max
07-10-2007, 09:21 AM
It didn't look like anyone else was going to do a report from Lake Stevens so I thought I better make the effort!
This was only my second Half Ironman with the last being Black Diamond back in 2005. Suffice it to say I was somewhat nervous in the build up to the race with the usual unfounded worries of would I finish, would I bonk, can I really ride 56 miles at a reasonable pace etc.
I travelled up the day before with a friend of mine who was also doing the race as we had to rack the bikes and pick up the race packets the day before. We also had to attend the mandatory race briefing which for me was one hour of purgatory. The first chap was teh best example of how not to use Powerpoint that I have seen. He had basically taken whole paragraphs form teh race instructions and used them as slides. Then it got worse in the second half when an offiicious German chap who went through the rules as slow as possible. Then of course you get the Lemons (apololgies to anyone on teh team if this was you) who ask questions that have already been answered in the presentation.
Finally managed to get out of the session andwalk around the expo whihc was very dissapointing as there were only a handful of people there. So instead we headed out to rack out bikes at Lake Stevens. I was very pleasantly surprised by the town and the location as it was very pretty and the lake looked fantastic in the sun. Racked the bikes no problem after first checking out the great bikes on the womens pros' rack.
Then we drove the corse with Andy and somewhat scared ourselves with how long it felt! But after a dinner of pasta cooked by Andy's wife in their RV we were feeling slightly more confident. Headed back to the hotel in Everett and managed to get a fitful night's sleep before Andy decided it would be funny to wake me up with a call five minutes before my alarm at 5am. We headed down to the tranisition zone and got bodymarked and then headed over to the swim start. Uh oh bad news I needed the bathroom so I joined the enormous queue and then spent the next 20 minutes waiting patiently. I managed to get out to the start two minutes before they called us. Luckily I remembered to pick up my timing chip which is more than can be said for the plonker morlidge :)
The 40-44 year wave just happened to be the biggest so there was a lot of people in the water with me ready for the start. The airhorn goes and wham I am feeling shooting pain in my right shoulder. I think no problem I am just warming up it will go away. After about 10 minutes the pain is still bad and I am also veering off to the right all the time as I am favoring my left arm. I have never experienced it before but I almost panicked at one point as my shoulder hurt so much it was speeding up my breathing. I just gritted my teeth and thought there is no way I am going to waste all that entry fee money by not doing this race. I jujst kept plugging away at a slow pace and finally made it to the transition zone. I was delighted to get on the bike and get away from the lake.
Everyone had said to me that the ride was challenging so the first of the two loops I took it pretty steady and just relaxed on the hills. I do love the hill climbing though so I found it irresistable to overtake as many pople as possible on them. The ride was shaded and there was a lot of cloud in the sky so I wsn't getting too hot and I managed to keep well fueled and hydrated. Into the second loop and I felt fine and I started worrying that I must be careful not to push it too hard. I had a great little contest with another person in my age group where he would pass me on teh flats but as soon as we came to a hill I would pass him again (just like Mike and I at Cascades Edge) On the second hill of the course I finally broke him and never saw him again. There was also a section on the course where for two minutes I was stuck behind a truck who wouldn't overtake a slow rider in front. I resisted teh temptation to overtake him but it was very frustrating nonetheless. Going up the last hill into town I felt very strong and powered up out of the saddle and I realized I had taken it too easy as I felt like I could carry of again for another loop. I also had a great boost when I saw my wife and boys cheering me on at the bike transition.
Then the run. We hadn't driven the run course but it was essentially two loops of a figure of eight course with three nasty hills on it. NowI am sure that the Desert half was hotter but the run course felt really hot to me as there were no trees and the heat just seemed to be reflecting off of the road surface. I started having to pour water over my neck at every station to cool myself down. I was given a boost two thirds of the way through when I saw Andy on the run (he started 16 minutes earlier than me) ad then I saw Ron as well. I just targeted catching Andy and then seeing how I felt. Just after we started teh second loop I caught Andy who told me about the puncture he had in teh first 100 yards of the bike :( We chatted for a few seconds then I moved on. Seeing ROn in front of me I realized that I had a chance of catching him if I could finish eight minutes ahead of him (which was when his wave went off) but I knew this was going to be hard as he is a better swimmer and cyclist than me. I was feeling bad but I kept plugging away and put in some extra speed on the last 1.5 miles. I ran across the line with my eldest son in a time of 5 hours 12 minutes. Well done to Ron who did beat me by 3 minutes, Dan who stormed in at 4:56 and to Andy who thinks he finished in 5:30; but without a chip we will never know!
After the race I stood in the lake to cool down for ten minutes. Then we had some lunch and started to head to the car when one of my boys said they heard my name being called out at the awards ceremony. I thought it was a mistake but I managed to come third in the Clydesdales category out of 36. I was also offered a Clearwater slot but I declined as it meant extending the race season through to November which ddn't suit me or the family.
