Race Report: Iron Star HIM

I still haven’t processed the entire thing, at this point, the more I think about the DNF, the more upset I get about it. Here’s the race report and I’ll be back in a few days with more post-race/post-season thoughts.

Pre-Race:

As you may or may not have picked up, I was not extremely excited about this race. Sure, once I got to the race site, I started to feel it, but the weeks leading up to it were busy and training moved to the back burner. However, my Sherpa three (Ma, Sandi and a buddy) were great to be around race morning and were fantastic at their jobs!

I got to the race site and set up my spot in transition and remained relatively calm. The weather was freezing for Texas standards, I could see my breath! I wasn’t prepared for the coldness, but hanging out near a lake in the morning can do that. I knew the water would be warmer than the air and hoped that it would warm up once the sun peeked out.

Swim:

After a 10 minute delay to let the fog lift, I made my way to the water’s edge along with 40 of my closest friends. I hit the water and found a good rhythm. The body contact wasn’t too bad, for the most part I had clear water. However, after about 15 minutes I started feeling pretty crappy, which has never happened on the swim. I knew I was going to throw up so I drifted over to the side away from other swimmers just as my breakfast made its way back up. I tread water for a second to get my bearings back and started swimming. I felt great after that and hit the shore about 3 minutes faster than in Racine, even with my pit stop.

T1:

They had wetsuit strippers here, which my first brush with these animals and they rock! So after being stripped, I made my way to my stuff, washed off my feet (why do they always insist on mowing the day before a race and not bag the grass??). Grabbed my arm warmers on a whim and bolted.

Bike:

The weather that day was much colder than I had anticipated and was prepared, and although I was warm during the swim, as soon as I got on the bike, I froze, and I couldn't warm up. My toes were wet and couldn't dry and were freezing to the point were it hurt to pedal. My thighs felt like blocks of ice when I tried to stand to stretch and get the blood flowing. I kept my hands moving by shifting and breaking and I had arm warmers on so my arms were ok.

I went out easy the first 5 miles and just keep focusing on warming up and keeping my body moving, but by mile 10 I was starting to slow down, and to top it off, my stomach wasn't feeling well, again. I pulled over around mile 14 or 15 and promptly threw up.

I got back on the bike and was determined to make it work and gave myself 10 more miles, if I was still freezing and couldn't keep liquids or nutrition down, then I was done, and if I felt good then I'll keep going.

By the time I hit those 10 miles, I was colder than I had ever been (and I'm from Iowa). At that point, I was actually braking on the down hills to go slower to stay warm, which was a good indicator at just how cold I was (who the hell brakes on the down hill so they won’t go faster than 12 mph??). I had taken in more calories but started to feel my stomach rebelling again. I pulled over, got it called in and was picked up. My race was done.

I got back to transition, and called my mom (who I think had a minor heart attack as evidenced in her immediate reaction of ‘did you crash??’). I managed to avoid the medical tent, only because I had Sherpas waiting for me with dry clothes and blankets. I felt like someone had poured ice freezing water in my bloodstream and it was just coursing throughout my body. It took me a good 30 minutes wrapped in blankets and dry clothes to fully warm up.

So, there you have it. Nothing spectacular. I’m not happy about it and to be honest I’ve been plagued the last few days on whether I made the right decision. Now, before you say the standard ‘you made the right decision, there will be next season, blah, blah, blah’ crap, think about how you felt about your first DNF or how you would feel if you had just DNF’d for the first time after swearing the only way you would leave the course is on a stretcher.

I do take comfort in the support I get from my family and friends and I take special comfort in the support I get from you guys because if anyone is going to understand how I feel or what its like to ‘fail’, its you guys. So thank you for your spectacular support throughout this season, especially during the last few months. You all rock.

Regardless of how the day ended and how I feel about it, I had three great Sherpas, two of which traveled 1000 miles to be there. You all know how much Sherpas hold together the sport and the athlete, so make sure you take good care of them, because if you’re freezing in the middle of Texas, you want them to have your back!

Stay warm.