3 Days at the Fair 24 Hour Race - May 18 & 19, 2019

Saturday May 18 at 9 am I started my goal race of the year – 3 Days at the Fair 24 Hour Race.  I had hopes and a detailed plan to complete over 100 miles.  But I stopped after 10 and a half hours with 45 miles.  Huh?  Really.  After months of looking toward this event, I dropped out before it was half done.

This is a fixed time event, which means trying for as many miles as possible in the time allowed.  It is different from the typical fixed distance race where we try to finish in the least time possible. You can stop and restart at your own choosing.  There were several other races in progress at the same time, 6 Hours, 12 Hours, 48 Hours, 72 Hours, 6 Days, 10 Days, marathon and 50k.  It was a little like a carnival or fair with running as the attraction; and it was held on a county fairground on a one mile loop.  Runners had tents and campers set up around the course.  Families and friends were along the course in support of their runners.  The fairground kitchen and concession were in service supporting the runners.

A fun thing that this race does is to encourage participants to celebrate their accomplishments.  At the timing mat and food station area there is a bell that can be rung by any runner at any time to celebrate any mile mark or time completed.  Off and on through my time there runners were ringing the bell.
Ringing the bell video

Race details and results can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/njtrailseries/fair

My run plan called for running the first hour at my easy long run pace - about 9:30 to 10:00 minute miles.  Then I would switch to walk about a fourth of each lap which covered the uphill part of the loop and I expected this to result in lap times of 12 minutes more or less.  I planned to eat and drink regularly from the race provided aid as well as taking some of my own food and drink.  As needed I would walk more.  Overall my goal was to keep moving 90 to 95% of the time.  My calculations pointed to 105 to 110 miles if I could execute my plan.

In spite of all my training, planning, etc I was not ready mentally when things got difficult a few hours into the race.  From my knees down to my feet, I was sore and achy like is normal after a long time on your feet.  The sunny weather made me hotter than just the air temp in the low 70s.  My stomach contents were sloshing a bit.

My friend Angie was in the 6 hour race which started the same time as mine and I ran the first hour with her before switching to my run/walk plan.  Later she and I did some miles together in the last hour of her race.  By this time I was lamenting (whining) how I felt and that I no longer had any interest in continuing to try.

Before

After Angie's 6 hour race

Sunny afternoon conditions

I tried to give my body (and mind) a chance to pull out of the slump by walking more, focusing more on fluids and food, and interacting with other runners.  Eventually I stopped and called my wife Rose to talk about the trouble I was having.  She gave some medium strength encouragement to continue trying, but also gave non-judgmental consent if stopping was what I wanted to do.  I resumed the effort for 10 more miles (mostly walking), then at about 7:30 pm I decided to lay down for a nap before deciding whether to quit.  My legs did feel better after the nap, but my motivation still had not returned.  I knew that I could resume running since my body worked okay again and I felt like I "should" continue. But I just didn’t want to.  I didn't want to enter the "fight" again.  So I officially withdrew from the race a little before midnight.  I showered and lay down again till morning.

One of many posters for inspiration - wish I had seen it!

Why the problem?
The thing with my legs may have been related to the heavy compression socks I was wearing.  While laying down I kept the socks on until I decided that I would not return to the course.  My legs were aching that whole time.  Soon after removing the socks I got up and walked to my pickup truck to pack up my supplies.  Once I finished with that and started toward the place to turn in my timing chip, I realized my legs felt completely okay.  Maybe the socks had restricted circulation to the point of bringing on leg pain.

A number of other things probably also contributed to my lack of motivation.  1. My stomach was a little off due I think to my dinner meal the night before and eventually the heat and effort.  2. I had not slept well due to the noisy surroundings where my tent was placed.  3. And my preparations had focused on the practical details of food, equipment, run plans.  There was significant physical effort and time on my feet in the last 24 hours collecting and setting up everything.

A successful runner who I follow online has pointed out that while many realize that the mind (our will) decides what the body will do, the mind is also part of the body and is affected by the same conditions that weaken the body.  Will power is not immune to the body's physical depletion.

