This was my third time to do this race in Panama City Beach, Florida. In 2006, it was my first half ironman, and in 2008 it was a victory lap of sorts, racing just 4 weeks after IMAZ on little to no training during that period.
2006 and 2008 were completely different races for me, and 2009 was yet another completely different race. There was no pressure whatsoever in 2008 - I had no expectations other than a fun weekend at the beach. This year, I am six weeks out from IMCDA and this race was both a training day and a chance to get some idea of where I am. The hard work was not over after this race, as I have my 3 hardest training weeks between now and my taper.
We left Houston Thursday afternoon, stayed in Pensacola Thursday night, and got to PCB around lunchtime on Friday. It was hot and windy, no question about it. Staying at the Boardwalk Condos is soooo nice because everything is right there and you don't have to drive anywhere. We also made a good decision to cook most of our meals at the condo instead of having to go out for food - that took a lot of stress out of meal time.
Jon looks happy to be with me....
Shellie, me, WilliamSaturday morning came bright and early, and the ocean was already wide awake by the time we stepped foot on the beach. I did not like the look of it at all, but knew I had no choice whatsoever about swimming in it, so I just left it at that and really did not worry much more about it. I have swam there twice before in bad conditions and lived to tell about it, and this time around would be no different.
Other than getting kicked in the chin and punched in the head, the swim was what I would have expected on a day like that. I did not look at my watch until I was out of the water and was pleasantly surprised to see the time. I knew it was right around the same as last year, and again felt like I had been out there over an hour.
2009 swim time - 37:52
2008 swim time - 38:19
T1 was long and lovely, as usual. Running up the beach is not the easiest thing to do, but I kept at it. I stopped right before the showers and peeled my wetsuit off with little trouble (no strippers at this race - we were on our own). As I got to my bike I started to feel very nauseous and almost puked all over transition, but again it was mind over matter and I moved my thoughts elsewhere -no time or place to be puking.
2009 T1 - 3:02
2008 T1 - 2:59
(I think my bike was in a slightly better spot last year....or I ran through the bushes to get to it...this year they had the bushes blocked off so you had to go around)
I got going on the bike and the lovely mystery noise that came about on my Wednesday night ride with my race wheels was in full force. I was so mad because I couldn't figure out what it was Wednesday and I was going to have to listen to it for 56 miles. Something on the front wheel is rubbing somewhere. Fun times. It took me a while to settle down and figure out where the wind was coming from and what to expect. I was cruising after about 13 miles in, when we turned north on highway 79. The next stretch was the best part of the course - tailwind and good road surface meant hanging out at 23 mph without too much effort. Of course the higher my speed with a tail wind, the more I worry about what is to come on the way back. I knew I had averaged 18.5 mph last year and had hoped to do something similar this year, but really had no idea what to expect, especially after a dismal bike ride at the Lonestar quarter. The road surface got bad somewhere around mile 20-25, and the turn around was at mile 30, so I knew that meant 10-20 miles of bad surface. The good was awesome and the bad was not so awesome. My new adamo ISM seat was not working out so great either. After the turn around, and into the head wind, my spirit faded fast. I felt like I was sitting on a cinder block and every bump or bounce sent shockwaves through my body. I was getting nauseated and losing my breath over the pain from my stupid seat. I kept looking to see if my heart rate was spiking and it was staying level, and relatively low, so it was the seat, not my effort, that was making me feel like I could not breathe. Jon passed me just before mile 40 and I was yelling to him trying to tell him my sob story about my seat and I think everyone else around me heard it but him. Oh well, that figures. I was pretty miserable the last 20-25 miles of the bike, but mostly from my seat and not from actually riding. I was happy to hit Front Beach road as I knew there were just 6-7 miles to go, and that I had some sort of a wind at my back. The high rise condo buildings make the wind swirl in some places which stinks, but for the most part it was ok.
2009 bike time - 3:01:15
2008 bike time - 3:01:28
T2 was uneventful - my bike rack was relatively close to the run out, so that was nice. I was not so happy when I came back to find a wetsuit hanging over the bike rack right where my bike was supposed to go. Just because a bike was not there when you (whoever you are...) got in from your swim does not mean one wasn't there before and doesn't have to be put back there when I get back in from my ride! Who does that? You are not supposed to move other people's stuff, so when someone puts their stuff in your spot, you are left in a bind in a triathlon. If you move it, you risk getting a penalty, but if you put your stuff somewhere else you also risk getting a penalty. Grrr..... Needless to say I took the wetsuit off the rack and threw it on the ground with one hand, while holding my bike with the other, then proceeded to put my bike where it belonged.
2009 T2 - 1:44
2008 T2 - 1:45
The run...oh, the run. Once again, I found myself on my feet and running 3 hours and 45 minutes into my race. That meant all tat stood between me and a sub-6 half ironman was a 2:15 half marathon. Easy, right? Apparently not. Last year I was in the same exact place, but knew about a mile into the run that it was not going to happen, and I was perfectly fine with that. Funny thing...this year I knew at about the same point again that it was not going to happen. Last year it was (at least I thought) because I had barely run in the four weeks before the race. This year I know it was because of the heat. It was scorching by 10:30 in the morning, the next 2-2.5 hours were only going to get hotter and hotter. I also laughed as I thought to myself that everything I have read about POTS says I should avoid the heat as I'm highly intolerant. Nice. Then I got that thought out of my head too and was not going to use POTS as an excuse, because even if I did not have POTS, the heat was going to be awful. The miles slowly passed by and things were not getting really any better or worse, which was ok. I was just hot. I moved to plan B somewhere in the state park, aka "Hell" and started running 2 minutes/walking 1 minute and proceeded to do this for the second half of the run. It was certainly not the original plan, but it was working and I stuck with it. I was running around a 9 something pace when I was running, so my overall pace was staying well under 12:00 min/mile. I had mentally prepared myself all along this time for a 13.4 mile course as opposed to a 13.1 mile course. They fooled me twice and I was not going to be the fool again. I calculated the time all along based on the fact that I had to run .3 miles longer than advertised. I saw several friends along the course and no one looked great and no one looked like they were dying, so I guess we were all in the same boat. I started to feel a sense of relief just after mile 11 when I knew I could continue at that pace or a bit faster as I headed for home. I knew I would have a PR, but was not quite sure by how much.
I ended up finishing strong and feeling good...still hot of course.
2009 run time - 2:28:03
2008 run time - 2:32:14
2009 overall time: 6:11:54 (18/38 age group, 107/303 OA females)2008 overall time: 6:16:42 (37/64 age group, 183/389 OA females)
Most of our group from HoustonOn a day like that, I will totally take it. I will go under 6 hours one day - I know I am capable of doing it, just not on a 90+ degree day on the Gulf Coast, or six weeks out from an Ironman. I took a step back and looked at my race after finishing it, and I am very, very happy with the results. Had I not been so sick recently, I might have had a little different thought, but I still PR'd, which is good on any day. I was able to swim, bike, and run faster this year on a hotter, windier day than last year. Last year I was in about as sweet of a place as they come - four weeks after an Ironman...very well rested but still in shape. This year I am nothing close to well rested and am still working on the in shape part.
That's hot...
Comments