Well, despite a very challenging drive up to the park yesterday (stopped on the highway for an hour, turned around and drove the wrong way up the shoulder back to the last exit...), we arrived at Deer Creek just in time for me to register for the race today. As I was signing up, though, I started wondering what I was thinking since it was COLD! Ah, well. More mental training than anything, I reasoned, and a chance to experiment with layering in case Florida is chilly as well.
After that, we checked in at the lodge where we'd booked a room for the night. The lodge was very rustic and cute, and the room was fine. Not sure it was worth $140, but at least I was able to sleep in till 7:00 rather than having to get up at 4:00 a.m. if we'd stayed at home. Plus, it was kind of fun getting away for the night with my super-supportive coach and Hubby. :-)
This morning, Derek dropped me off at the park to get set up in transition. He did not, however, get out of the car or come wait with me because it was so cold! Can't blame him there. Fortunately, I wasn't there TOO early, so I didn't have to stand around as long as I often have to for these things. Plus, I was prepared this time with a jacket, hat, and gloves. Unfortunately, I had to shed those and get into my wetsuit before too long, and that was rough. My feet went a bit numb as I waited on the beach, and I just wanted to get going.
The water was warmer than the air at that point - 65 degrees versus about 39 - but it didn't feel warm when we got in. On the other hand, it didn't feel particularly cold either, so I tried to just settle in and swim. Again, I got into a rhythm and steadied my breathing before too long, but again, try as I might, I couldn't make myself pee while I swam. Trying to relax enough to do so really slows me down, too, so I'm thinking I should just stop worrying about it and plan to use the bathroom in T1 come IM day.
Getting out of the water wasn't as bad as I'd feared, and I sat down to put on my socks and shoes and base layer and bike jersey. Out on the road, it was chilly, but not unbearably so, and I was pleased with the clothing choices I'd made. It was, however, windy. The three-lap bike course was mostly flat, as I'd remembered, but the extra out-and-back for the half folks had a few more hills. That, along with a stretch of road with fresh loose gravel and the WIND made the bike take a little longer than I'd expected. Still, I came very close to making my three-hour goal, and I was glad to be off the bike.
The run was better than I expected. I was still slow, but my foot was barely hurting at all. I was tired, especially after the challenging bike bit, but even though I didn't really want to keep running, I realized that I really had no reason not to. And so I plodded along. I utilized a 2-and-1 run/walk, and pretty much stuck to that throughout, except when I needed a little more time to eat. I felt weak and hungry at a few points, so getting calories in became a priority whenever I had the chance. On my way back on my first lap, I passed Russ, a guy I ran with a couple of years ago with Fleet Feet and who I met again on my century ride a few weeks ago. He was actually part of the reason I decided to do this race, and I was encouraged that I wouldn't be the last person out there. We slow folks have to stick together! I passed him a couple more times on the run, which was nice, but I was just ready to be done at that point. Derek drove past me as I was running back in on the second lap. He even had my bike on the car and informed me that he'd packed up all my gear so I didn't have to worry about that when I got through. How sweet. :-)
Anyway, my total time ended up being about 7:15 rather than the 7 hours I thought I would be close to achieving: 53 minutes for the swim, 3:05 for the bike, and just over 3 hours for the run, plus transitions. I'm o.k. with that. I've been hobbling around the rest of the day, just sore and stiff, but thankfully my foot doesn't feel too bad! I feel much better than I did after Steelhead, but I AM a little worried about having to do TWICE that in Florida... What was I thinking?!?
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