Perhaps most importantly, now after the race I realize I was over-confident and neglected to really acknowledge and prepare for the challenge I was facing physically and mentally.  I had a successful prior 24 hour race.  I read and copied what successful runners have done in making my plan.  I was anticipating writing of my successful run.  So I had taken for granted that I could and would step up to overcome any difficulties during the event.  I quickly found out how wrong I was about that.


In spite of how things went for me, I enjoyed being there.  Already I am thinking about what’s next and how to prevent a similar result.


Some notable memories of people there, some I spoke with:

• Barkley Marathons finisher, John Fegyveresi was competing in the 50k
• The men's 10 day race was won with 731 miles, the women's winner had 530
• French runner Serge Girard, age 65, finished second in the 10 day with 600 miles - he has run across several continents, one year he averaged 47 miles per day all year long
• First runner to reach 2000 miles in race history (10 yrs).  I ran with Gary several times that day
• Third runner to reach 2000 miles in race history (10 yrs) - 37 year run streak. I recently read Fred's book Running Home which refers to races in my hometown area.
• Fourth runner to reach 2000 miles in race history (8 yrs for him) Jim reached both 1500 & 2000 miles in the 10 day event and finished in 3rd place with 540 miles.  Gary (above introduced us and asked me to explain my Walking Purchase story.
• I made a friend, Scott who I had seen at another race, shared most of my last 10 miles with him
• I met Amy, the winner of women's 48 hours with 202 miles; also a friend of my local friend Laurie
• Saw elite level runner Gina Slaby who ran 100 miles in 15 hours something, then stopped around 22.5 hours (of the 48 hour race) with 130 miles, finishing 5th and her husband Steve who was leading the men's 24 hour until stopping around 9 hours with 60 miles
• I spoke w/ a boy about 10 yrs old who had done 13 miles and was walking w/ dad mostly holding hands
• Also spoke w/ a boy about 12/13 yrs old who had done 20 miles by late afternoon. I asked if he was having fun. He said yes except that he was now walking because his leg wouldn't allow him to run anymore.  He had goal of 34 miles because he did 33 last year and race director said he should try for more.

Various pics, most by taken others.

2000 lifetime miles group

Their awards

  

Barn for tent set up

My sleeping spot

 Course pics

 

Female 10 Day winner getting it done

Chbg Half & Salisbury Marathon

Races as training runs for other races - Winter/Spring 2019

Chambersburg Half Marathon March 9, 2019
I ran this race on a day when my training plan called for a 20 mile long run to finish a 50+ mile week.  I ran about 6 miles before the race and took an hour break to rest/refuel.

I was planning to run a 9 minute pace for 10 miles, then to push the pace in the mostly downhill final miles.  I managed about 8:55 to the top of the hill at marker 10.  The last 3 miles were at 8:41, 8:23, 7:52, 7:10 for the last 0.1.  I passed maybe 10 people in those faster miles including one after the final turn into the finish chute.


This is our local Road Runner Club's main race and I saw many friends before/after the race and along the course.  And I chatted a bit with a few other runners trying to offer encouragement to some who were working hard.

Finish time was 1:55:23, average pace 8:49


Salisbury Marathon April 6, 2019
The little group I have been training with made the trip to the Eastern Shore in Maryland do this race.  Ron & Kim were running their first marathon, Alexx was doing her first half marathon. The race was something beyond Monique's 30th marathon and about number 15 for me.  Training went well enough for everyone and included lots of questions and advice exchanged between the first timers and veterans.  Our training friend Gene had selected this race, but dropped out of training with an injury almost two months prior.

The weather forecast was for temps in the low 50s at the 7 am start, rising to low 60s by about noon.  It was overcast and foggy for at least the first couple hours of the marathon.  There was a light to medium breeze most of the time.

Our race day plan was for each to run their own race, except that I would be running along with Kim at her planned pace.  My own training is pointing to a goal race about 6 weeks later, so this race was to be a solid training effort and a chance to help Kim with early pacing and to share the "fellowship of suffering" in the later miles.  Our pacing goal was to try to stay between 9:20 and 9:30 per mile.  After being a little fast in the first 3 miles, we got into our target range and the miles clicked by uneventfully.  For maybe 10 miles we were leap-frogging with a lady going basically the same pace, but she was better at keeping her pace steady.  We would slip ahead, then fall behind a little - over and over.  It seemed we should acknowledge her and our back & forth but she was pretty much tuned in to her music.

