American Triple T Ohio Race Report Part Five

Half Iron Distance Race Sunday morning

It felt a little weird going back to the transition area for a standard swim, bike and then run format after the craziness of the day before with all the leg cramps from doing the events out of order. I set up my bike and shoes and thought that the bike leg would probably severely test me. The olympic distance course was tough but only 40k in length. I knew I could push my way through 40k of anything on a bike, no matter how hilly. However, if the 56 mile course was anything like the 40k course I figured this was going to be a tough and long day. Again, I didn't have the luxury of driving the course so I opted to try and ride conservatively on the first lap of the two lap bike leg. I didn't really give much thought to the swim leg ahead of time since the 1.2 miles was only slightly longer than the 1500 I swam twice the day before.

With my moderate expectations of just being able to finish the swim I again started near the back of the pack. Once more there were several people who ended up swimming into me, especially on the first lap, but I was getting used to it by that point. I felt a little twinge of the leg cramps from Saturday's afternoon race but nothing nearly as severe.  Rather, it seemed more like a faint echo of my pseudo-torture from the day before. I was able to walk the last few meters at the turn around buoy and then starting the second lap.  At some point during the swim it all just started to click and my body seemed to go on auto pilot.  I don't think I was any faster than normal but the effort necessary to maintain my pace seemed to diminish. I felt pretty good exiting the water and excited to get started on the bike.

We turned right out of the parking lot so I had a few miles of roads that we drove down on the way from Portsmouth to the race start. After a few miles we turned left into another state park and I was then in virgin territory. Fairly soon we starting going up a massive hill and once more it was granny gear time. I was able to pass some of my fellow racers on the hills but everyone was crawling--it was just a question of degrees of slowness at that point. At the top of the mile long hill there was an official photographer snapping pictures which was nice. This would be a two lap bike course so I knew I would be visiting this scene later on in the morning. However, I tried to put that out of my mind. The good thing about this course compared to Saturday was the relatively sparse traffic we encountered and the fact that there were no riders traveling in the opposite direction. I think there were less than ten vehicles that were on the entire 56 mile course so you could really just focus on your cycling. There were more stretches of flat pavement so you could get your speed going but when you hit the hills they were tough and unfortunately plentiful.

Eventually we left the park and skirted some semi-residential areas that backed up to the park. There were race volunteers at each corner where there was a turn, plus with arrows painted on the roadway I never felt in danger of being lost. Nevertheless, there were points during the race when I was all alone on the road for a few minutes before I either caught the rider ahead of me or someone would come up on me from behind. Eventually we turned back on the main highway to repeat the final miles from the 40k rides on Saturday before entering the transition area/turn around point. Mostly those miles are flat but there were a few hills that kept you honest and reminded you this was suppose to be a challenging course. Message received. We went all the way down to the transition area and the race organizers had set up a bottle exchange/pickup area directly in front of the transition area. I dropped off an empty bottle and picked up a fresh one filled with water. They also had HEED in water bottles but I wasn't really a fan of that option myself. In addition, there was a table to set out your own bottle(s) pre-race, but I opted to just take what was offered.

It was a tough first lap and for a moment I felt like I would be content to call that a good effort and get off the bike and become a spectator shooting pictures rather than ride that super hilly lap once more before running a half marathon. Nah! I told myself let's keep going and see if I fall apart or can keep chugging along. Lap two begins and my legs were decidedly less zippy than lap one. The major hills were still there but this time I knew where to expect them. I expected to go slow on the hills, but what was disconcerting were some of the relative flat sections when I would look down and see my speed somewhere between ten to fourteen mph. Of course I think I was doing the same thing (going slow) on lap one, but it was perplexing because I was looking at the geographic contours of the terrain and roadway trying to figure out if this was just a gradual uphill that I couldn't see clearly or if the chip and seal pavement was somehow sticking to my tires slowing me down (kidding).....I couldn't figure it out. At one point I stopped to check my tires and make sure I didn't have a slow leak. Nope! I was just riding slow. Anyway, the hills were again plentiful and seemingly never ending. Lots of climbing and pretty scenery that kept my mind wandering.

