolled in and dropped the temp back down to 70. And thankfully the humidity was low or it could have become really steamy out there.
During the last 10 miles I came to a comfortable position on the bike. As long as I stayed in the aero position my back was ok. If I tried to rise up into the hooks on the rollers my back would spasm. So I stayed aero and held my breath hoping that would continue to feel ok. By the time I was three miles from the park I was mostly dried off from the wind. Of course that meant it had to start raining again. It came down pretty steady and my wife didn’t see me bike into transition. She was huddled under a small picnic shelter with a large group of other spectators. She was very happy I had suggested she bring a poncho. I know it was rough for me on the course for near six hours but I can’t imagine just standing around waiting in that weather for a few glimpses of the person you are there to cheer.
Obviously as I entered T2 I had to pee again. That took 2-3 minutes off my time. But once again well worth it. Running with a full bladder is not fun. I'd placed my towel over my running shoes which was pointless since everything was completely soaked. Surprisingly the blisters from the run weren't too bad even with wet shoes. The rain stopped within the first 2 miles of the run and thankfully held off for the rest of the race. The run was through Rock Cut. I'm familiar with the roads and trails from the winter trail race series. It would have been a much different run on those muddy sloppy trails. But the course stayed on the main road and the paved bike paths through the park. It really made for a beautiful run. There were a few hills within the first two miles, a couple rollers in the middle and two really tough hills in the last mile. Other than that it was flat and I cruised comfortably. I always feel great on the run. My legs and back loosen up quickly and I'm just happy to be off the bike. The right scenery helps too. The race was supported by Hammer nutrition so that made things real easy. I didn’t have to carry any Heed or gels or enduralytes. They had it all on the course. From the beginning of the run I started to pass people. I lost count somewhere in the 30's. I just picked them off one by one. It's just another sign that my bike or swim or both still need work. In the end I was only passed by one other athlete around mile 7. The last 5k was difficult. I wasn't that tired but after a long day it's tough to keep pushing yourself. Mentally it's easy to lose focus and start to slow down without realizing it. I tried to check my Garmin often to keep my pace up but the trees in the park were thick and interfering with the GPS signal. My run split was about 10 minutes slower than the 1/2 Mary PR from three weeks ago and 14 minutes faster than my best 70.3 last year (which had a lot more hills).
Arthur Miles
bib number: 706
age: 34
gender: M
location: Tower Lakes, IL
overall place: 137 out of 278
division place: 17 out of 33
gender place: 119 out of 215
time: 5:52:19
pace: 0:
swim: 43:34
trans 1: 2:50
bike: 3:16:47
trans 2: 1:37
run: 1:47:33
penalty: 0:
The feeling of relief as I crossed the finish line was only matched by my feeling of hunger. I immediately headed for the food. Banana, potato chips, grapes, and a Mountain Dew. I had to have my wife hold it because I knew I was eating too much too quickly. As I walked around and tried to stretch my wife and I exchanged storm stories. It was a crazy day but the police and weather service never advised the race director to stop the race. So in the end I'm grateful to have come out ok and feeling confident with my performance. Less wind and rain and who knows how much time I'll take off my bike split. This was a great prep for the race season and The Spirit of Racine in July. Next up this weekend is the Horribly Hilly Hundred (100k)… BIKE LIKE A VIKING!! Should be great practice for Ironman.
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