A little before mile marker 11, the half marathon runners split off toward the finish and the marathoners turned away toward the countryside.  It seemed to me that about two thirds of the runners were now gone from our view.  Part of our strategy to make it to the end in reasonable shape was to walk through water stations to drink without spilling and to give our legs a little break every mile and half.  Our gels were planned for about miles 6, 12, 17, 22 as the water stops allowed.  I made a couple of quick potty stops in the middle third of the miles to take care of some excess hydration.  Kim continued on pace during my stops and I then took a mile or so to catch up. 

On and on we went, chatting now and then.  We remarked about scenery, flowers and flowering trees, and things we remembered seeing from the course preview video, including a pedestrian tunnel on the Salisbury University Campus.  There were some places that seemed they might be tidal backwater places that had recently been full of water, but were only wet and muddy as we passed.  Most of the course was set up with traffic cones on the center line to separate runners from vehicle traffic.  Runners were to use the right lane and vehicles used the other side.  The last several miles shifted runners to the left lane.  By around the middle of the course Kim and I had worked out an approach to running the shortest route possible.  As the route curved right or left, Kim moved to run the inside of the curve and I would run slightly to the outside of the line she used.

After the split there were many times as we ran on that no one was visible on the road ahead.  As we approached the water stations the volunteers made lots of happy noise - maybe they were lonely too and glad for someone they could offer to help.  They were offering energy gel, water, gatorade with more cups extended to us than we could drink.  I started keeping count of how runners we passed.  I think we passed about 10 in the second half, but people were so spread out that I wasn't sure what number we were on.

As is to be expected, the effort and fatigue gradually increased even though we were not running faster.  Actually our pace was slowing.  Our chatting gradually decreased.  With the increasing effort Kim had gotten mostly quiet as we entered the miles in the 20s.  I decided to try some story telling to help pass the time in this final hour.  I told Kim the long story about the Walking Purchase of 1737 and my ancestor Edward Marshall's role in it as a runner.  After describing his story, I told her about my research and my run to retrace Marshall's run.  Then I went on to tell about a an article I wrote for a magazine, a newspaper article that covered my retracing and being interviewed for a BBC documentary that connected to that whole story. (see more about that in another blog post here walking-purchase-of-1737)  This got us through 2 or 3 miles and within a 5k of the finish.

We caught up to Monique who had a recurrance of a running injury that was forcing her to mostly walk it in.  We commiserated with her and offered encouragement, then continued on our mission to finish.

We discussed when or whether we would begin racing to the finish.  We agreed on just holding on the best we could.  Our persevering was bringing us closer and closer to the finish and the moment we could stop running.  During the last mile we were greeted by a wildly leaping and cheering young lady - our friend Alexx was waiting for us to cheer us in and give us high fives to energize us for the finish.  It was a happy thing for me.

And then we had only to cross a bridge, turn right and run one more block to the finish.  With the end in sight our paced quickened a little and we pressed strongly through the chute and finish line.  As we approached the line we heard our names announced.  Kim completed her first marathon in 4:09:22 and I was a second later.  Volunteers met us to give us finisher medals and some recovery drinks and food.


Chuck and Kim (smiles below may be somewhat forced)

   

 

Alexx

 

Monique (as herself, then undercover for the race)

 
 Ron

Mile splits/pace from my gps watch
9:07, 9:10, 9:15, 9:25, 9:32, 9:16, 9:46, 9:06, 9:16, 9:31, 9:17, 9:07, 9:57,
9:29, 9:05, 9:04, 9:27, 9:44, 9:24, 9:48, 9:42, 9:55, 9:46, 9:23, 9:59, 9:34, 9:17 (last .2)

Finishing 2018, Starting 2019

 Finishing 2018

Prior to running the MDI Marathon in October, I had a routine health screening that found I had a low heart rate.  I thought that was good news, that regular running should lead to lower heart rate due to improved fitness.  My heart rate of 39 was low enough that I was referred to my primary care provider.  This led to wearing an EKG monitor for 24 hour which found a low of 33 during sleep, an average of 58 and a high of 150s during a one hour run.  I was given the OK to continue with the marathon, but with some advice to pay attention for symptoms of heart issues and to get help if needed.

