gwn, what i learned, and it's 54 some days to ironman

that was tuff, but you know what? this year's edition of the great white north 1/2 ironman tri was awesome!
i have to admit, during possibly the worst sleep of my life i had thoughts of bailing...i even changed the setting on my handy dandy alarm clock at 5AM to 530AM...the kiss of death for me, cause that's usually when i usually fall into a deep coma, but heck, i had to climb out of bed to change the setting ( i learned that trick a while ago of makng sure the alarm clock wasn't within arms reach...it's across the bedroom, so i have to get up to shut off the alarm..and hey surprise, you're up!)...anyway, i'm up!and i'd taken my bike down to the beach saturday nite, so i had to go down to the start just to get my bike anyway, so i might as well race while i'm there, huh?....almost seems like way too much of a strategy..but if you know me, you know, i need a plan...
also the carpooling thing was a fantastic idea to...if people are waiting for me to get my ass in gear, again, i've gotta get going.
and i had a plan...and it started off well... i had a gel and some gatorade before the swim, loaded my bike with 2 more bottles of the stuff, filled my nutrition bag with gels, gummies, salt tabs, and you name it.......so that was fine...and i wasn't as nervous as i have been at previous swim starts...but that was at the start...after the gun went off, and i hit the water...man, i don't know what happened, but i freaked a bit, and had a tough time catching my breath and relaxing...at past races i usually calm myself down as soon as my head hits the water, this year was the opposite...the second lap was a bit better, but my heart rate was still racing...amd talking to others this year, i wasn't the only one that felt the panic...i'm really curious to see what my final swim time was, my worst at this race was just over 41 minutes...i know i was above that this year, just not sure how much...just because i kept backing off, looking for open water, and wandering way off course to find any.....gonna have to figure this one out before IMC in august, but i guess, you just have to swim and hope to make the cut off times, and relax, right?
the bike was weird too, but maybe in a better way. i really tried at the start to just back off a bit, get and keep my heart rate down, and just enjoy the ride, and for the 1st bit i did that. i got my heart rate down to the 130s, let people pass without giving chase, and planned to save myself for the run...but, then as soon as i got close to the hills, i just clicked into a different part of my head, and just plowed away.. don't know what it is about hills, but my body just seems to like riding down fast, really fast, and then forcing the legs to plow up the other side of the valley...i know that the people i pass going up hill are going to pass me back on the flats..but i just seem to want to go for it......and all in all the ride was good, think my time was around the same as the last 3 years, in the 3 hour range....but, the big but, i didn''t eat at all on the bike, i swallowed maybe a half a bottle of my Gatorade , and even as i was riding i knew that wasn't good, but i just find it difficult to do. i hate reaching down for my waterbottles, i hate trying to open gel packs, or anything, salt tabs seem like such a hassle...but i also know i need to take them...and by the time that bit of knowledge sinks into my head, its usually too late....like yesterday, the turn off of garden valley road into stony plain, i stood up on the bike and almost fell over, my quads just both cramped big time....and that didn't bode well for the run...also i was starting to feel a bit queezy or lite headed or something
i'm not sure what to say about the run...when i ran, i ran fine...i knew my quads were going to cramp up again...they always do...and this year was exactly the same, in fact the 1st time they cramped was the same place they've cramped the last 2 times i've done this race...about 1k from the bike transition...i tried to run through, but both legs just seized up...i just leaned against a post, did the old thigh stretch, they felt better, and just ran from aid station to aid station, and at every one they seized up yet again...and eventually they just became sore from me trying to unseize them, and trying to stretch them, and just from seizing.....but all in all the run seemed better then last year...when i ran, i ran well, i treated myself at almost every aid station, and ate and drank gatorade or water at everyone...i also had my gel flask with me....i took one sip from it, but it felt nice to have to carry it for 21K....
so, what have i learned here...pretty much the same thing i've learned from and after every race.., i need to teach myself a bit more about tri nutrition, and i need to slap myself across the back of the head more often...and learn to eat before the race,and during the race, i don't think i'll be able to get away with not eating and drinking at IMC as easily...so i better learn fast!

w