On Sunday June 10, 2012, the Ironman Kansas 70.3 triathlon took place at Clinton Lake, KS, just outside of Lawrence, KS (home of the Jayhawks). I was one of the 1500 athletes partaking in the sufferfest festivities that day. The forecast for the day called for a hot and windy race, and expectations were literally blown away...
Pre-Race:
Rach and I decided to camp out at Clinton Lake on Saturday to shorten our commute on race morning. We had a great shaded spot right on the run course, and Jon decided to pitch a tent for the night, as well. It was pretty great, camping with triathletes all around.
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| We are quite outdoorsEEE |
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| KU Tri Club Represent! |
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| Yeah, found instagram... @Youngenough2tri |
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| Air mattress/pool floaty |
That night was the worst "sleep" I've ever had. I may have slept an hour. Normally, I have a hard time sleeping before a race, but I can usually get 4-5 solid hours of rest. That wasn't the case. All I could think about was the 70.3 miles that I would be doing, and noticing the wind pick up. I kept glancing at my watch, seeing the time get closer and closer to my 4:30am wake-up, while the wind got stronger and stronger.
Eventually, I just got up and headed to set up T2. Ironman Kansas was a 2 transition race, meaning that you have two separate transition spots. I set up my running shoes, EFS Liquid Shot Flask, and hat in T2, then headed down to T1 for the bike and nutrition set up. Everything was good to go by 6:00, and I just sat around with Rach and waited.
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| T2 |
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| T1: Unbelievable how much money is here... |
One thing that should be said was the wind had only picked up. There were 2-3 foot swells throughout the lake, once you looked past the cove. I had a hard time spotting some of the course markers because of the waves. There was a flag on the boat ramp near the swim exit that looked like it was about to rip apart.
I was out of my mind scared. I honestly don't know if I've ever been as intimidated by anything in my life. All I could think about was the wind, knowing that this was about to be the hardest swim of my life, and an even more difficult bike ride. I was psyching myself out. I questioned whether my training was enough. Did I get enough miles? Should I change my pacing/nutrition? I couldn't eat anything. I was sick to my stomach.
As time got closer to my 7:07am start time, I got sicker and sicker. I couldn't breathe. All I could see were the waves out past the starting cove, all I could hear was the crashing on the beach. Eventually it was my turn. I got in the water to swim the 50 meters to the start line, and began treading water, struggling to stay in position as the waves battered myself and the other 113 people in my age group.
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| Swim Start |
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| Game time. Holy $h%t |
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| My swim wave! |
Swim:
At 7:07am, the gun went off, and all of my anxiety went away. I could breathe, I could move. In the massive amount of group thrashing, I remained untouched. It was the cleanest start I've ever had in an OWS start. I immediately got in a groove, and found a group to draft with. The waves were absolutely brutal once we left the little cove where we started, but they made me focus on the task at hand, instead of thinking how bad the bike and run "could" be.
The "out" segment of the rectangular course went incredibly smoothly, and I never once felt uncomfortable. As soon as we got to the cross section, the group I was drafting in disappeared, and we were hitting the 3 foot waves head-on. The cross section may have only been 100 meters, but it seemed to take forever. Eventually, we turned and headed back to shore.
The return trip was much more difficult, as the waves were pushing me easily off course. I usually site every 6 strokes, but I was needing to site after 2 strokes. It was hard to get in a groove, and I kept having to zigzag around buoys. I stuck with it, again never really feeling out of control and untested, and eventually found my way to the swim exit.
My overall time was much slower than I anticipated, but considering the conditions, I was very pleased.
Time: 42:12
Distance: 1.2 miles
Pace: 2:00/100y
AG: 29/113
T1:
I had a pretty long run to my bike rack, but once I found it, I began getting ready for the bike. I put on my HR monitor, struggled with my tri top, slipped the shoes on, and slowly jogged my bike to the bike mount. There was quite a bit of traffic in my row, so I slowed down a bit. I could care less about my transition times for this race.
Time: 3:07
Bike:
Holy hell, wind.... I started out of transition easy, and kept the pace easy for the first 10 miles. The course itself is rolling, until about miles 36-40 were there is a brutal stretch of hills, and a massive hill at mile 50. I had ridden the course on a windy day, so I knew what to expect. Turns out, today was much worse.
