Steelhead Race Report: The Run Leg

The Steelhead Triathlon run leg is a 13.1-mile out and back run that takes triathletes through the Jean Klock Park area. The course roadways are mostly concrete and asphalt that are in good condition. There are several hills as well as a scenic trail section to challenge the racers. The course has aid stations at every mile.

As I headed out of T2 my heart rate was pounding at 145 bpm, which is in the middle of zone 3 for me. I was over 8 minutes behind my friend and was worried that I would see him at some point as I was heading out to the turnaround and he was heading in to the finish line.

Right from the start of the run I was not feeling great. There was a hill right a hundred yards from the start that was meant to get your attention. I jogged up the hill and my heart rate spiked above my anaerobic Threshold and moved into zone 4. I had a difficult time getting my breathing to slow down so that I could relax. All of the yoga training that I had done was just not paying off. I tried to breath in deep and relax but it wasn't working.

Within the first mile the asphalt course turned into a trail run. I did not expect this, but I was not overly concerned about this type of running. I enjoy running on a hard packed trail as it doesalleviatee the pounding the joints. Unfortunatelyy, the trail also brought with it several steep (for me) hills. My heart spiked again. This time into the low 170's. I could only run at this pace for a minute or so until I could not breath. I slowed down and walked the rest of the way up the hills and jogged down the other sides oseveralla of these hills. The trail run only lasted about a mile and we were onto the cement portion of the race... ouch.

The next mile included a gentle long hill that again forced me to walk. The good thing was that it was followed by a gentle downhill to an aid station that I stopped at to get water and ice.

I proceeded to run/walk the next mile or so. Every time I started to jog or run my heart would spike into zone 4 and I was forced to slow down and walk again. I was not only worried that I was going to have a horrible run, but was also starting to worry that I might not be able to finish the race.

I was dejected in knowing that in a few short miles I would see my friend heading back and I still had 10 miles to go before I would finish.

At mile four I again took in Gatorade and water as well as a shot of Gu and a glass of ice for my head. It was hot and I saw a few fatigued runners being attended to by the medical staff. The race officials had several ambulances on the course as well as officials on bikes to monitor the runners.

There was this guy up a head of me that looked as if he was drunk while walking. His head was down and his arms weflailinging from side to side. As I jogged a bit more, I noticed that it was my friend. I picked up the pace to get to him fast. As I ran up, I yelled to him that he didn't have to wait for me. He answered me with something to the effect that he "didn't feel that great." I finally caught up to and looked at him. He still had his head down and his face and neck were beet red. Even worse was that he was not sweating. I helped him raise his head and told him to walk slowly. He not only didn't feel that great but he looked even worse. I was worried that he might have had a heat stroke and asked him if he wanted to keep going. He said yes, so I looked at my watch and told him that all we need to do was 12 minute miles to fiunderin unter 6 and ½ hours. At the next aid station we spent some time getting him to look less like a zombie and more like a triathlete. He drank water and Gatorade as well as eating some fruit and Gu shots.

Over the next three miles I told my friend that we would jog in the shaded areas and downhills and walk in the sun and uphills. I also made sure to talk to him so that I wousenset a sence of hofarings fareing. We eventually got to the turnaround point and I told him that we would need to pick it up a little to about a 11 ½ minute mile pace. He was far from enjoying his run, but it was going to be my mission to make sure that he would finish. At mile nine he wanted to make sure that I would remind him about this run next time he wanted to do one of these events. I laughed and at least his mind was still clear and it seemed that he was even starting to feel better. Our walking was decreasing and our jog running was increasing in distance. My heart rate (by the way) was back to normal and I felt great of course we were also doing about 12 minute miles.

At the next aid station and with three miles to go I told him that we need to finish in the nighborhood of 10 minutes per mile pace. He said that I should go ahead and try to finish in under our goal time I asked him if he felt ok and he told me he felt fine and to get going. I told him not to quit since he had come this far there was no point in stopping now. He said that he would see me at the finish line. I headed off.