Mid course

A few weeks after my MDI Marathon experience, I ran the D&L Half Marathon.  Training friend Monique and I drove together to the race and ran it together, finishing in 1:54:22.  Monique won an age group award, but I missed one by about 5 minutes.

Finish Line

Following the D&L Half I had an appointment with a cardiologist and then a stress test to follow up on the low heart rate.  No problems were found and I was again given the OK to train and run but to pay attention to any symptoms that would appear.


In late December I joined running friend Angie and some other friends of hers in celebrating her 7 year run streak by running 7 miles at 7 am.  Her streak of 7 years is over 2500 days without a day off from running.  Angie thinks running every day helps her stay injury free.

7 Miles at 7 am for Angie's 7 years

Starting 2019

So now I am setting running goals and plans for 2019.  At this point my race wish list looks like this:

March - Chambersburg Half Marathon (as training)
April - Salisbury (MD) Marathon (as training)
May - 3 Days at the Fair 24 Hour race
September - Pine Creek Challenge 100 Miles

As of January 22, I am a few weeks into a marathon training schedule aiming for the April 6th race and planning to take a minimal recovery and then ramp the mileage up a bit more for the 24 hour race.

I took advantage of some recent snows and during morning runs made about a dozen snow angels at various friends homes.

Today (Jan 22) started extra cold and I joined friends Denise, Monique, Gene, Troy, Ron to do a More Miles than Degrees run - 6+ miles in 4 degree weather.

Here's to a fun and fulfilling 2019.

Mount Desert Island (MDI) Marathon October 14, 2018

From Bar Harbor to Southwest Harbor, Maine                                           www.runMDI.org

Race Start - men's winner at left in white singlet, women's 5 time winner at center with pink beanie

Finish time 3:58:46 (9:07 average per mile)
Overall finish position 215th of 739 ; age group M60-64 4th of 20 

Weather: sunny and breezy, 40 degrees at the 8 am start and about 50 at noon 

I decided to register for this race so that I could visit Maine for the first time and see the outdoor beauty I had been hearing about.  The trip turned into a family thing with my wife and I joined by our older son Keith and his girlfriend, as well as our younger son Matt and his wife and one year old little boy.  We also visited my cousin Harv and spent a day or so with he and Dale.

My training for this race was a little abbreviated and less aggressive than my usual marathon training.  The training cycle was a little shorter and followed about a year of lower than my usual weekly mileage and began after a month of no running at all.  I focused on getting the miles in, doing more hilly runs; with 5 or 6 tempo runs and no speed work.  My impression from the training was that a 4 hour finish was a reasonable goal, but was not a sure thing.  The course is more hilly than a typical road marathon and includes significant hills even in the later miles.

Start with a smile for the camera!

My family joined me for the race start and since there are less than 1000 runners we could stand together close to the start line.  They moved  ahead a little just before the start so they could see me pass after the starting gun went off.

I positioned myself among people I thought looked like they might aim for about the same finish time.  The national anthem was played by a military trumpet player and I got choked up with emotion as usually happens for me.

The race has a tradition of playing Thunderstruck by AC/DC for the start, so that was cranking up as the announcer counted down to the gun (or cannon) start signal. I started my watch as I crossed the start line about 10 seconds after the signal. 

The course begins with a slight downhill for about a half mile then begins the first significant climb - about 150 feet over a half mile.  My pace was too fast from the start for my 4 hour goal, but the effort felt so easy. (That's what they all say!)

This wouldn't matter much for just the first mile or so, but I went too fast for the entire first half. Mile splits are listed below.  Even with the rolling hills throughout the course, I averaged 20 some seconds per mile faster than my plan.  I should have banked energy for the later miles, but I was banking time and that usually is paid back with interest toward the end.  It turned out I should have started further back because a lot of people passed me through the first hour or so.  They may have contributed to my pace problems (peer pressure).

The second major hill (as tall as the first but longer) came in the fifth mile and on the downhill side of that I stopped to relieve my bladder among some roadside trees.  This resulted in my first mile that was not under 9 minutes.

