Race Coverage

Hanging Out, Smiling, Laughing, Bonding...

Friday, 27 March 2015 01:10

Toughman Florida – Race report

By Lisa Lendway (FYI - Today--March 27--is Lisa's Birthday.)

The short version: swim – short, double-loop through alligator-infested waters (17:30, after the race some of the athletes wearing GPS said it was around .8 miles, rather than 1.2); T1 – long run up to transition hoping I was fast enough so the fire ants wouldn’t bite me (2:22.4); Bike – 54 miles of absolute flatness (2:26:21.3); T2 – short and sweet (39.7); Run – HOT and a tad long (1:44:38.0, ~13.25 miles)

The LOOOONG version:

I signed up for the Toughman Florida half Ironman event in mid-December and trained for it all winter. I was tentatively excited about it, which means I was excited and EXTREMELY nervous. My bike was all tuned up by the great mechanics at NOW in St. Paul and it and my other gear were already in Florida with my Dad (aka Stopwatch Greg) and my sister (AKA Aunty Heather). I kept telling myself to stop being nervous about the race. No matter how it went, I was headed to the beach on a week vacation to Florida with my two girls! ...

We arrived the Wednesday before the race and were greeted by a wave of heat and humidity. We spent a night with my dad and sister near Orlando and a couple relaxing days in St. Pete Beach. The Saturday before my race, the girls and I went to watch Heather at the Sarasota draft-legal race. It was a fun multiple-loop race to watch and she got 8^th! You can read more about that on her blog: http://heatherlendway.com/2015/03/21/sarasota-race-report/. The girls loved cheering for Aunty, as did I, except every time I tried to yell for her, my throat got all choked up and I nearly started to cry. So, I mainly just clapped as loudly as I could, which probably made Heather happy as she doesn’t seem to approve of my loud, proud-sister screams. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be an emotional mess at all my children’s extracurricular activities.

Anyways … after her race, I drove the bike course for my race while my girls napped in the car. I was happy that the course was flat but a bit frightened by having to ride mostly on roads open to traffic without shoulders (don’t worry, the next day some Floridians assured me that no one is out driving that early on a Sunday morning). Then we headed back to St. Pete Beach with my dad for a relaxing afternoon by the pool and a pasta dinner at the condo. I was scrambling trying to prepare for the next day and was so thankful to have my dad there to help. I had everything ready by about 10PM and headed to bed. I tossed and turned a lot because I was so nervous about the race, but when the alarm went off at 4AM, I felt quite rested. I ate my breakfast and packed everything into my car and my dad’s car, waiting as long as possible to wake my kids. They were such troopers. I honestly don’t think I heard any complaining from them!

It was a 45 minute drive to the race, slowed slightly by some eerie fog. It was pitch black when we arrived. I was glad I bought a headlamp the day before. I picked up my packet and learned the race would likely be delayed due to the fog – you couldn’t even see the lake yet! I set up my things in transition, did a little warm-up run, and headed to the lake. The fog finally cleared enough for the race to begin shortly after 8AM. I was ready to start in the second wave when I heard the race director say there would only be one wave and it would be starting in about a minute! Ahh! With my dad yelling at me to hurry up, I zipped up the wetsuit, kissed my girls, and ran into the lake. About 30 seconds later, the race began. I got near the front pretty quickly, with one woman next to me and two men in front of me. It was a two loop swim. The first loop went really well. On the second loop, the fog rolled back in so it was pretty difficult to see the bouys. Near the start of the second loop, I passed the woman next to me and at the end of the swim, I passed one of the men in front of me. It got so foggy at the end, I had to actually ask the volunteers in the canoe where the last bouy was. When I finally was able to see it, I was happy to learn I had been swimming right towards it. On my way out of the water, I spotted my girls. They were a little out of the way, but I ran over and gave them high fives – they deserve at least that for being up so early cheering for me! The run up to transition was a bit treacherous – either a painful asphalt path or the grass next to it full of fire ant hills. I chose the fire ants and had no problems. Transition was a bit slow as I decided to put on socks and hadn’t really practiced doing that.

