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<span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">The short version is I had a swim PR and a great 1st half on the bike before things fell apart on me. It ended with an injury forced DNF 3 miles into the run.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">If you are interested in the details, please read on:</span></span><br><br><b><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">The Background</span></span></b><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">I did this one last year, it was my first HIM, and the moment I crossed the finish line I thought “I’m coming back next year to kick this things arse”. At last years race I had only a few months swimming under my belt and I didn’t have much of a clue about putting together a training or nutrition plan. I gave it all I had but I knew in a year’s time I could make serious improvements.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">I educated my self on proper training techniques and schedules. I bumped up the training</span></span> <span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">volume and figured out my nutrition needs on my long rides and brick workouts. I raced several shorter distance races and figured out how to get in and out of transitions faster. I trained with my brother-in-law, pre-riding, running and swimming on the courses when he raced Ironman CDA and the World Championships in Kona. I learned a lot from talking to and watching the pro’s at both races.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">By the end of year I felt I had learned a lot and was building a great base. Then the pain started. It was running down the outside of my right leg from hip to knee. I thought it was ITBS at first but it didn’t go away with rest. Then the pain went all the way down to my leg and I started to get a pins and needles sensation in my foot. I finally went to an Ortho and learned I had a fracture in my back that caused one of my vertebrae to move about 30% out of line. It’s pinching the nerve roots which is the source of my pain. After several epidurals and some physical therapy, I was able to swim and ride (except hills) without pain but it still hurt to run. I could go a mile or two but anything longer was agony. I did manage to run a HM on Super Bowl Sunday without any leg pain but that was just a few days after my last epidural.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">I kept thinking I still had time to get past the injury and get my running back on track before the race but before I knew it, it was race week. I know the smart thing would have been to write off the race but I couldn’t let it go. I figured I could still enjoy the atmosphere, get through the swim and the bike and then just see what happened on the run. Worst case scenario would be a DNF but I figured it was better than a DNS. I told my family and my Doctor that I still wanted to race. Both objected but I assured everyone that I would pack it in as soon as the nerve pinch pain started. I resigned myself to the fact that there was a strong possibility I wouldn’t finish but I secretly, desperately wanted to and thought there was still a possibility I could tough it out.</span></span><br><br><b><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">Race Day</span></span></b><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">Race morning I woke up, had my usual pre-race pancakes and made the 30 minute drive to the venue. As soon as I arrived, all the pre-race worries were replaced with excitement. The place was buzzing with activity and everyone seemed really pumped up for the race. I found my spot at the transition rack and got set up. It was pretty crowded but I had a spot right on the aisle that made things a little easier. I had some time to kill so I chatted with some of the other locals as well as the guys around me and some of the pros I met in Kona. I got back to my spot, got my wetsuit on and then took my pain medication and a handful of anti-inflammatories.</span></span><br><br><b><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">The Swim (1.2 Miles in 41:59)</span></span></b><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">The swim was a water start ocean swim in a mostly protected harbor. The pros got off first then every few minutes another set of age groupers got started. I didn’t have to wait too long before it was my turn. I made my way down the boat ramp and into the water. The water temp was nice, I’m guessing in the mid 60’s. The horn sounded and off we went. I took a position on the far right so didn’t have too much trouble bumping into anyone else. I quickly got into a rhythm and found a set of feet just in front of me that I followed for a good ten minutes. Last year I had all kinds of navigation problems so I was good to have other swimmers in sight so knew I was on the right track. As we neared the turn around point and got out of the protection of the harbor, the water got very choppy. I after a few minutes, I made the turn around easy enough and before long I was back in the protection of the harbor. Last year I had most of my problems after the turn because it put you heading back into the rising sun and I couldn’t see anything but the glare of the sun’s reflection off the water. This year I had my tinted goggles so it wasn’t a problem. I swam back to the boat ramp without a hitch. As I checked my watch on the way out of the water I saw that I beat my time from last year by a full 9 minutes!!</span></span><br><br><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><b>T1</b> was quick and painless and way faster than last year. I picked up another 5 minutes on last years time.</span></span><br><br><b><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">The Bike (56 Miles in 3:31:24)</span></span></b><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">The first 20 miles of bike are mostly flat. The course takes you through Camp Pendleton Marine Base then out onto a bike path that runs right along the coast. The weather was prefect and the view was fantastic. I was cruising along without any pain what so ever. I past the 20 mile maker in just under an hour which was right on my goal pace. For the next 5 miles there is a barely perceptible decline. I took full advantage and was able keep the pace at 23+ through out the section.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">The course then takes a turn away from the coast and back onto the base. That’s when things started to go wonky. The next 20 miles have a few rollers and a few wickedly steep hills but is mostly just a steady incline. This part of the course usually doesn’t have much wind at all but on race day we had a steady head wind.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">I felt a bolt of pain shoot down my keg on the first steep hill I hit. I managed to make it over the top but the pain didn’t go away like it normally does, probably because of the steady incline. I struggled with it for a while but eventually had to get off my bike to try and stretch things out. I got back on the bike but found the only position I could ride in without pain shooting down my leg was sitting straight up like I was riding no-hands. That pretty much nullified the advantage of my nice aero bike and turned me into a 6’2 sail to catch the head wind. I was struggling to keep my pace in the teens. Thankfully, the course flattens out the last ten miles as it heads back to the beach. I was able to get a respectable pace going again. I rode back into transition looking somewhat strong but certainly not feeling like it. I was hoping to finish the bike in 2:48:00. Obviously, I was disappointed with the way it ended up.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><b>T2</b> I should have called it a day right then and there but I took some more pain killers and anti-inflammatories, had a good stretch and then headed back out onto the course.</span></span><br><br><br><b><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">The Run (3 Miles and Done)</span></span></b><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">I really, really wanted to finish this race. The shooting pain never really left me once it started but I thought with the meds I took in T2 it would settle down. It never did. I managed to run the first mile in about 10:45. The next mile was more of a run walk in about 12:30 and the last was just about all walk in pure agony. I knew then that there was no point in continuing. In fact, I knew there was no point in continuing about half way through the bike but I couldn’t bring my self to admit it until mile three of the run.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">I found a race official right before the turn around and asked for a ride back. I had to wait a while but I eventually got my ride. Coming back to the finish in a medical truck sucked. I so badly wanted to be running across the line with my arms raised. No finishers medal, no T-shirt and hat and no chance to meet TriAndStopMe while being caught at the finishing line.</span></span><br><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">I’m probably looking at a surgical fix to my problem. The good news is both surgeons I’ve talked to seem to think that I will be back to training within a few months with no noticeable loss of mobility.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';">So there’s always next year….</span></span>