Water and sport drink were provided about every two miles by enthusiastic and well coached volunteers. I passed the first few water stops as I was carrying a small throwaway bottle as well as a honey mix gel that I often use.  As I approached the water table at about 8 miles, I took some of my gel and then walked through the water stop to grab 2 cups of water.  From this point on I did my gel and water the same way at alternating water stops.  When not taking a gel I normally took just water or sport drink as I walked through these support areas.

I noticed a few particular spectators who moved ahead numerous times on the course to cheer.  They were in a pickup truck with kayaks on top.  The lady in the driver's seat, the guy (bearded pioneer look with beret and kilt) was up there using the kayaks like a drum, keeping rhythm to the music playing from the truck. The runner(s) they were looking for must have been a little behind me but I never figured out who it was.  I also noticed the "courtesy van" several times as it was available in case someone needed to drop from the race.

After about 10 miles

At 16 miles or so

We came to two other MDI start lines along the course.  In one town, it was for the kids race the day before and at halfway it was the half marathon start which started a little later than the marathon and followed the same route to the finish.  I think we went through four or five little communities on the way to our finish in Southwest Harbor.

The scenery was quite beautiful and varied with forested areas, small communities and water or coastal views.  Always with hills.  It was rare to find even a short section that was not climbing or descending.  At one place a boat was just off shore and sounding its horn.  People on deck were cheering and banging on pans to encourage runners.

Somewhere a bit after halfway I saw a bald eagle soaring above the trees.  The leaves were changing colors and many places were alive with reds and yellows.

Gradually the constant hills were making my legs tired.  But everything still worked okay and I just continued, kind of letting the pace happen.  There was a short time I thought I might be developing some IT band problems and another with something hurting in one of my glutes.  Both issues faded as my general fatigue increased. Walking the water stops helped bring my pace closer to plan and I was able to hold up well enough for about 19 or 20 miles.  I was expecting to see my family somewhere in mile 19 and that had given me something to look forward to.

Seeing them was nice, though it was maybe only a minute from when they came into my view until I passed by their spot.  I told them I was ahead of plan and expected I would be walking some and slowing down.

My focus shifted to the hills from mile 20 to 25.  I figured I could finish in under 4 hours if I could maintain at least a 9:30 pace average from there to the end.  I would walk the steepest uphills and continue to check progress to safeguard the finish time I wanted.

Marathon route and elevation profile

I continued the same pattern of walking water stops and switched to an ultra runner type approach for the hills.  When my legs were so tired that I felt I needed to walk, I adopted a power hike for 100 steps, then switched back to running.  This repeated at least 10 times through the final miles.  There were periods of relief from steeper inclines and I ran those.  This meant some leap frogging with other runners who were continuing to run.  I passed them while I ran and they passed me while I walked.

It was in these last hilly miles that I started passing some half marathoners, most of whom were walking.  Near one water station there were people in fun costumes - a gorilla and a banana, and a ballerina in a very large inflated outfit.

I continued to watch my overall pace slow down and the buffer dwindle for my 4 hour goal. The top of the big climb came a little sooner than I expected and gave a mile of non stop running downhill.  I was surprised to run my fastest pace of the race at this point and even doubted that my gps watch was giving me good numbers.

There were 2 more small uphills before the finish.  I walked once more at the 26 mile marker when it seemed safe to give back a little time.

As I approached the finish line I saw my family again and waved.  The race clock was confirming what my watch was showing, that I made my time goal for the race.  I finished in 3:58:46 which is a little more than 5 minutes under the M65-69 qualifying time for the 2020 Boston Marathon.

Crossing the finish!

Finish line and finisher medal

mile splits 
8:38, 8:49, 8:39, 8:30, 8:39, 9:22, 9:07, 8:54, 9:11, 9:03, 8:54, 9:08, 8:52,
9:00, 9:00, 9:17, 9:04, 9:16, 9:04, 9:36, 9:36, 9:46, 9:22, 10:10, 9:20, 8:12, 2:18(822 pace)
1st half 1:57:17 (8:57 avg pace), 2nd half 2:01:39 (9:17 avg pace)


other pics

This tree has been the race image, but in the last year lost an upper branch that balanced its pic.

Maine is lob-stah country!

Yes, I Still Run

It's been a long time since I posted about races or any kind of running. I still run "socially", meeting about 3 times a week with my regular running partners Monique and Gene, and sometimes another run during the week, usually on my own.  I have not trained to race since spring of last year.  But I have run in some races.

