Toughman Race Report

At last the long awaited (maybe) race report.  Truth be told I got my pictures a bit over a week ago, but work is always more important than blogging so this had to take the back seat. Anyway, better late than never is the motto I'm rolling with.

Week leading up to the race was the first week of school and my birthday.  Throw in new start to the school year, taper, and birthday and my hormones were flying!  Not a very good combination for me.  I didn't get as much sleep as I try to get in the week leading up to the race, but there's not much else you can do!  Pre-race weekend was uneventful really.  I picked up a friend I had met via FB (hey Ray!) to take to the race as he was doing his first HIM.  It was nice chatting about racing and life all the way to NY.  Saturday night was just easy dinner and getting to bed at a good time.

I almost forgot how much I had fallen in love with this race when I first did it in 2010.  It is so completely organized with things thought out in such careful detail.  They even put a happy birthday sticker on my packet!  Everyone's bike rack was labeled with a sticker and their name, #, and a good luck message.  I mean, c'mon.  What's not to love?

Like a celebrity

Happy Birthday to me!

Pre-race set up..representing high school & college hockey

Such a pouty brat

SWIM: 37:29
I decided to wear my wetsuit, because g-damnit I'm going to get my moneys' worth out of that thing!  Plus it had been raining FOREVER so the water was not as warm as it would have been.  I had hoped that I would break 36 minutes because Chris had me swimming as though there was a drought and soon there wouldn't be enough water in the world to swim in.  I really thought I had it in me to get it, but I didn't make the cut.  I was IMMEDIATELY disappointed when I looked at my watch and saw 36:xx upon exiting the water.

First red nugget on the left..at least I beat some suckers

T-1: 2:56
I totally dilly-dallied in here and took my sweet ol' time wiping off the hay on my feet and putting more water in my water bottle.  Where's the sense of urgency?  Oh, you know, just deflated with my dreams of breaking 36.

BIKE: 3:16:56

Oh, well here comes disappointment #2 of the race!  I hate to sound so Debbie Downer about all of this, but if I'm not going to be hard on myself, then who will?  Another goal I had had was to break my bike split last year (3:13:17).  Chris also had me biking like a madwoman (10+ hours/week) and I stupidly thought I was at a good place.  Last year I biked this course like it was nothing with a super low HR and a smile on my face.  This year my HR was VERY high and I was struggling up the hills.  WTH legs & heart?  I thought you were conditioned!  Again, disappointment took over and I just wanted to kill it on the run but was unsure of what I'd be able to do.  I knew I had a lot of running behind me in training, but I also thought I had secured that in the swim + bike.

T-2: 1:42
Better.

RUN: 2:04:10
Ugh.  This run was pretty tough.  The thing with doing a tough race more than once is that you know what to expect and how hard it is.  Last year I went into it blind and ignorant now knowing what to expect, this year I knew what was coming and how much it would hurt.  And hurt it did!  The run was tough, and I had a hard time running alone.  There was no one around me who was going the same pace so I had to grin and bear it and miss my running buddy Kevin from last year.  However, as luck would have it just as I was surely looking like I was on my death bed a nice man came up behind me and picked me up as his running buddy (do I have 'Damsel in Distress' tattooed on my back?).  I ended up running the last 3 miles WAY faster than the middle ones.  The last two were under 9.  It was hard, but I was proud of myself for pounding it out and sticking to it.  I'm also again very grateful for the nice man who pulled me along. (sorry for breathing so loudly)

I'll run as fast as I can if it means I'm done!

In the end I finished at 6:03:11 and 4th in my AG.  I realize that I sound really angry and disappointed about this race and there's no tip-toeing around it.  Simply put, I am.  I talked with Chris about it and he made me feel better, but I still don't understand.  I put in so much effort and time this year to kick this HIM in the butt, and it ended up kicking mine, hard.  Part of me felt like all the hill training I did in San Diego this summer was for nothing.  Not to mention the 3 18+ hour weeks I put in in August.  I mean, I went on vacation for a major build week during training last August (2010) for this race and did so much better!   Who knows, maybe it's overtraining.  Or maybe the stress of the week just got to me and I couldn't perform, but I do know that I will be tackling this distance over and over again to avenge.  It pains me though that I won't be there next year since I'll have just finished my first IM only a month prior.  But, that's neither here nor there.

Post-race bloated preg stomach

Since the race I did some major recovery time then build to start marathon training.  I'm doing the Philadelphia marathon in November and I'm excited for it, but I can't help but be scared that all of this training will be for naught like it was for this race.  I was in PEAK shape and fitness last year after this race, and now I'm just not feeling it.  I have/had a goal time for Philadelphia, but part of me just wants to throw it out the window and say 'screw it, it won't happen', but the competitor in me won't let me forget.  We'll see how it all plays out.  This last picture was just taken this evening and is my constant reminder of the race and how I felt after.  It means I need to stay focused, be smart, and kick butt to avoid the post-race unhappiness.