The race was in Helena, so I got up around 4am Sunday, had breakfast, threw my gear in the Jeep, and drove the two hours east to the race site. The race was small, but very well run. There were two races simultaneously - the Olympic and also a Sprint (half the distance). Total field was about 200 people, with 80 in the Oly. The course was very nicely laid out. Two swim loops in the lake, an out-and-back bike course on good roads with no significant turns, and two run loops around the lake. My swim didn't go well, but given the troubles I've been having with swimming lately I'm not surprised. I didn't feel fast--and wasn't--but just kept going and didn't waste too much energy trying to fight the water. Swim time was 28 minutes, which is about four minutes slower than my best Oly swim time. But I felt fresh once I headed out on the bike, so taking it easy on the swim was a good decision.
The bike course, I have mentioned, was out-and-back along the same roads. On the ride out, I was pushing my effort conservatively hard. Not all-out, but not easy, either. The course seemed more or less flat with some short rolling hills, but despite my effort level I was only going 14 or 15mph. I thought I was just shot from the long ride the day before (and the fact that, race included, I spent almost 14 hours training that week). Of course, that was before I hit the turnaround. Once I turned around and started going back, I had the wonderful realization that I had in fact been going slightly uphill the entire time! It was probably no more than a 1 or 2% grade, which means that it looked flat but actually wasn't. Not only did it explain the disconnect between effort and speed, but it also meant that the second half would be downhill. And sure enough, I spent most of the last 12 miles of the bike riding at 30mph or faster! Total bike time was 1:10, which is the same bike split I rode at Collegiate Nationals 2008, my current Oly-distance PR (personal record) race.
Not going to lie--the beginning of the run HURT. If you've never gotten off a bike and tried to start running, then there's no real way to describe the sensation to you. Every motion is jarring and uncoordinated, takes 100% more effort than normal, and is simply painful. Your brain is sending running signals to your legs ("left leg... rights leg..."), and your legs are sending signals back to your brain that go something along the lines of, "Um...NO!" Only if your legs could actually talk they would probably be including a few choice words not fit for mixed company. Mine certainly were. Fortunately I have done enough racing to know that the only way to overcome this sensation is literally to run through it, to ignore it and run the pace I intend to run for the full race. Not to run based on intensity, mind you, as the intensity is at this point wildly subjective and seems absurdly high, but to actually run based on a more objective pace. So I did, and the legs loosened up, and my body settled in, and the perceived intensity level fell back to normal. Frankly, after a few miles, I felt quite good! Not all of the mile markers were posted, so I couldn't track all of my mile times, but from what I could tell I was running somewhere in the 7:30- to 8-minute-mile range, significantly faster than anything I've been doing in training, but nevertheless surprisingly comfortable. In fact, I felt so good that I ran a 47:30 10k, which is the fastest 10k I've ever run in my life (and this at the end of a triathlon).
All in all, I had a wonderful race. I finished in 2:28:01, which is seven minutes faster than my previous best Olympic race and therefore a new PR. Further, I was second in my age group! (Granted, there were only 3 people in the age group, so it's really not saying much.) The race was a much-needed confirmation that all of the work I am doing out here is actually paying off and making me stronger and faster. It was especially rewarding with regards to my run training. As I mentioned, I have not been training at the same pace that I ran in the race. In fact, the vast majority of my runs are right at a 10-minute/mile pace, but I am doing LOTS of miles that way. The theory is that spending lots of time going slow builds my low level endurance, and that endurance is what allows me to be comfortable going faster. If the race is any indication, then this training method is working.
However, I've been paying the price for that exertion all week long. Monday I could only manage a short hour's bike ride. Tuesday's swim was cut short by fatigue and dizziness. Yesterday I managed a decent easy run and a strength workout, but today I am unavoidably exhausted. I woke up at my usual 7am after a full night's sleep, only to pass out again from 9:30 to after 11. I had plans to do a long run of 15 miles today, but clearly that has been cancelled. I think that I finally have to admit that this will be a recovery week for me, with a serious reduction in training. My body is telling me that I need to rest and recover so that it can rebuild from all of the training stress of the last three weeks. I may try to go for an easy swim later this afternoon, but given that I feel destroyed right now, I doubt it.
So likely today off, tomorrow easy, and then we'll see how I feel on Saturday. Once I start feeling fresh again, it will be time to hit it hard again. Can't wait!
P.S. - Early happy birthday shout-out to Sarah S. She's 23 tomorrow!
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