Breaking the Rules: The Gator Half-Iron Triathlon - Sarasota, FL

"Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is [Triathlon]. There are rules." Walter Sobchak
(edited for relevance)

Triathlon, like everything else, is governed by rules. No drafting. Stay on the course. Wear your bib number. No nudity in transition. Etc.

Yet, much like everything else again, there are many unspoken rules that are largely based on assumptions. Don't go out too hard. Don't forget to hydrate/replenish. Always look strong when there is a camera pointed your way. And so on.

Going into this race I had already broken three of these rules:

1) I drank a Guinness with dinner the night before the race. I don't think I've ever drank a beverage the night before.
2) I had set a goal of sub-five hours for a distance I've never attempted. I did the same mindless type of goal setting at St. A's last year and, even though I made that goal, I knew it was a stupid thing to do.
3) I changed my nutrition plan to something totally unproven. Any experienced athlete would agree that this is not entirely bright.

What could possibly go wrong, right?!

I repeated the following phrase at least 32 times in the week leading up to this race: This is a learning experience, no matter what happens. Short of some kind of catastrophic meltdown involving choking on my own goggles and sinking to the bottom of a murky, artificial lake, I would gain an invaluable experience.

Seeing how my swim has been pretty decent, I had little to actually worry about.

In that vein, I felt pretty good leading up to Sunday with a mild taper and a decent amount of rest. The game plan (see previous post) was simple enough. I just had to execute and learn, learn, learn.

The race was set to go for 7:30 a.m. and transition opened at 6. Unlike sprints and Olympic-distance races, transition placement is not as vital, so I wasn't to concerned about where I set up. This also makes the pre-race environment a little friendlier as participants don't get all pissy about their transition areas.

I arrived right around 6:15 and leisurely got all my stuff set up. I even remembered my socks.

I saw Melissa Dipple, a lifelong HammerHead and no stranger to USAT's All-American Triathlete list. She recently moved away from Miami to St. Pete it was great to see her. She truly is an ambassador to the sport and someone who was very key in my first year.

A few other Hams were racing and I felt a little more relaxed knowing a few people in the field. It was going to be a long day and I was loose. Good sign.

The first wave consisted of all males 39 and under. We went off promptly at 7:30, and I eased into the two-lap swim with a priority of not going anaerobic. I grabbed onto a draft and eased into a rhythm. At every race I can remember, I usually blast right through my aerobic capacity and generally feel like shit for the first half of the swim leg. This time, however, was nice and easy.

Better yet, I was at the tail of the lead pack. The leader was putting some distance on the two guys in front of me and I restrained. "SAD, SAD, SAD, SAD, SAD," I kept repeating.

(Stay Aerobic Dumbass)

And I did. The first lap was comfortable. Leisurely, almost. I held onto my draft and didn't feel like I was expending much energy at all. Finally, around the second-to-last buoy, I made my move and broke from the pack. I exited the water second feeling great, only about 20 seconds down from the leader.

Swim 0:19:53.7 (1.2mi, 4th overall - two guys in the 40+ wave were faster)

(note: In hindsight, the swim was most certainly a bit short. Just how short, I'm not sure. My guess is about 5 minutes or so.)

Out of the wetsuit and onto the bike, I could see the leader ahead of me. He had a nice police escort leading the way, which was kind of fun to watch. I scarfed down a gel and started on my water. The sun hadn't come out in its entirety yet, and the winds were calm.

The first few miles clicked away and I tried to settle into a pace. I didn't pick up any time on the leader, but it didn't seem he was pulling away either. I saw a HUGE hawk on a power line, probably looking for a snack.

Then I heard the whooshwhooshwhooshwhoosh coming up behind me. Sure enough, I got passed by a guy on a Scott frame and a Zipp disc. As he went by I got a "Hey, nice swim!" from of him and I replied "Go get him, dude!"

I tried to relax and just find my comfortable pace. My left hamstring and glute felt achy - something I've never felt on the bike before - so I tried to relax and not worry about the two guys ahead of me that were slowly pulling away. I was happy about where I was, and now it was all about riding steady and sticking with plan.

The ride took us through the rural land east of I-75 and Sarasota. I zipped by cows, horses, tractors, and many beautiful ranches as the course ventured south toward Myakka State Park. About an hour in, the sun started to come out but the winds were still calm. As I got more fluids and calories in, I started to feel pretty good and pushed gears that had given me a hard time in St. Augustine. Sitting comfortably in third place with no one behind me, I couldn't have been happier.

I really can't do the bike course justice. It truly was beautiful. Tree-canopied roads, small bridges winding over tiny rivers, and endless fields of green resembled what is so-often forgotten beauty of Old Florida. I'm pretty sure I smiled my way through much of it.

The course hit State Road 72, and began the trek back West. A relay team biker passed but was of little concern. I paced off him for a few miles and decided to back off a bit as I approached the water station at Mile 40.

The last 16 miles were great. I felt very good, kept a steady pace and even opened up a little. The nutrition plan had thus far paid off and I experienced no gastro issues at all. Best of all, I was looking forward to the run.

Bike 2:27:03.7 (56mi, 3rd overall) (22.86 mph)

Into transition I saw the race leader running out and looking very strong. Second-place looked good, but was not on pace with the lead. I rolled in and geared up for the run. The legs were a bit stiff, but cooperative.

I knew if I ran a 1:30 1/2 marathon I would be very pleased. That would mean running just under 7-minute miles. The first mile clicked by at just over 6:40 and I was still feeling great. Mile two went by at 6:30, and I moved into second place. Mile three was a 6:35.

The run course was a two-lap circuit with three out-and-backs. That meant you saw a lot of everybody. The race leader had about 3.5 minutes on me, and was holding steady. I don't know if he was pacing off of that gap, but we were running about the same per mile. Each time I came face-to-face with a runner, we encouraged each other with a "Looking good" or "Stay strong". The mutual respect and lack of ego's on the course really helped me enjoy the race even more.

On the second loop I got cheered on by my race support crew (ie, my sister) and began to pick up my pace a bit. By that time, it was really getting hot. The sun had come out in full force and had it not been for some scattered could cover, it would have been brutal. Fortunately, I had taken enough fluids and calories to keep feeling good.

By the last 5k, I felt like I was running at capacity for the distance and decided then not to attack the 3+ minute gap. There was no one within striking distance behind me and I was perfectly content with the race I was running. It didn't seem worth risking the meltdown.

My notions were reaffirmed as my quads began to tighten up during the last mile. On the last out-and-back I slapped a high-five with the leader as he approached the finish in the opposite direction. Dude was very strong and won it early on the bike.

I came across the finish extremely happy. The clock read a time over 45-minutes under my super-secret-double-probation time of 5 hours.

Run 1:26:39.6 (2nd overall, 6:37/mi)

Finishing time: 4:13:37.0 (2nd overall)

My first half-iron race was now in the bag and I could not be more satisfied with how it went down. Any doubts were laid to rest and Coach KC is helping me smash my own expectations. I stuck around for the rest of the race and helped with a water station (really just an excuse to be on the course cheering on the other Hams who were all kicking ass).

Everyone, and I really do mean EVERYONE, that was involved in the race was awesome. As I mentioned earlier, there were no ego's, no BS, no condescending attitudes among the racers. The volunteers were unrelenting in their encouragement and support. When I say that "everything came together" for this race to be as good as it was, I don't mean just what I did. It was everything and everyone coming together for all the right reasons and creating an environment that represents what Triathlon is all about.

I sincerely hope they put this event on next year. I will most certainly be there, even if I can't race.

Pics to come.