I still needed to finish the last 3.1 miles in under 30 minutes. Normally, this would not be a big deal, but after racing for about 6 hours and with the heat, it was going to be a challange.

The first mile felt fine and my time was right at 10 minutes. Still needed to pick it up a little more. I got some water at the next aid station and poured a glass of ice down my shorts. It felt great and I hoped that my core temperature would drop a little. I continued to run and finished the next mile in just under 10 minutes. There was just a little over a mile to go and I needed to finish it in under 9 minutes. That is also where the last hill seemed to spring up from the earth. It was a long hill that seemed to be about a half mile long. Funny thing is that I didn't remember this hill being so long when I headed out. I attacked the hill with good intention but quickly slowed down. I glanced at my watch and I was spiking my heart rate right to the 182 limit. I was breathing heavy and the sweat was pouring off of my body. I slowed down and figured that it was better to finish then to not finish at all.

I was a little over a half mile to go and in the middle of the last downhill. I looked at my watch and realized I was going to finish just outside my time. I still wanted to make sure that I finished strong and just then there appeared an official telling everyone that the last turn was right ahead and the finish line was at the end of the chute.

The finish chute seemed like it was a half mile long by itself. I finally heard the crowd at the finish line cheering for the racers. I looked up ahead and there were my girls cheering me on and my wife just a few yards down from them. I crossed the finish line and looked up at my finish time... 6:34:40.

Steelhead Race Report: T2

As I rode into the transition area, I unclipped my feet and rolled to a stop. I looked at my heart rate monitor and it read 154 bpm. Which is right at my AT. I quickly got off Christine and my legs felt a little woozy but I felt fine. I unlatched my helmet and felt where the bee stung me during the bike ride. It hadn’t swelled too badly. I ran my bike to my area and racked it. The ride was done and it was time for the run.

I was shocked that my friend was already gone from the transition area when I arrived. I knew that he was faster then me in the swim, but I was fully expecting to catch him during the bike.

I undid my bike shoes and put on my Asics running shoes. I also took off my sweaty bike jersey and put on a clean running singlet. I took a deep swig of the Gatorade and put on my running hat and glasses. I reached down and tied my shoes. When I stood up my head was spinning (I should have used the elastic laces that my wife got me… they would have kept my head from spinning)

Speed Laces are shoe laces that are made to increase the speed to tie a pair of shoes. I have had these for a while, but I have never run in them. I was told never to try out a new piece of equipment during a race and I wasn’t going to start now.

I put on my race belt that had my race number attached to it. While doing this, I tore one side off the eyelet and now only had one side secure. I should have put the belt on first then attached the race number. I tucked the loose side into my shorts and took one more swig form the water bottle.

I glanced at my heart rate monitor and noted that it was in the 145 bpm, which is zone 3 for me. I headed out of the transition area and said good luck to one of the guys that was changing next to me. I took a wrong turn out of the transition area and took the long way out. I finally saw my family who were cheering me on. I asked and my wife said that my friend had left the transition area about 8 minutes before me.

That was a huge lead and I got a little dejected as I thought that he was approaching the one mile marker as I was heading out of T2.

Steelhead Race Report: The Bike Leg

To read the previous part of the series please follow this link.

The Steelhead Triathlon bike leg is a 56-mile bike ride that takes triathletes through the scenic northern Berrien and eastern Van Buren counties in southwest Michigan. This area is part of the Michigan "fruit belt" and includes numerous blueberry, strawberry and raspberry farms as well as vineyards and orchards. The course roadways are mostly asphalt, in good condition with some rolling hills throughout.

As I jumped on my bike and headed out on the bike course my legs felt good. The wetsuit had done its job.

I rode away from T1 knowing that the bike course would take about 3 hours to complete and I was looking forward to this leg, as I knew that this is the leg that I've trained the most. Within the first couple of miles there was a decent hill to get the quads warmed up. As I rode the first few miles, I wanted to make sure that I hydrated myself and wanted to make sure that I ate something.

