"I survived Cumberland"
Cumberland Long Course Du Race Report
May 6, 2006
With the cool temps, NW wind, and incessant rain, clothing was going to be an
issue. I eventally settled with what I had successfully used for training last
week: start the first run with yellow-glasses, toque, gloves, t-shirt under a
jacket, tri shorts under tights, and socks. With only one change, this was a
good choice.
I felt very relaxed pre-race. I did a short 10min warm up, noting that my HR
was WAY UP THERE in the 170's (should be 160 max). My transition was setup
simply - running hat and bag for shoes (to keep them dry); bike shoes already
on the bike. Andy Fong racked right beside me. This was both a good and a
bad thing (details to follow). Right before the race, I took a gel. Terry
McKinty announced that there were 2 loops of Barnett on each run loop (not the
one loop as changed on their website this week), so I knew that the run course
was still long, and I put any thoughts of a sub-2hr race time away. Not
today. That's ok, today was going to be about doing my best in far from ideal
conditions.
I did the first run too fast, and I knew it as my HR was WAY UP THERE (into
180's when the plan was zone 2, 170's), but didn't try hard enough to slow
down. I was concentrating on keeping Andy in sight. He got about a 30sec
lead, which soon stopped growing. I got hot in my toque, and decided to not
wear it for the bike. I got my bike gloves on as I approached transition.
In T1 I was quick - toque off, shoes off, go. Despite a 30sec lead on me,
Andy was still at his bike when I left. Running across the grass my feet got
soaked, but I was able to quickly get on my bike and into my bike shoes and I
was off.
I soon got into a steady groove and concentrated on keeping my plan - even
splits; easy on the uphills; work the downhills; feed on each uphill. Laps 1
and 3, take in eload; laps 2 and 4, take in my home-made gel (honey, molassus,
salt). I executed this plan to perfection. Also to keep my mind focussed, I
counted the number of people I passed vs the number who passed me. I ended up
being +14, passing 15 (one person twice), got passed by 1. I even lapped
someone on my last lap (they were on their 3rd lap). I really worked the
downhills, reaching 50+km/h on the short down-wind one. The rain made things
tough. I had to be careful on the corners, especially since I had slicks
tires. I did indeed slip once, on the 1st corner of 3rd loop (downhill, fast
corner), but God caught my wheel and straightened me up. Thank you Jesus! I
got caught up behind cars a couple of times, including the long downhill
section at the end of the first loop, when I came close to passing a car. And
by the 2nd half of 3rd loop, my feet were totally numb - I wondered what the
run was going to be like. But otherwise my temperature was good - I was
soaked but not cold and I felt good physically - my back got a little sore on
the 2nd loop, but it did not bother me (that I remember) after that. I only
checked my time twice, at the end of the 3rd loop, and close to the end of the
last loop, when, by quick calculations, I thought that a sub-2hr time was now
possible, but I did not dwell on it or make it my goal. On the last loop I
felt my effort level pickup, especially with the wind at my back, and I really
pushed it on the last downhill to transition. My quads were burning, but that
felt ok.
I was careful getting off my bike into transition, and I was surprised to see
my friend Michael just ahead of me - he is MUCH faster runner and cyclist than
me. I stripped off the tights and jacket, which prooved to be hard cuz hands
not working very well - I thought they were fine, but they were a little stiff
and cold. My right calf came close to cramping as I strained to put my wet
foot into a dry shoe.
My legs felt fine starting to run - no deadness or tightness like i'd just
ridden a tough 40km. Also I had no aches or pains in my butt, back, or neck,
so I think this new bike, laraya, is fitting me VERY well. I started the
second run fast, despite totally numb feet, and shoes sloshing with every
step. It took until the end of the 1st loop to get feeling back in my feet
and to get my HR up into zone 3, 180+. My breathing was particularly noisy,
like an elephant stuck in birthing while lying on gravel! I had difficulty
getting the bike gloves into the pockets of my tri shorts, and I dropped my
glasses in the process (I stopped and went back for them, and Michael, who was
right behind me at that point, picked them up for me. He then passed me and
left me far behind). I saw Andy as I left Barnett, so I knew I had a good
enough lead for him not to catch me. On the second loop he was even further
back, so I knew he was having a tough day. I tried to push the pace in loop 2,
but half way through, I died - lactic acid burn and no more energy. I thought
only of one phrase the rest of the way: "I care how I finish this race". A
check of my watch told me that I had sub-2hrs in the bag, just don't stop!
Those thoughts kept my effort up and kept me focused. Fortunately there was no
one close to me to race as I finished with no kick and no energy. Brenda and
Teresa were there at the finish to greet me.
Wow and Ouch! I really surprised myself with what I did, considering the
tough racing conditions. I did not think sub-2hrs was possible, but I
destroyed even that.
Did right
=========
- clothing on bike - tights, socks, jacket,, gloves, no toque;
- taking tights and jacket off for 2nd run;;
- good bike - controlled early, pushed the downhills, eased up on uphills,
feeding plan;
- transitions good - practiced and thought through ahead of time, and executed
quickly and efficiently;
- gave it all in the second run;
Did wrong/fix for next time/needs work
======================================
- first run WAY TOO fast - keying on Andy FFong, and not on what I should be
doing;
- needed fresh socks for run - waste of dryy shoes;
- wet-weather tires for bike?
- i don't think i drank quite enough on thee bike, especially of the eload, as
it was a carb-source;
- when tiredness and lactic acid burn hit, I could not push through it and go
faster;
- 2nd run - 2nd loop was slower than the 1sst loop;
Official Sportstats Results
===========================
25/53 overall
1:57:46
23/42 men
11/16 Men 30-39
run 2.9km 42/53 14:38 5:03/km
bike 38.4km 22/53 1:15:01 30.7 km/h (includes 2:20 transitions time)
run 5.8km 24/53 28:07 4:51/km
first 4 finishers were in my AG
My results (run distances are Google-Earth/GPS verified)
========================================================
run 3.1km 14:38 4:43/km HR avg 181 max 190
T1 0:46
bike 38.4km 1:12:41 31.7 km/h
splits 18:59, 17:59, 17:52, 17:51
T2 1:34
run 6.2km 28:07 4:32/km HR avg 178 max 184
splits 13:56 4:29/km HR avg 175 max 180
14:11 4:34/km HR avg 181 max 184
as an interesting note, if i'd been doing the sprint, and done the same
splits, my finishing time would have been 1:07:52, good enough for these
results:
13/55 overall
8/24 men
3/9 men 30-39 (would have gotten 2nd AG as the winner was in my AG)
(
geocities.com/marathon13man/race_reports) (
geocities.com/marathon13man)