Last September I joined some friends in the Chambersburg YMCA sprint triathlon relay. I ran the 5k in an "okay for not training" time of 23:48.  Our team was second in the masters coed division.

I also ran in two hilly trail races during November for social reasons.  One was the Twisted Turkey Trail Run 15k because a co-worker and her husband were running.  My time was 1:46:55.  The following week I ran in the Hex Hollow Half because my nephew Jason was volunteering.  My time was 2:46:37, good enough for 1st of 2 in my age group.

In May of this year I ran twice with my great niece Ada.  We did the mile in the Hustle for Health and Ada finished first.  Except for me, the other participants walked. A couple weeks later we ran in the Go Girls Go 5k.  She participated in the after-school program which included some run training.  We finished in 35:35.  Ada likes to put on a late unannounced sprint to cross the finish line ahead her Uncle Chuck.

Before the Hustle for Health

In early June I ran in the Race Against Poverty 5k at which I usually volunteer.  I thought I was running at a training pace as opposed to race pace, but by halfway it was feeling like race pace.  My 26:06 was third fastest of 10 or so in the 60+ age group, so now I have 1st, 2nd, 3rd place trophies from this race.  Of 16 5ks in my log, only one was slower.  That was 26:39 at my first race back in 2007 as a brand new runner.

I think I am ready to train again for goal races.  I have not registered yet but my fall racing wishlist is below.

September 8 - Old Forge Marathon or Half near Watertown NY.  The son of a church friend is doing his first marathon there.
October 14 - Mount Desert Island Marathon or Half at Bar Harbor Maine.  I've been hearing how beautiful Maine is and this would make my first visit.
November 4 - D & L Half Marathon goes from Slatington to Northhampton PA on a rails to trails route.  My run partners are considering this too.
November 10/11 - One Day 24 Hours at Sussex County Fairgrounds near Augusta NJ.  My one other 24 hour race was at the same place about 2 years ago.

I might also repeat at the Y Tri relay 5k on September 29.

I have gotten soft in my training mentality, often resetting my alarm for more sleep on days I intended to run if I didn't have plans to meet someone.  This will need to change for me to prepare properly for these races.  However this turns out, I plan to run regularly somewhere.

Strokes, Spokes, Strides Sprint Triathlon - June 10, 2017

I completed a sprint distance triathlon last weekend with a 300 meter swim, 11.8 mile bike, 5k run.  I finished in 1:22:04, 23rd of 40. Swim 9:18, transition 1 in 2:18, bike 44:33, transition 2 in 0:36, run 25:23.  As the only person in my age group I was both first and last.  This was my first triathlon as well as my first swim or bike event.




The big question mark for me with the triathlon was the swim portion.  I never had swim training or participated in anything more than fun swimming in pools, creeks and ponds.  Riding a bicycle and running don't have the same breathing challenge as swimming.  And in a race swimmers are not supposed to just stop and stand up when out of breath.

Poster that Matt and Katherine (and grandbaby) gave to cheer me on

So after my spring marathon (Boston) I began swimming twice a week.  After about a month it seemed I would be ready for the Waynesboro YMCA's Strokes, Spokes and Strides triathlon June 10th.  After registering for the race, I did a race rehearsal in Waynesboro with training partners Monique and Gene.  I had a surprisingly difficult time with the swim that day, including panicky hyperventilation.  This prompted me to begin swimming in a deeper pool and to research the mental part of completing the swim.  I prayed a lot too.  On race day, I arrived early so I could do a practice swim before the race.  Happily it went well.

Based on predicted swim times, we were arranged with faster swimmers first.  The swim would go in a serpentine fashion through 6 lanes, with a new swimmer starting every 15 seconds.  I was lined up near the end of the swimmers 5 or 6 from last.  I had estimated a 10 minute swim time based on my
practice.

It seemed like a long wait at poolside until my turn came to cross the timing mat and jump in at the deep end to start my swim.  While waiting I noticed some swimmers not doing so well and thought about not being the only one like that.  My swim started as planned, counting my strokes, focusing on
kicking, exhaling, relaxed breathing and rolling a little further to breathe in. 