The road was nice and smooth and my ride was going as planned. I rode at right around 20 miles per hour and Christien's geartrain hummed as I pushed the pedals. The road had nice rolling hills which helped me catch up and pass a lot of riders. My hill training was paying off. I tried to eat a piece of Cliff bar that I had packed in my Bento Box. It was dry, and trying to eat it in a dry mouth was even more difficult. I gulped down some Gatorade and wished that I had water to drink instead.

I rode the first 10 miles in just under a half hour. Right about that time the road changed to rougher surface that slowed me down a bit but I tried to still push it. This took a tool on my legs.
You may remember that I blogged about a new helmet... The good thing about it is that it has really big vent holes in it. It sucks in air to keep your head cool. The bad thing about it is that it has really big vent holes in it and it sucks nearby bees in as well!

Talk about terror... I was ridding on a downhill portion and all of a sudden there is this huge buzzing sound right over my head. I was slamming my helmet with my left hand trying to remove the bug while trying not to fall of the bike. I was praying it wasn't a wasp or hornet. (Wasps and hornets are aggressive and can sting you repeatedly) I guess slamming my helmet with my hand wasn't such a smart idea as the bug stung me just above my forehead. I slowed down and removed the helmet and shook it out. It was a bee. I put my helmet back on and struggled to latch it back on. I slowed down even more and eventually I was able to latch my helmet with one hand. I guess I should have tried to ride a little more no handed, but I never do when I'm riding training runs.

As I rode on, my head hurt where the bee stung and had done its damage. At the halfway point I had lost some time. I was getting bored of the scenery and now my head hurt as well.

As the race progressed the racers had spaced out a lot more and the air was getting hot. Over the next few miles I kept hearing a rider behind me and eventually I heard behind a woman’s voice saying that she has been riding behind me for the last 8 miles and she was getting sick of looking at my rear. I told her that I was sorry that she was stuck having to look at such a bad view. She laughed and rode up next to me and said that she has seen worse.

I don't know her name, but we rode for the next ten or so miles together and talked about the race and the sport. She was a triathlon coach and we chatted about my aspirations to run a full Ironman. We talked about Ironman Florida or Wisconsin and she said that Wisconsin was better in her estimation because of the variety of the terrain. We kept exchanging leads to help each other out. Oddly enough she also rode a road bike. I told her that we might be two of about a dozen riders that didn't ride on a tri bike. She said that she has never gotten used to riding on a tri bike and said that even though she was due for a new bike, it was going to be another road bike. She said that you can get a lot more bike for the money in a road bike then a tri bike.

The divergence worked as my legs felt better and I was more motivated to finish the race. I wanted to pick up the pace but my riding partner wanted keep her pace. I told her good luck as I picked up my cadence. Over the next ten miles the only thing of note was that I rode up and passed one guy on a mountain bike. I was floored to see this guy huffing and puffing on a hardtail. I gave him a high five and complemented his ride so far and told him to keep it up.

I had read that there were going to be some good long and steep hills around the 48 mile mark. I kept riding strong knowing that the hills were looming ahead. At the last food and water aid station I was able to get a bottle of water and ate a banana and a shot of Gu so that I wouldn’t bonk during the last few miles.

Almost on cue, the hills hit right at mile 48. The rides started to bunch up as the hills slowed everyone down. During one the last few hills, I was at the low gear and was still only half way up the hill. By the end of the hill I was standing and doing a little over 8 mph. At the top of the hill crest I was glad to know that the hills were over and most of the rest of the ride was going to be flat.

I drank more of the water and Gatorade as I knew that I really didn’t do a great job of hydration during the bike. Over the last few miles, I rode in a low gear and made sure to spin at a high cadence to make sure that I would get rid of some of the lactic acid that had accumulated in my legs. With the last mile to go I could see some of the runners that were on the race course and the long run was looming ahead for me.