Race Report: IRONMAN Maryland

This is my report for IRONMAN Maryland version 2.0.  I say that because this race was supposed to happen two weeks ago.   Due to coastal flooding and the threat of Hurricane Joaquin, the race was canceled.  In an unprecedented move, WTC was able to reschedule the race.  I do not believe WTC has ever rescheduled a race, let alone in just two weeks after the original date.  Despite all of the bitching by people online, they did a great job of getting this thing done. They were not able to get everyone (volunteer and participant) back to the race but it was a pretty good return.  Approximately 55% of those registered did the race if the numbers on the results page are correct.   

Race Week:

This was a quick trip in and out.  Due to reschedule, WTC allowed packet pickup and bike racking on Friday all the way until 9pm.  This was very convenient for those trying to save on accommodations or vacation days.  I flew in on Friday early morning and flew out on Monday early morning. I was lucky that the local YMCA decided to open up for racers.  For a small fee, we would have the whole place from Friday at 5pm to Sunday at 11. They closed to members and all we had to do was bring bedding.  Showers, gym, pool and even race morning breakfast was there for us.  Best of all was that they were located two blocks from transition and had off-street parking.   What a saving grace this was!  Who cares if I had to sleep on an air mattress.  Many people were driving upwards of 45 minutes to an hour to get from their hotels.   Not this guy!  I could just roll out of bed and saunter down to the start.  Of course, I did not do that since that would be stupid preparation.  

Race Morning: 

I was a discombobulated mess on race morning.  I already hate the convention for 140.6 where you put your gear in bags.  I much prefer laying it out at the bike.  Also, having nobody to Sherpa really makes it more difficult to remember every little detail when you are also worried about the race.  It was cold at 45 degrees so I had sweatpants and a sweatshirt on in addition to my wetsuit.  I had my usual nutrition of Ensure and then a light bagel/peanut butter.  I did get up at my normal time for a race so I had a little extra time since my commute was minimal.  I sipped Gatorade until the start to try to get as much fuel for the run as I could without upsetting my stomach.    

The wind picked up at about 6:30am to around 15 knots steady.  This put some chop on the water enough for the NWS to issue a small craft advisory.  Because of this, the water safety personnel could not safely navigate sections of the course.  We were told that they were going to modify the course and it would be a 1.2 mile loop, beginning at 7:30am.  The late start was also, frankly, due to light.  I don't think the staff anticipated it would not be light until 7:15am and there was no possible way we would have started at 6:50am anyway.  Within a few minutes, we got another announcement that they were able to modify the course to a two-loop 3000m course.   That is just shy of 2 miles.  So all in all, it was only a half mile short of the actual distance.  Don't worry, we paid for it later.  

Swim (1:06:54) 

I was terrified that the water would be cold.   And to be fair, it was 63 degrees.  Neoprene booties and caps were allowed.  However, standing around on cold pavement and in 46 degree weather made me cold to begin with.   It was announced as we waited in the wind that 45F with a 15 knot wind put the wind chill somewhere around 32 degrees. The water actually felt fine and was warmer than I expected.  I did not want to get back out. The water was choppy but I'd call it a light chop at 1-2 foot swells.  In the non-protected channel, there were whitecaps so I'm glad they modified the swim to the more protected area. Some were saying it was very choppy for them but for me I didn't feel it was that bad. 

It was very crowded on the swim.  Unfortunately, this is why I dislike Ironman mass start swims.  I could never get good open water.  People kept hitting me from behind and at times grabbing my leg.  Now, I don't have the best swim form but if your hand physically grabs my leg, you are closing your hand too much in your pull.  So stop it.  Hitting and tapping I understand but grabbing I do not.  It was also clear enough that you could see the feet in front of you.  Again, another reason why it was ridiculous how much people hit each other.  We also ran into the really fast people on lap two as we were completing lap one.  So it got very crowded on the final straightaway.  For the most part, the really fast people did a great job of avoiding the slow people.  I had much more trouble with the slower people being all over the place.  

Around the start of the second loop, there was a shallow area where you could stand and many did.  I stood up to look around and find out where the heck I was going on the modified course but then went right back down to swimming.  I cruised down the long straightaway again.  Around the final turn buoy, my left hamstring seized up and I had to stop for a brief second at a kayak to massage it out.  This happens from time to time in the wetsuit.  I have tendency to let up on my kick because of the added buoyancy but I tighten up my legs to keep them flat, resulting in this weird charley horse.  It's my own stupid fault because I know not to do it.  So, after a minute I kept going.  About 200m from the finish, I seized up again and stopped for another 30 seconds before getting out of the water.   Again, my own dumb fault.  

Despite the hamstring problems, I felt really good with my swim.   Not speedy fast, but I was comfortable and confident in the swim.  I really attribute much of it to my OWS with Coach Leo  Briceno at our Outspoken Multisport Team.  Coach Leo has been awesome at helping all of us in the open water and it really showed with how confident I was turning, sighting, and cruising in open water.  Knowing how I felt now, I could definitely have picked up the pace on the swim.  That's a great sign rather than struggling to get through it.  

T1 (10:55) 

It was cold out of the water. I was cold...and wet.  See weather description above.  Enough said.   I did a full change into a bike kit and added arm warmers.  This was a slow transition but I usually don't change. This time I had to make sure I was completely dry because it was still cold and windy.  This was a packed tent of naked men all around and it was hard to find a place to put my stuff let alone sit down.  I made sure I put everything on that I needed and headed out.  

