Subaru Vancouver International Half Iron Triathlon Race Report

Subaru Vancouver International Half Iron Triathlon

July 14, 2013

Pre-race

Race start was 6:30, so I set the alarm for 4:15 so we could eat at least two hours before. Ugh, who feels like eating at 4:15 in the morning? (We here refers to myself and one of my best pals, Heather. Heather has her own story to tell, so I’ll leave it to her but wanted to at least clarify the “we.”.  I had half a sweet potato, one packet of almond butter, two hard-boiled eggs and half a packet of UCAN.

We arrived at the race site at about 5:30 and we started putting together our transition areas. Transition was very, very crowded and you really had very little space for yourself.  Transition area on race morning is always a very intense place to be. There is so much nervous energy that if you weren’t feeling any pre-race jitters spending time in transition will certainly bring them on.

With 30 minutes until race time, I downed a packet of UCAN, 5 master amino pattern (MAP) caps and 3 PreRace caps. Then we went to stand in line for the john.  Got my business done with about 10 minutes to spare until race start but still had to put my wetsuit on.  If you haven’t used TriSlide yet, that stuff is nothing short of amazing.  Helps your wetsuit go on like nobody’s business and helps with chaffing too. Smooth like butta baby!

We made our way to the race start at about 6:27. We only had enough time to run in the water and do about 10 strokes. I would have liked more time to warm up but that’s just how it was going. At least that little dip took away the element of surprise as far as the water temp was concerned. The water actually felt quite nice compared to the frigid waters of Kodiak.  The water looked like it had a bit of chop to it, but nothing too intimidating.

One more photograph and a quick good luck from the fam and the horn sounded!

The Swim

The swim was two loops where you actually get out and cross a timing mat between loops. Holy crap! This was by far the most physical swim I have ever been through. And I started in the back of the pack. I had intended to start mid pack to the side, but my late arrival on the start line kept that from happening. Once things got going, I don’t think it would have matter where you were. I got punched three times in the eye and once in the jaw. One punch made my goggle suck into my eye, which wasn’t particularly enjoyable.

I felt pretty good but wasn't really able to find space for myself or any toes to follow. The water clarity wasn’t great and people kept punching me in the eye.  I was aiming for a 36 minute swim and was through the first lap in 18:37. Not as good as I hoped, but not too far off the mark.  Run around the marker, cross the mat and back in the water for round two! Ding, ding! The field had spread out somewhat, but it was still a battle royale.  I tried to find some space and push with bursts of speed. The second lap definitely felt better, but I wasn’t tracking as well as I usually do. Only later did I realize that there was a wicked current and that everyone was having a hell of a time staying on course.  I’m not sure if the fact that I didn’t think about the current is a good thing or a bad thing. Oy!  When I hit the beach, I was glad to be out of the slug fest. My swim was just over 38 minutes. Like I said I was hoping for 36. While I’m a little disappointed with the 38+, if I take into consideration the current and the brutality, I have to be somewhat satisfied.

Time: 38:16

T1

The transition from the beach to transition was a few hundred yards through the sand, which isn’t very friendly after slogging it out in the ocean for 1.2 miles. I had a hard time finding my bike too because the numbering system was totally jacked. I finally found my bike with the help of a volunteer and then went about stripping my wetsuit. One foot was caught in my suit! Damn it!! The nicest and most neighborly triathlete of all saw me struggling and ripped the suit the rest of the way off. How amazing is that?! Seriously! I’m so humbled when stuff like that happens. Whoever you are, THANK YOU!

Time: 3:42

Bike

The bike was four laps around the UBC campus. Each loops started with a descent ascent from the beach to the campus. The hill wasn’t terribly steep, but it was long (~1.5 miles). The good news is that it came at the start of the lap, but the news you had to climb it four frickin’ times. My goal on the bike was to get as close to the 3 hour mark as possible and over an 18 MPH pace. After the climb, the course was mostly false flats so you are either killing it and thinking you are an uberbiker or struggling and thinking WTF? My nutrition plan was three packets of UCAN on the bike in my bottle, taking one packet (1/3 bottle) every 75 minutes or so with the last dose as close to the end of the bike as possible. I also took another 5 MAP caps and 2 PreRace at the 2:00 mark. I also have Nuun in two water bottles for a total of three bottles on my bike. There were no mile markers on the bike, which I found pretty annoying but I guess with a four lap course it would be tough to mark. The first lap was fine. I felt good and was enjoying myself. The second and third laps got very crowded very quickly as the oly and sprint athletes joined the mix. Whatever.  Overall my pace was staying over 18 MPH, so I was pleased. There were a few sections that were narrow due to open roads and were designated as no passing zones. While it was frustrating to get caught behind slower cyclists during these sections, I obeyed the no passing rule. Do you know how super annoying it was when other people didn’t think these rules applied to them and went ahead and passed anyway? I was so irritated. There were several occasions when I would have liked to pass and would have had a better bike split to show from it, but didn’t. Of course there were not course marshals around when this was happening so it all went unchecked. Oh well…race your own race I guess.  I finally climbed the hill for the fourth and final time. I didn't think that a four-lap course would bother me that much, but I was pretty over the course by the final lap. Most of the field had spread out considerably by then and the shorter distance athletes were done, so it was pretty empty for the most part. The best part about that big hill at the start of the loop? You get the finish going down that same hill, which gives you a nice spin out of your legs and a burst of speed.  Just before going down for the final time, I downed the last third of my UCAN bottle and starting mentally preparing for the run.