Once on the bike, I was ready to go. I felt good but knew I had a long ride (and run) ahead. It was already humid and the sun was starting to break up the fog. My biggest concern was hydration and nutrition. So, I immediately started taking in fluids (lemon-lime Skratch with some mango Skratch Hyper Hydration Mix added to each bottle). I also ate an energy bite (recipe here: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/ ) and a shot block. I don’t use any sort of computer on my bike, but about 3-4 miles into the ride, there was a clock on a school that said 8:38. I’d make sure to look at that on the second loop. The ride was pretty lonely. Three men passed me in the first loop, but other than that, it was just me and the road.

I tried not to let my mind veer too far from the race, but it happened. I learned quickly that I couldn’t think about my kids or I’d start getting choked up and teary eyed (darn those emotions!). I tried to stay positive. I thought about speed and going fast. It was my first race with new-to-me race wheels – a Zipp 808 and a disk from former-pro Devon Palmer. I could hear him saying, “These wheels have gone fast. Don’t let them down, Lendway!” with that spokesmodel grin on his face. As it got hotter and hotter, I had some thoughts about how it would have been smart to do some training in Suzie Fox’s hot bathroom … I know, that sounds really weird, doesn’t it? Sorry, Suzie. When I got tired and down, I thought about racing all of you awesome Minnesota triathletes. So, thanks for keeping me going out there!

On the second loop, I was thrilled when I rode by the school clock and saw the time was 9:48. 1:10!! I knew the course was a little short and there was a short stint out of transition to the road but figured the loop was around 25 miles which meant I was definitely killing my goal of 21 MPH. By mile 40, I had drank almost all three of my water bottles and ate almost all my food. There was a bottle exchange near there that I decided to take. I didn’t want to get dehydrated. I slowed quite a bit to get the bottle and put it in my rear cage. I realized I probably should have practiced doing that … oh well. Right around this point, two men passed me. I found out later they’d been trailing me at a distance for quite a while. It was nice that they weren’t a whole lot faster than me. I was able to keep them within about ten bike lengths. And, at the end, I actually almost caught them again.

The bike to run transition was pretty quick. It was great to see my dad and my girls and hear them cheering me on. And, of course, I got all choked up again when I saw them. As I started running, I had the regular jello-leg feeling. I was happy that my hip wasn’t hurting as that’s the one thing that’s given me problems in the past. After a short jog, I stopped briefly to stretch my feet and calves. They were a little sore and I REALLY didn’t want to cramp up. By this time, it was HOT and SUNNY. Thankfully, they made it a two-loop course and had water and Heed every mile. I took in water every opportunity I had and poured a couple over my head, too. It was awesome to hear all the volunteers telling me that I was the first woman, but I had no idea how close behind the second might be. I finally saw her when I was near mile 4 or 5, I think. She was maybe two miles behind. She looked strong, though, so I tried to pick up my pace just a little without over-doing it. We ran past transition for the second loop and I was a little frantic when I didn’t see my dad and girls. Thankfully, we ran through the parking lot, too, and I saw them sitting in the car. I pounded on the window and waved. Apparently someone had told my dad we were only doing one long loop.

The second loop of the run actually felt better than the first. It helped that there were a lot of other people out on the course at this point. I cheered for everyone, which always helps take my mind off my own pain J In addition to taking in fluids, I also threw some cups of ice down my shirt and shorts. I was used to training in zero degrees, so that felt great! I finally got to the turn back into the park and the finish line – less than .5 miles to go! A woman came running the other direction, telling me that she told my dad and kids I was on my way. Oh great! I nearly started hyperventilating because I was trying so hard to suppress my tears. Moments later, I was crossing the finish line, sobbing. My dad asked what was wrong and I’m pretty sure my response was, “I finished!” I was so tired, I nearly toppled over but was able to sit down and hug my girls.

It was a great first experience at the almost-half Ironman distance. It was definitely very emotional for me, in addition to testing my athletic limits. My time was 4:31. I did some calculations and think I would’ve been around 4:44-4:45 if it had been an actual 70.3. My goal time was under 5 hours, with a stretch goal of 4:45. So, I was extremely happy with how I did. It always feels nice when the hours of hard training pay off. But, as usual, my favorite part was hanging out after the event and talking to all the other athletes – smiling, laughing, bonding over this crazy sport of triathlon, and eating some really good food! I can’t wait to do the same very soon back here in Minnesota.