Overall I enjoyed the race although I have terrible sunburn and I can't lift my right arm above 90% without shooting pain in my shoulder! :)
This was only my second Half Ironman with the last being Black Diamond back in 2005. Suffice it to say I was somewhat nervous in the build up to the race with the usual unfounded worries of would I finish, would I bonk, can I really ride 56 miles at a reasonable pace etc.
I travelled up the day before with a friend of mine who was also doing the race as we had to rack the bikes and pick up the race packets the day before. We also had to attend the mandatory race briefing which for me was one hour of purgatory. The first chap was teh best example of how not to use Powerpoint that I have seen. He had basically taken whole paragraphs form teh race instructions and used them as slides. Then it got worse in the second half when an offiicious German chap who went through the rules as slow as possible. Then of course you get the Lemons (apololgies to anyone on teh team if this was you) who ask questions that have already been answered in the presentation.
Finally managed to get out of the session andwalk around the expo whihc was very dissapointing as there were only a handful of people there. So instead we headed out to rack out bikes at Lake Stevens. I was very pleasantly surprised by the town and the location as it was very pretty and the lake looked fantastic in the sun. Racked the bikes no problem after first checking out the great bikes on the womens pros' rack.
Then we drove the corse with Andy and somewhat scared ourselves with how long it felt! But after a dinner of pasta cooked by Andy's wife in their RV we were feeling slightly more confident. Headed back to the hotel in Everett and managed to get a fitful night's sleep before Andy decided it would be funny to wake me up with a call five minutes before my alarm at 5am. We headed down to the tranisition zone and got bodymarked and then headed over to the swim start. Uh oh bad news I needed the bathroom so I joined the enormous queue and then spent the next 20 minutes waiting patiently. I managed to get out to the start two minutes before they called us. Luckily I remembered to pick up my timing chip which is more than can be said for the plonker morlidge :)
The 40-44 year wave just happened to be the biggest so there was a lot of people in the water with me ready for the start. The airhorn goes and wham I am feeling shooting pain in my right shoulder. I think no problem I am just warming up it will go away. After about 10 minutes the pain is still bad and I am also veering off to the right all the time as I am favoring my left arm. I have never experienced it before but I almost panicked at one point as my shoulder hurt so much it was speeding up my breathing. I just gritted my teeth and thought there is no way I am going to waste all that entry fee money by not doing this race. I jujst kept plugging away at a slow pace and finally made it to the transition zone. I was delighted to get on the bike and get away from the lake.
Everyone had said to me that the ride was challenging so the first of the two loops I took it pretty steady and just relaxed on the hills. I do love the hill climbing though so I found it irresistable to overtake as many pople as possible on them. The ride was shaded and there was a lot of cloud in the sky so I wsn't getting too hot and I managed to keep well fueled and hydrated. Into the second loop and I felt fine and I started worrying that I must be careful not to push it too hard. I had a great little contest with another person in my age group where he would pass me on teh flats but as soon as we came to a hill I would pass him again (just like Mike and I at Cascades Edge) On the second hill of the course I finally broke him and never saw him again. There was also a section on the course where for two minutes I was stuck behind a truck who wouldn't overtake a slow rider in front. I resisted teh temptation to overtake him but it was very frustrating nonetheless. Going up the last hill into town I felt very strong and powered up out of the saddle and I realized I had taken it too easy as I felt like I could carry of again for another loop. I also had a great boost when I saw my wife and boys cheering me on at the bike transition.
Then the run. We hadn't driven the run course but it was essentially two loops of a figure of eight course with three nasty hills on it. NowI am sure that the Desert half was hotter but the run course felt really hot to me as there were no trees and the heat just seemed to be reflecting off of the road surface. I started having to pour water over my neck at every station to cool myself down. I was given a boost two thirds of the way through when I saw Andy on the run (he started 16 minutes earlier than me) ad then I saw Ron as well. I just targeted catching Andy and then seeing how I felt. Just after we started teh second loop I caught Andy who told me about the puncture he had in teh first 100 yards of the bike :( We chatted for a few seconds then I moved on. Seeing ROn in front of me I realized that I had a chance of catching him if I could finish eight minutes ahead of him (which was when his wave went off) but I knew this was going to be hard as he is a better swimmer and cyclist than me. I was feeling bad but I kept plugging away and put in some extra speed on the last 1.5 miles. I ran across the line with my eldest son in a time of 5 hours 12 minutes. Well done to Ron who did beat me by 3 minutes, Dan who stormed in at 4:56 and to Andy who thinks he finished in 5:30; but without a chip we will never know!
After the race I stood in the lake to cool down for ten minutes. Then we had some lunch and started to head to the car when one of my boys said they heard my name being called out at the awards ceremony. I thought it was a mistake but I managed to come third in the Clydesdales category out of 36. I was also offered a Clearwater slot but I declined as it meant extending the race season through to November which ddn't suit me or the family.
Overall I enjoyed the race although I have terrible sunburn and I can't lift my right arm above 90% without shooting pain in my shoulder! :)