Time: 3:04:12

T2

Not much to report here. It went smooth and relatively easy. My only issue here was that it was crowded and other athletes were not always very considerate of those entering and exiting.

Time: 1:40

Run

The run was two loops around Jerico park and passed the finish/transition area. I felt pretty good going into the run and found my rhythm pretty quickly. I took 5 more MAP caps and 2 more PreRace to get me through the rest of the day.  The biggest issue I had on the run was race math.  Race math (i.e. trying to calculate pace and finish time when you are fatigued and dehydrated) is a very difficult discipline. You know what makes it more difficult? Race math in a different country. Kilometers are not miles and, therefore, race math is infinitely more challenging. I gave up at about kilo 2. The first half of the loop was mostly shaded but had a few hills, while the second half of the loops was flat was completely in the sun. Pick your poison. I made it through the first loop and saw my amazing support crew and told them I’d see them soon! I took my last packet of UCAN and prepared myself to finish strong. I struggling a bit on the hills in the second lap, my biggest problem being that the bottoms of my feet hurt and the heat getting to me a bit. Going into the final half of the last lap, I knew I was going to be just fine. After the final turn on the run (marking about 2.5 kilos to go), I turned up my pace a bit to try to make up a bit of time I lost on the hills. That last UCAN did its job and I felt strong going into the final stretch. While I didn’t really have a good idea of my split (see previous comment on race math), I knew that my overall race time was good and that made me happy! Coming into the final 100 yards, a guy was just ahead of me. I really didn’t want him to ruin my finisher photo, so I blew by him and finished all by myself! Booyah!

Run: 1:53: 21

Total: 5:41:10 PR!! Previous best was 5:52:40

Overall thoughts:
With a PR it’s hard not to be pleased; I had a good race and felt I executed well.  I do think I am capable of swimming  sub 36 minutes, but not with the conditions on the day. This was my first race in my new TYR Hurricane Cat 5 wetsuit. That thing is a work of heart and I loved it! It fit great and the placement of rubber thicknesses works well for me. A very nice wetsuit indeed. While my bike split was only a PR by a little more than a minute, my previous best was on a pancake flat course giving that one minute a bit more weight in this race. I'm happiest with my run on the day. It’s the first time in a half race that I didn’t implode and felt (relatively) strong throughout. I lost some time in the middle miles, but was able to rally and push my pace for the last couple of miles.

This was the first race I’d done completely using UCAN after going the low carb/metabolically efficient route several months ago. I have to say that my energy definitely felt more consistent throughout the day and I never felt like I was bonking. I also did not have any GI issues, pre, during OR post-race.  I completed the race using only 5 packets of UCAN, including the serving I took 30 minutes before the race. That’s only about 600 calories for a sub 6-hour effort.  Nice, right? I’m looking forward to continue to tweak this approach and really dial it in.

As for the race itself, I don’t think I’d do it again. It was a beautiful setting and the race was obviously well run and supported. But I didn’t like having to do four laps on the bike and didn’t appreciate the congestion created by having three distances going on at the same time. There were some confusing turn-arounds that apparently resulted in more than one crash on the day. I’m all for having multiple distances being run at the same time and I don’t have a solution to the congestion problem, but that’s why I’m not a race director and can bitch about it as a racer.  I’m not sure that they were prepared for the number of competitors they had on the day either. When I went through registration, they had already run out of women’s shirts “quite some time ago.” I also heard from another finisher that they ran out of medals. Both are lame and inexcusable in my book. And seriously…fewer than 10 port-o-potties in transition? Just not going to work. Ever.  But, I want to give kudos to the aid stations on the run. I went though one and was pretty pissed when I was told they were out of cups and were squirting water into people’s mouths from water bottles. Really?! Come on! BUT…by the time I hit this same station on the way back, they had restocked the cups, so have to give them credit for solving the problem quickly.

 

As always, I have many thanks to give. While triathlon is an individual sport, completing a race cannot be done alone. First of all, thanks to my coach, Lisa Keller of Multisport Training of Alaska, for creating another wicked block of training and putting up with my questions, second guessing and type-A requirement of details. Buckets of love go to my parents, Pete and Patty, who supported me through yet another race. They’ve put up with a lot of early mornings, bad and edgy moods, hours of boredom and lots of inhospitable weather to watch me and ring their cowbell. Not once have they considered not attending a race. A big thanks to my pals, Betsy and Heather, who just plain get it. And of course, I am grateful to my husband, Mark who shows unbelievable patience with my training in this selfish and time consuming sport. He hates it, but loves me and that’s why he makes the sacrifice. I was honored to be racing for TheTriShop.com. They have offered great gear and athlete support and I am proud to be a team member. I also want to give a shout out to the goods and gear I used on the day; TYR, Newton Running, Cervelo, Fuel Belt, TheTriShop Loius Garneau kit, Nuun and UCAN!

Next up…Taupo Half in New Zealand?!?!?!