People were getting blown all over the road. During the ride, I saw one lady get blown off the road, 1 guy with a disc wheel get blown across the bike lanes, and a few wrecked riders. It was scary windy, especially on the downhills with a crosswind. It was the first time I've ever braked while riding downhill in a race. I couldn't stay in the aerobars for fear of losing control.
The worse stretch were miles 36-40, which happened to be the hilliest stretch of the course. To make it even worse, we were heading straight into a 30mph headwind. I think I was averaging 9 mph during this stretch. My legs were killing me, but eventually I turned around and had the wind at my back and cruised back to T2. The hill at mile 50 was brutal, but knowing I was so close to starting the run was enough motivation to get over it. I wasn't that happy with my bike split, as I was planning on being done about 10-12 minutes faster, but I wasn't planning on riding in a hurricane....
Time: 3:19:14
Distance: 56 miles
Pace: 16.9 mph
AG: 66/113
T2:
No flying dismount for me. I took it real slow.... Walked my bike to the rack, had to move someone's bike from my spot, and then slipped into my run shoes. This was my first moment realizing how the 90 degree heat felt....
Time: 2:02
Run:
I felt the heat immediately stepping onto the asphalt main road. I felt like I found my running legs fairly quickly, and maintained a 9:00 pace for the first 3 miles (which was the plan), taking in EFS shots and water at aid stations, and dousing myself with water. My pace began falling soon after, and the heat started catching up.
At mile 7, the cramping started when my hamstrings seized up. I had to stop every 100 feet of running to stretch them out. After about 5 times, the leg cramps went away.
I avoided walking (other then aid stations) till mile 9, where everything was in lock down mode. I felt like I was on the verge of either cramping, throwing up, passing out, etc. At mile 10, I was in pure survival mode, making deals with myself to "run to the next cone and then walk," taking in cola and shoving ice down my shorts (worked like a charm).
All the campers were along the run course, which was amazing! I got to see my family at least 6 times!!! It was very uplifting to see them, and got my mind off of how thrashed my legs were.
Eventually, I stumbled my way across the Yellow Brick Road Finish Line, and tried not to cramp crossing the finish line....
Time: 2:24:29
Distance: 13.1 miles
Pace: 11 min/mile (haha, not a joke...)
AG: 61/113
Overall:
This was, without a doubt, the hardest thing I've done. The course itself is incredibly demanding, and when you added the wind and heat, it made for a sufferfest. The overall pro winner said that it was the worst race conditions he's ever raced in. I also heard from our camp neighbor, who said he's completed over 30 70.3s, that it was the hardest race he's ever done. This makes me feel pretty good, mainly because I thought it was hard as hell, and it was my first one.... It's all uphill from here!
My time goal I was shooting for was 5:50:00, in good race conditions. I was nowhere near this time goal, but I really can't believe I finished. After the race, I found out that over 400 people didn't finish (out of 1500), including almost 100 from the swim alone.
The race was world-class, and was the best race experience I've ever had. I fully recommend this to anyone looking for a challenging 70.3, or your first Half Ironman. I will definitely be back in the future! Less wind and heat next time!
Time: 6:31:04
AG: 61/113
Overall: 663/1500
And now the unsexy photos:
At 7:07am, the gun went off, and all of my anxiety went away. I could breathe, I could move. In the massive amount of group thrashing, I remained untouched. It was the cleanest start I've ever had in an OWS start. I immediately got in a groove, and found a group to draft with. The waves were absolutely brutal once we left the little cove where we started, but they made me focus on the task at hand, instead of thinking how bad the bike and run "could" be.
The "out" segment of the rectangular course went incredibly smoothly, and I never once felt uncomfortable. As soon as we got to the cross section, the group I was drafting in disappeared, and we were hitting the 3 foot waves head-on. The cross section may have only been 100 meters, but it seemed to take forever. Eventually, we turned and headed back to shore.
The return trip was much more difficult, as the waves were pushing me easily off course. I usually site every 6 strokes, but I was needing to site after 2 strokes. It was hard to get in a groove, and I kept having to zigzag around buoys. I stuck with it, again never really feeling out of control and untested, and eventually found my way to the swim exit.