Bike (7:12:56)

The bike was a two-loop course similar to Eagleman but clockwise instead of counterclockwise.  They took out the notoriously bad pavement of Egypt Road, which was a welcome modification for those who know the area.  The tricky thing about the course is because it is flat, there are many sections with no shelter from the wind.  You have miles of fields and marshes that do not have trees or structures to protect you from the wind.  Some areas acted as wind tunnels, further amplifying the wind.  The pavement was mostly smooth except for a few short sections and a section with rumble strips lining the road on the shoulder.  Just a place to be careful when passing.  

If you want to know what biking in a wind tunnel feels like, this was it.   We had 15-25 knot steady winds for more then 80 miles of the bike.  Gusts were recorded over 30 knots at times.  We never had a tailwind.  It was either a headwind or a crosswind.  You could see the trees blowing and the reeds bending to the wind.  There was one section where we had no wind for about 10 miles on each loop. What a pleasant relief but it was short lived.  I had to hold on for dear life or I would have been blown over.  There were a few crashes where people lost control simply because they got caught in a gust.  

When there was no wind, I was able to cruise at 20-21 mph.  Once we turned into the wind, it dropped to 13-14.  Sometimes 10mph pushing as hard as I could was it.  At times, I had to shift into the small ring and I felt like I was climbing the alps.  Relentless pedaling with no break.  If you stopped to coast, the wind stopped you dead in your tracks.  I'm not exaggerating when I say this was probably the most brutal conditions I have faced in a triathlon or any training ride. This was a sentiment shared by many others I would later find out. I also knew I had cooked myself by fighting so hard.  I could feel it in my legs, not a good sign.  Despite this, my bike split was 10 minutes faster than my last 140.6 which proves I have gotten better at the bike.  

I am happy that I stuck with my nutrition plan and used my Infinit adequately.  I was missing one serving because of my extended time on the bike but I don't think that affected my bike very much. I need to adjust concentration just slightly for future races.  Overall there were times I was hungry but then realized I hadn't been drinking.  Take a drink, then I would feel better.   I will say that all liquid nutrition does make you have to pee a lot.  This was also due to I had been training in heat and I did not nearly sweat as much here if at all.  I probably was a bit overloaded on liquid due to that fact. 

T2 (12:05)

I did another full change and took my time.  I kept the arm warmers but I wasn't cold at this point.  We did not have enough volunteers to be able to hand off our bike so we had to re rack ourselves.  No big deal but just adds some extra distance to cover to get to the tent. 

Run (6:23:23)

The run was a 2.5 loop course that used some of Eagleman and then extended into the brick streets of downtown Cambridge.  A lot of this course runs along the water and is fully exposed to the wind. Boy did that play a factor.  

This is where Hell on Earth began.  I started off doing my plan of running and then walking the water stops.  My legs were stiff but I was hoping they would loosen up.  It was an easy 9:30-10:00 pace running.  I was yo-yo-ing with people who were trying the same thing or were run-walking. I felt ok at times but the wind had not died down one bit.  In fact, it was getting stronger.  The water from the river was sloshing up over the rocks at times from the waves.  The wind doesn't affect you as much as on the bike but it sure makes it colder.  I felt myself going downhill though and didn't know how long I'd be able to keep it up. 

At mile 13 I had to stop. I was feeling it majorly in my legs and it was getting super cold.  I was ill prepared for how cold it would be.  I wore what I usually wear to run marathons like MCM where it was in the high 40s, singlet with arm warmers.   I had my tri shorts, that extend to the knees and my compression sleeves on my calves. However, I did not factor in the wind. Signs were blowing over and the temporary light posts were swaying back and forth in the wind.  Some looked like they would fall over.  I could feel myself get colder and colder.  I decided to walk the rest.  There was no doubt I'd finish now so why risk an injury or getting sick.  I made a lot of friends during the walk.  Lots of people in the same boat just trying to survive.  

Around mile 15, I was so cold that I asked an aid station for a trash bag. Hey, they work at the start so why not.  It worked beautifully.  I made a cameo in the race video about 10:43 in, sporting my trash bag.  Because I wasn't running, I couldn't keep my temp up so this helped keep in my heat.  My nutrition plan was also out the window.  I was doing so well until this point.  Lots of Pepsi and oranges were now the norm.  I tried a cookie but that wasn't good at all.  I continued to take my salt and electrolyte pills though just in case I was drinking too much. 

This was by far the slowest I have ever run.  But I didn't run, I walked so in that case it is the fastest I have walked.  I probably did more damage walking than running in retrospect.  The mechanics are so different that walking so far for so long made it worse.  If it wasn't so cold, I may have run more and saved my legs.  Hindsight is 20/20. 

Overall (15:05:23) 

Overall, my time was similar to my last 140.6.  Add 20 minutes for the half mile swim and it is still under 15:30. It's disappointing because I was on pace to do somewhere around 13:30 even if I would have just run my normal marathon.  Given the conditions, though, it was a completely adequate time.  

I am now officially retired from the Ironman distance. I intend on concentrating on Olympic and 70.3.    No more spending six months to a year training for roulette conditions on race day.  It feels good to be done with this and focusing on something different, even if it is still triathlon.  Next up is TriRock Clearwater sprint (going to feel really short) and Spacecoast Marathon.