The next eventful thing that happened was a loud pop and hiss around mile forty four. Flat rear tire on a short downhill section. It reflects on the craziness of this course that I was more upset that I had a flat tire on a section of the course where I was traveling more than twenty mph than the mere fact that my tire blew. I honestly would have been relieved if that happened on one of the killer climbs but to steal my meager thunder while going fast--how dare the cycling gods mess with me like that! I pulled the rear tire off, pulled the tube and replaced it. Used my CO2 and was back on the road in about 3 minutes. It was one of my faster changes on the side of the road. I was mentally prepared for it, so it really didn't throw off my race plan or rhythm at all. It was just one of those things that happen. I was so happy once we made that turn onto the final highway road because we had about five miles to go until we hit the transition area although there were still hills in that section too.

Once I reached the transition area I was truly looking forward to being off the bike. Now I only had to finish a half marathon. For the first time in transition I really noticed the heat and humidity. I could tell it was going to be a hot and humid day on the bike, but part of the course was shaded and the wind one could feel riding really helped cool me off. No such luck once the run started. The legs felt sluggish and heavy starting out on the run. I made a quick detour after only running a few steps to partake of some the liquids and nutrition offered once again by the race organizers just outside transition. I think I grabbed an orange slice and water but turned down the gu and heed etc. Once the run began I was surprised at how well I was able to still go in the first mile or so. Granted, I was certainly slower than my earlier efforts on the course but I was still running and passing a few folks to boot. I was stopping at each aid station on the way out to the turn around.

As the uphill sections mounted I was definitely feeling it. Once we hit the big uphill section I opted to walk up it. My legs just felt dead. After climbing back out after the turn around I knew lap two was not going to look pretty. These days I can tell when things go bad because at that point I stop being interested in taking pictures on the course. I think that happened on the way back to the turn around point to begin lap 2. By the time I reached the transition/turn around area I tried telling myself just one more out and back. It didn't work to inspire and motivate me to pick up the pace as I had hoped. I knew 6.55 miles is a long haul when you aren't feeling good. Ok....just had to suck it up and keep moving. I was running.....ok honestly it was more slow jogging the flats but then I started walking all the uphills. Frankly I don't know that my jog would have been much faster anyway.

Most of the second lap was just a tough death march for me. I wanted the race to be over but found myself  slow jogging until about mile two at which point I just had to walk.....my legs were toast. Previously I had stopped for refreshments at the turn around point to begin lap two and tried some coca cola. It tasted amazingly good at the time and did provide a short burst of energy. Unfortunately, my stomach didn't much appreciate the thought and decided to revolt about twenty minutes later. I intuitively knew this was likely before I actually drank it...but hoped my experience from high school and college trying to incorporate the stuff might end differently this time. No such luck! Sticking with what works makes so much sense, but sometimes you just need to try something and see what happens.

A popular past time was taking a dip in the water between races....which is what I was looking forward to once my run fell apart.

The truth is given how long it had been since I tried coca cola during a race I thought it possible my body might just be able to adapt to it. So, yes I was bent over on the side of the trail puking my guts out around mile 2.5 on the trail when history repeated itself. Good times! I walked the rest of the way after puking since I was feeling less than stellar by that point. I walked up the long hill just past the turn around and oh my gosh.....that felt much more difficult than I imagined to just walk it. I did of course have to stop again around mile 3.5 to puke yet again. Though the downhills were tempting to try and run my stomach felt like two kids had taken opposite sides of a see saw and were enjoying bouncing up and down ad nausea. So, I tried to focus on just making my way to either the next aid station or the next mile marker walking.

I think this was at the halfway point of the half marathon....when I had 6.55 tough miles to go. 

