“The possibility of physical and mental collapse is now very
real. No sympathy for the Devil, keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the
ride.” – Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and
Loathing in Las Vegas
If I had to do that over again, I’d have raced the exact same
way. I was/(am) confident enough in my training to ride the way I attempted to
on Sunday; at no point did I think to myself “Whoa, slow down bro, you’re going
way too hard”. However, every other minute I was thinking “Shoot, it’s hot as
hell out here, my only nutrition (water bottle) is air temp”, & “I could
really go for a cold pop & Snickers right now”. The only comforting factor
was that everyone in my wave had to put up with the same bologna. I hate
excuses so I’m not going to give any. Bottom line is I went hard and ran out of
energy 40ish miles into the bike. I did my best to pull myself together but it
never happened. I’m really not going to dwell on this race much, just take what
I can and move on. I know where my fitness is right now and it’s nothing near
what showed up on Sunday.
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| Such a good shirt on such a bad day. |
(Rant before I talk about the race)
Right… Frank Lowery (race director), you can plan on a fat “constructive
criticism” email from me soon. Really? Two years in a row, starting the 20-29yr
AG wave dead last..? Not only are we starting an hour and 30 minutes after the
pros & having to sit around in dirt and marinate in the sun until then, but
also, not allowed to go back into transition to drop off cold water bottles on
bikes after 6:25am. By the time our wave goes off, it’s a completely different
race. The bike and run courses are 10+ degrees hotter, who knows how much
windier the roads are, and not a cold water bottle is left at an aid-station. I
think I, legitimately, received 1 “cold” water bottle on the bike course (after
grabbing one at every aid station). I understand starting the older age groups (50,
60, 70+) earlier so they can finish sooner in the day, but why are you starting
the 30-34 year old men right behind the pros two years in a row? I’m confused
on the thinking here. Like I mentioned earlier, not using this as an excuse for
anything, everyone in my wave had to deal with it, but it was unreasonable to
do so again this year.
Sorry, I’m done bitching.
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| Ha, finisher pix.. more like dropout pix. |
And now, one of the shortest RR’s I’ve ever done.
Swim: Huge start wave. Asthma made an unwelcomed appearance
2-300 meters in. Came out in 29:04. Not stoked or sad about it, considering it
was non-wetsuit & in a poop flavored Jacuzzi.
Bike: I was “lights out” for around 40 miles, and then the
lights went out. Not exactly sure what place I was in at the time but I think
there was one guy in my wave ahead of me. A, blatant, 6-man team time trial of
20-29AGers passed by me some time shortly after my energy had abandoned my
body. Barely moving, I trundled into T2. 2:29
 |
| Credit: Mark Barber w/ the rare snap of me actually running |
Run: While my run attire may have been winning the hearts of high school girls volunteering at aid stations everywhere (notice: “my attire”.. not me), my pace wasn’t wining anything. Tried to make something happen on the 1st of 3 laps. While trotting on the brink of face-planting into some unsuspecting spectators, I was passed by a 60 year old man up the hill on my second lap; I then decided to call it quits and ambulate on in.
I doubt anyone, but a select few, would say they had a good
race. The course and conditions that Vegas offers doesn’t allow for many “good”
races to happen. I think it’s all relative though. When training, the times
will be different than what occurs in Vegas (or any other course), so it’s easy
to get down about what you should’ve done or are capable of. I’m not going to
start the “coulda/shoulda’s”. Racing isn’t supposed to be easy & few are
having fun while doing it, but when you finish and the pain fades, some sense
of “fun” or fulfillment happened racing; otherwise people wouldn’t keep doing
it. Again, I don’t think too many people looked back after that race and thought:
“That experience was totally welcomed and desirable”, but there should always
be something you take away from the race as a positive. I’m glad I went hard on
the bike (at least for as long as I could), and whether it was the heat, my
legs, or nutrition that failed me, I’ll learn from it.
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| burger & fries on a raft. |
On to the Superfrog in Coronado, September 30. Excited to redeem
myself at the ½ iron distance in two weeks time.. Excited to race so close to
home.. Excited to race in the Elite division against Lance Armstrong……
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