" ... but I climbed that bitch!"

Joel’s post-race account of his first St. Croix Half-Ironman Triathlon

So the week leading up to the event we had great weather! It was in the 80s, sunny and very warm. The weather was deceivingly warm. Sitting on the beach under an umbrella there was a cool breeze that kept you pretty cool, but on the roads the sun was very oppressive and the air was humid. Regardless, I made sure that I was sufficiently hydrated by drinking A LOT of Gatorade/water. I would say I went through at least 3-4 Nalgenes of my water/Gatorade mix a day. Along with water at meals. Also, while sitting on the beach I would snack on pretzels and baked potato chips all day. I generally sat under the umbrella while sitting on the beach so not to dry me out, while drinking my share of fluids and snacking through out the day.

Thursday and Friday night, we had big ol’ pasta dinners along with snacking on carbs all day. So, I felt sufficiently carbed. I had a few low impact workouts during the week to get used to the terrain but nothing too taxing. I didn't wander over to The Beast but I got a good sense of what the bike had to offer by doing a few 30-45 minute bike rides around the island.

Now, on to the event! For the 6:30am start we had to meet in the lobby of the hotel at 4:00am to load the bikes and drive the 20 minutes up to the start. Not quite what I expected but it was fine. Woke up around 3:30am, had a coupla Eggos with peanut butter and some Gatorade. We got to the transition area by 5:00am and before setting up, I had a peanut butter sandwich while sipping on my Gatorade/water mix. 2 bathroom trips later, we had a roughly 200 meter swim to the island cay where the swim starts. A nice little warm up before the staggered 800 person start!

A nice little rain down pour preceded the start and by 6:37am the 30-35 age group was off! The ocean was extremely choppy and managed my way to the middle of the pack by the first buoy. It was kind of a mess as there was sooo many people vying for the inside part of the buoy while trying to site over the waves. After settling in a bit, I found the feet of somebody that was prolly the same speed as me and was swimming straight, so I decided to let this guy pull me in and have a nice leisurely swim. By the end of the swim, I felt great! The guy pulled my all the way to the end and I felt fresh and ready to go. I got outta the water after a 43 minute swim and off to T1.

After getting outta the water and looked at my watch, I was kinda bummed at a slow swim. But after talking with some folks after the race, it appeared that everybody had a tough and longer swim. So the fact I got outta the water feeling good, my 43 minute swim didn't seem so bad. It actually turned out to mid pack for the age group, so I was happy with it. Anyway, I got to my transition area, threw on my heart rate monitor, fumbled with my race shirt a bit and threw some pretzels and salt tabs in my shirt. Put on my shoes and helmet and headed for the street. The first lap through the middle part of the island was as expected, hill after hill. But the legs felt great and the sun hadn't quite fully risen yet so I wasn't overheating.

About half an hour into the bike, I reached for my salt tablets to preempt any cramps, but noticed they fell out of my shirt. I hadn't really trained that much using salt tablets so I didn't mind that much. My nutrition felt good at that point, so it didn't bother me. As I approached the base of The Beast (a 7/10 mile long hill with an 18% grade), the road started feeling rough. I looked at my rear tire and noticed it was flat! Trying not to get too frustrated, I pulled over and proceeded to change my tire. Changing a flat during training or in your garage is a lot easier than changing a tire during a race. Watching all these people pass you gets the heart going a little faster and you’re more prone to fumbling with the tire. I settled myself down and changed the flat. My CO2 cartridge seemed flakey and wasn't fully filling my tire so I started getting frustrated again. I figured I’d fill it up enough to get up The Beast and hopefully find somebody with another CO2 or at least ride it for another 30 miles! Anyway, I filled it prolly 3/4 full and headed up The Beast. At this point I said to myself, "There is no way I am getting off this bike during this climb. I am out of inner tubes and CO2s. If I flat out again, I am cooked for the day, so I gotta at least climb The Beast". At this point, the sun had made it out and was shining hard and heavy on The Beast. The Beast was as advertised, TOUGH! But I climbed that bitch! There were prolly 10-15 people I passed that were walking it, and only another girl that climbed it with me. At one point, she was on my wheel and asked me if she would get busted for drafting. At like a 15 rpm cadence, we both got a chuckle out of it.

After The Beast is a nice long descent with several sharp turns. Since my rear tire wasn't fully inflated I took the turns a little gingerly hoping the rear tire won't slip out. After about 10 or 15 minutes of riding I noticed the tire was loosing air. 2 minutes later it was flat again. Thanks for coming.

I was sitting at a highway intersection with a flat tire and no inner-tubes or CO2s left. There was highway patrol controlling traffic and they called in the pick up wagon. A few expletives later, I take off my helmet and watch all the riders past. There were definitely some friendly riders asking me if I was alright or if I needed anything but after explaining to them I was outta inner-tubes and CO2s, nobody was willing to part with their extras. Roughly 25 minutes later a pick up truck rolls up and proceeds to change my tire. "Mortimer, We're back!" My day wasn't over just yet! As I try to change my mindset from disappointment to the realization that I have another few hours of race to go, I remember that since the first flat, I haven't put a thing in my mouth. F!

In the last hour or so, I changed a flat, climbed The Beast and sun bathed on the side of the road while not eating or drinking a thing! Oh well, let's see what happens. I tried to supplement that loss by drinking lots of fluids and eating pretzels. Man, those salt tablets would have been nice...

For the next 30 minutes or so, I seemed to feel okay but my shorts looked like I dipped them in powdered sugar and my arms were caked in salt. Not a good sign. Good thing the course was still hilly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. With about 15 miles to go on the bike, I felt my quads starting to cramp. F! There were some still some steep hills to climb and with cramped legs, this last leg of the bike is gonna be long.

After 4 hours on/off the bike I get to T2. Not feeling so great I decide to see if my legs are up for the run. I tell Karen I'll do the first loop of the run and see how I feel.

Man it was hot on the run! The quad cramps turned into hamstring cramps and after an hour and fifteen minutes of run/walk in the sun and hills and a total race time of 6+ hours, I decided to pack it in. I was supposed to be done with the entire race around this time but I had 6 miles left on the run and nothing left in the legs.

All in all, I felt alright about the race. I am bummed I have a big'ol DNF by my name again but I definitely learned a lot from it. I am looking forward to Columbia in a coupla weeks and potentially another half at the end of the season. My biggest worry of this race was cramping and it happened. I am certain that the hour of dealing with flats contributed to the cramping, but I still don't know for certain if it would have happened anyway. I am pretty sure my nutrition was good up until the flats, but I know I wasn't prepared for that heat.

Anyway, it was fun and I am looking forward to getting better at this sport!

Joelio