Timberman half race report

What a race! I got a great parking space, arriving there at 5:20. I had picked up my packet and packed the night before so I was more organized, numbers already on helmet, bike and race belt. My number was part of my childhood phone number! Good Luck I thought. Breakfast was 2 cups of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal with craisins. I ate as much as I could.
The swim was amazing. I got in a pack of 4 or 5 other women and we forged ahead and made great time til we really got bogged down in the wave before us, too bad there isn't more time between wave starts. The last leg of the swim was tough, windy, big current that kept pulling me. It was challenging, I loved it. Lots of cheering out of the water, I ran to the wetsuit strippers and then ran back to my transition area, making a mental note that it was easier running with the wetsuit half on than carrying it.
The bike: Started with a 22 ounce bottle of coke with perpetuem and 4 caps of endurlytes mixed in. and a bottle of water with perpetuem and 4 endurolytes. Each bottle had 2.5 scoops of perpetuem in it. I right off I noticed my mavic bike computer wasnt working. This just got me pissed off and I had to keep telling myself that it was no big deal but I didnt like not knowing my speed and cadence the whole race. My legs felt achy and soon my right hip began to scream. I was almost to the end of 106 when I realized that I had been biking slower than I do on a sunday stroll and I couldnt keep going with the pain in my hip. My body listened and kindly took the pain to my side so that I could barely pedal and could not take a full breathe in. This was horrible. I took 2 Gasx, which helped a small bit and stopped drinking perpetuem for a bit. After awhile I drank it more as I needed the nutrition but I was going so slowly! Standing up biking seemed to help so I did that, but as I got off 106 and onto the hill on Leavitt, when I adjusted the frotn chain ring, the chain would lock up. Luckily I realized that pedaling backwards fixed it as it started happening more and more. I finally made it back to the transition area, where I thought about not doing the run as I was so cramped but I dont know how to stop so I stretched a bit, thinking it was my psoas and then forged on. I never touched the water bottle but pretty much finished the 22 ounce bottle of coke with 2.5 scoops of perpetuem and 4 endurolytes.
The run: As soon as I started the run the cramps came in hard, on both sides of my abdomen. I stopped at the first station, not even out of the driveway to Ellacoya and had 2 endurolytes. I had pretzels, pepsi, and rubbed some chamois butter onto my now stinging neck from my usual swim "hickey." I set off to run, feeling horrible. I was of the mindset that if I were going to do the run, it was going to be at a jog, so it was. I stopped at every aid station, every single one. I ate pretzels and bananas, alternated between water and pepsi, had some more endurolytes and even stopped at the porta potty. I did every hose, all the sponges, sometimes 3-4 per stop and poured water over my head. When I got to the turnaround for the second loop, I couldnt remember if it was my first loop or my second! The cramps subsided for most of the run, but I had a huge blister on the left foot, center front behind the toes. I shouldve put some chamois butter there. The cramps came back hard with 2 miles to go but I kept barely jogging, even down the chute to the finish I was unable to speed up. Ny new shoes, which were white were bright red from blood! Saddle sores were there but they did not bother me until I went into the lake to rinse off, then they stung!
No dry heaves at the end, as I usually get but shortly after stopping I got an asthma attack! I couldnt get back into transition to get the albuterol so I wandered around, looking for the medical tent, where they gave me a nebulizer with albuterol. I felt a bit better, still a bit dizzy but afterwards I got back into the transition area and did another hit of albuterol. The worst of the attack was over before the medical tent anyway.
Later that night I got my usual headache after a race. Oh well. I cannot believe I beat last years time. I had a better swim, and even a better bike which just goes to show that the bike is faster and will be way faster when I get it all figured out and situated. I am glad I finished.
2008: 141 32:27 27:03 2:09 934 3:08:03 17.9 2:57 995 2:16:57 10:28 6:02:31 34/82 F40-44 150/435 F

2007: 237 34:15 28:32 2:24 1023 3:13:05 17.4 2:04 1004 2:11:16 10:02 6:03:01 27/73 F40-44 210/475 F