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| Thanx, finisherpics.....jeez |
My overall time was much slower than I anticipated, but considering the conditions, I was very pleased.
Time: 42:12
Distance: 1.2 miles
Pace: 2:00/100y
AG: 29/113
T1:
I had a pretty long run to my bike rack, but once I found it, I began getting ready for the bike. I put on my HR monitor, struggled with my tri top, slipped the shoes on, and slowly jogged my bike to the bike mount. There was quite a bit of traffic in my row, so I slowed down a bit. I could care less about my transition times for this race.
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| Taking off on the bike! |
Time: 3:07
Bike:
Holy hell, wind.... I started out of transition easy, and kept the pace easy for the first 10 miles. The course itself is rolling, until about miles 36-40 were there is a brutal stretch of hills, and a massive hill at mile 50. I had ridden the course on a windy day, so I knew what to expect. Turns out, today was much worse.
 |
| No aero :( common theme |
People were getting blown all over the road. During the ride, I saw one lady get blown off the road, 1 guy with a disc wheel get blown across the bike lanes, and a few wrecked riders. It was scary windy, especially on the downhills with a crosswind. It was the first time I've ever braked while riding downhill in a race. I couldn't stay in the aerobars for fear of losing control.
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| They always take pics at the tops of hills! |
The worse stretch were miles 36-40, which happened to be the hilliest stretch of the course. To make it even worse, we were heading straight into a 30mph headwind. I think I was averaging 9 mph during this stretch. My legs were killing me, but eventually I turned around and had the wind at my back and cruised back to T2. The hill at mile 50 was brutal, but knowing I was so close to starting the run was enough motivation to get over it. I wasn't that happy with my bike split, as I was planning on being done about 10-12 minutes faster, but I wasn't planning on riding in a hurricane....
Time: 3:19:14
Distance: 56 miles
Pace: 16.9 mph
AG: 66/113
T2:
No flying dismount for me. I took it real slow.... Walked my bike to the rack, had to move someone's bike from my spot, and then slipped into my run shoes. This was my first moment realizing how the 90 degree heat felt....
Time: 2:02
Run:
I felt the heat immediately stepping onto the asphalt main road. I felt like I found my running legs fairly quickly, and maintained a 9:00 pace for the first 3 miles (which was the plan), taking in EFS shots and water at aid stations, and dousing myself with water. My pace began falling soon after, and the heat started catching up.
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| Just getting started... |
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| Group Sufferfest |
I avoided walking (other then aid stations) till mile 9, where everything was in lock down mode. I felt like I was on the verge of either cramping, throwing up, passing out, etc. At mile 10, I was in pure survival mode, making deals with myself to "run to the next cone and then walk," taking in cola and shoving ice down my shorts (worked like a charm).
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| In the words of NBA Jam, "He's on FIRE!" |
Eventually, I stumbled my way across the Yellow Brick Road Finish Line, and tried not to cramp crossing the finish line....
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| Hurtin' |
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| BOOM! Done! FYI the bricks were fake... |
Distance: 13.1 miles
Pace: 11 min/mile (haha, not a joke...)
AG: 61/113
Overall:
This was, without a doubt, the hardest thing I've done. The course itself is incredibly demanding, and when you added the wind and heat, it made for a sufferfest. The overall pro winner said that it was the worst race conditions he's ever raced in. I also heard from our camp neighbor, who said he's completed over 30 70.3s, that it was the hardest race he's ever done. This makes me feel pretty good, mainly because I thought it was hard as hell, and it was my first one.... It's all uphill from here!
My time goal I was shooting for was 5:50:00, in good race conditions. I was nowhere near this time goal, but I really can't believe I finished. After the race, I found out that over 400 people didn't finish (out of 1500), including almost 100 from the swim alone.
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| Jon, Patrick, and myself post race and alive! |
AG: 61/113
Overall: 663/1500
And now the unsexy photos:
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| Finishing up the lake water... |
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| Dazed and confused |
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| Just finished. Where do I sit? |
I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who has been so supportive the last few months of training, and of course my family for coming and supporting me during the race. I needed it badly. Lastly, thanks to anyone who played a hand in the race itself, from the volunteers to the race staff. It was a special day!
Thanks for reading!!!!!!!!!