Interestingly, just before I reached the final aid station around mile 5.5 the girl who was "working" the aid station sauntered up to me on the trail heading deeper onto the course about 200 meters passed her post and asked me, " How far to the next aid station?" I was totally mystified by the behavior since I seemed to recall she was all alone on my way past her station maybe 30 minutes ago....but I assumed she ran out of something and was heading toward getting resupplied???? It was about a mile away I replied and she just kept walking past me. So....I found myself all alone at the abandoned aid station and though there was water on the table, no one was manning the area....it just looked eerie to me. It seemed like a scene out of a scary movie where the police might roll up any minute to begin investigating the disappearance of a race aid worker. I was also struck by the idea that gosh----I must really be slow if the volunteers feel comfortable walking away from their aid station while I am still technically racing. It was my very own version of the racing D-list.

This was a picture taken by J.P. when I was about a half mile from the finish line.....I was beyond toast by this point and just wanted it to be over.  Thus, I didn't mind stopping for a photo op. 

I didn't want to tempt my body to puke yet again so I skipped the water this time and trudged on. It was only about three or four minutes later that a van with race volunteers passed me on the course heading toward the abandoned station so I assume they were on the way to resupply it. I was ecstatic when I finally left the fire trail and waiting for me at that point was my friend JP who had already finished. It was great to see her and we walked together for a bit after she took my picture. She jogged ahead to shoot me crossing the finish line which was good news because I was worried she would try to jog in all the way with me. I knew my body wasn't up for that kind of effort. However, I was able to run in the last few meters and truly appreciate JP being there to document the moment with a few pictures.

About to cross the finish line

After finishing the race I again took in some liquids and pretzels and a banana offered by the race organizers. JP was kind enough to retrieve my race sandals from the transition area and I slipped off my running shoes, put them on and then walked out into the stream which was directly behind the transition site. It felt pretty good, though obviously a little cold and there were several other folks in there doing the same thing.

Finally taking a soak in the water after completing all four events of the Triple T

In summary of this final race, I finished in 334th place out of 346 total finishers in the half ironman distance race with a final time of 857:29. My 56 mile hilly as all get out bike split was 423:32 while my half marathon time was a pitiful 339:52, but I managed to finish and actually was the final finisher of all four races in my division in 65th place out of an initial 91 racers who began the event on Friday evening. Thus, 26 racers in my division alone either didn't start, or couldn't complete the half ironman race on Sunday which translates into a 29% failure rate. 

Final Thoughts

Having reflected on the experience over the past several weeks I am definitely glad that I participated in the American Triple T Ohio. I am scheduled to compete again at the Great Floridian full iron distance triathlon in late October. The Floridian course in 2009 was my first experience with a hilly bike course at either the half ironman or full ironman distance so that was part of my initial motivation to tackle the reputed hilliness of Triple T. I figured that if I could manage to survive Triple T's hills I would be prepared to tackle the full 112 miles in Florida with less vertical climbing (I think). However, given the crazy weather this spring I can say in retrospect that I didn't ride nearly enough on hills leading up to this race. Still, I was able to finish while several folks had to accept a DNF, including some who have completed a full ironman race. I think I will be back to race the Ohio Triple T again, but at this point am considering doing so every other year. The course is just too tough to want to tackle it every single year in my humble opinion, though I am sure some folks would disagree.

Post Script: Due to a shoulder injury sustained over the summer I was unable to complete any additional solo triathlon races after mid August including the Great Floridian Triathlon in 2010.  However, I did compete at the Ironman Branson 70.3 as a relay with a friend swimming for me while I tackled the bike and run legs.  For comparison purposes I would say that the Triple T half ironman bike course was significantly harder than the Branson course.  The hills of Branson were long but not necessarily steep.  The Triple T hills were more numerous and less predictable in their grade but often were much steeper.  On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate Branson a seven and Triple T a nine in terms of level of difficulty, though admittedly my judgment might have been influenced by tackling the three prior races before the half ironman on Sunday.