 

 

YMCA photo

Shortly after the first turn I was closing in on the lady swimming in front of me.  Before the end of that lap I had to slow to not swim over her and that really disrupted my rhythm.  I forgot to tap her foot to indicate I want to pass, but I pushed hard off the wall and swam strongly until I passed her.  I tried to settle back into a relaxed stroke and the swim methods already mentioned.  There were a couple times I took in some water when breathing and paused to cough and clear my throat.

After another lap a male swimmer was resting at the wall and let me pass.  From then on it was just a matter of continuing to complete laps, looking ahead for other swimmers and checking progress toward the end.  It felt like I should be closer to done.  I remember noticing a shapely lady in the next lane and her two piece swimsuit and immediately wished such sights didn't distract me - I still had to survive my swim!  Finally only one length remained and I tried swimming faster but soon had to settle back into my standard rhythm.  I remember noticing the lifeguard standing at the side of the last lane.  I had decided one of my goals was to finish the swim without lifeguard assistance and it seemed I would make it.

At the end of the pool I scooted over to the ladder to get out, leave the building and run to the transition area to prepare for the bike.

I sat down to dry my feet and put on socks and shoes.  I took a swallow of my coffee and honey mix and then some water.  There was a shirt to put on, then race belt with number, helmet, glasses, adjust my mirror and push the bike out to the road.  Once on the bike I started my watch and thanked the police officer who stopped traffic for each of us crossing the main road.  At the first turn several friends were waiting to offer encouragement.

For the most part the bike portion was uneventful.  I passed a few people on the out part of the course.  But at the one sharp turn I heard a scuffing sound, then saw a bike go down and the cyclist tumble across the lane.  He got up right away and was picking up the bike as I approached.  I asked if he would be ok and he said he would.  Every turn had a volunteer stopping traffic and directing riders along the course.  I drank regularly from my bottle with sport drink. 

  

After the turnaround (almost a mile short due to bridge work) the course was mostly downhill and I picked up some speed.  I passed a couple more and was passed once myself.  There were a couple times I stopping pressing the pace to rest my bottom which was getting sore or to drink from my bottle.  At one spot on the return I was checking my turn sheet and a car passed surprisingly close - I had drifted out near the center of the lane without noticing them approaching.  I should have paid better attention.  Soon I was approaching the main hill near the end and shifted to the smallest front chainring and the chain came off.  I had to stop and get it back on before I could continue.  The brief rest made the climb easier than I remembered from previous times.

Once over the hill I saw the same friends again and began thinking of making the transition to run.  Cross the main street and thank the officer again.  Stop on the street and push the bike into transition.  The run motion there was really awkward after pedaling hard on the bike.  Park the bike, remove helmet and glasses, take a drink and pick up sunglasses.  I started running out of transition the wrong way but realized it in a few steps.  When out on the course I hit the lap button on my watch and adjusted my race belt so the bib/number was visible in front.

 

Less than a half mile out I passed the cheering friends again.  One particular phrase I remember hearing was "pace yourself".  I was already breathing hard due to the adjustment from bike to run and the hill at that point.  But I don't think I took that advice seriously.  I remember thinking it was less than a 3 mile run from here, I've done this before.  Soon I realized I was overexerting and had to ease the pace.  There was a water station with a little girl offering water before the 1 mile mark.  I didn't want any yet but thought I'd be sure to accept the offer on the way back - just to be nice.

Johna, Brenda, Rebecca, Amy

I had passed one runner by this point and had seen several coming back the other way finishing their run.  I was struck by what seemed like less than impressive paces.  Shortly before the halfway turnaround I saw Monique coming back and then saw Gene making the turnaround ahead of me.  There is a bit of a hill approaching the 2 mile mark and I walked some of that.  I was now demonstrating some unimpressive run paces myself.  There were a couple of corners to turn then a half mile downhill/uphill section.  Back past the cheering friends who were saying ridiculous sounding things like "looking strong".  I was feeling spent.  One more hill and around a curve to the finish.  I usually like pushing to finish lines but I don't think there was any pushing this time.

And I was done.  What a hard thing that was!

The race was done well by the YMCA and Racine MultiSports.  Since the race field was small, the announcer was able to announce each person's name as they entered transition from swim or bike and when coming to the finish line.  That was nice. 


Note: photographer credits to my friend Brenda for race photos.