RR: ChesepeakeMan Ultra AquaVelo

ChesepeakeMan Ultra AquaVelo - Cambridge, MD
2.4 mile SWIM / 112 mile BIKE

10:04:16 (9:56:16 - personal Garmin 310XT time)

Overall 10:04:16 - which I admit kind of frustrates me because my Garmin time on the bike was faster AND I thought I came in at 4:56PM so if the race clock started at 7AM how the heck is that possible? Under 10 hours would make me very happy, I was hoping for more like 9-9:30 but the swim took away any chance of that.

I am now wondering if I forgot to turn off "auto pause" on the BIKE leg of the Garmin because that 10 minute discrepancy would account for port-o-potty stops on the bike. (Yes Debi B., I am a woosey city girl still! LOL!). I guess in this case, I just need to remember that I finished and well under the 5:30PM cut off (5:15 for B2B is kinda close) and had a solid day, solid nutrition, great day for doing the "mental work" that needs to get done for an long day at Beach2Battleship.

SWIM: 2:10:23 - chip (same as Garmin)

That was the worst swim conditions I have EVER been in and even after 2.4 miles of that, I still know that I'm not allowed to ever bitch about a rough swim because I watched IM Florida in 2006 and *those were real waves" compared to what I as in on Saturday. With that disclaimer, swimming in chop and against the tide will quickly show you how weak you stroke is. I got stung by one jelly fish, on my left foot - my pinkie toe went tingly then numb for a while but other than that I managed to make my way through both laps. On the second lap I was getting a lot of encouragement from a volunteer on a paddle board. I assume as I was in the back of the swim pack, they were keeping a close eye on the last few swimmers. When I would stop to sight, which was more often on the second lap (and was more effective at helping me stay on line) he would yell out "Nice work, keep it strong."

One Question: Does ingesting briny water count as electrolyte loading? LOL

T1: 8:40:55 (same as Garmin)

I really improved on my T1 from IM USA (10:59) and I am sure that had to do with paring down my Bike Bag because that transition time included stopping at the Port-O-Potty and reading a quick note on my bike from Nancy saying she only did one lap of the swim and was heading out on the bike. I was bummed to hear her swim went badly, thought "Well "Joe gets his scrapple now..." and thought that since she was over an hour ahead of me, I wouldn't see her on the bike at all.

BIKE: 7:45:14 - 14.4 mph average (7:36:49 Garmin - 14.6 mph)

The first 6 miles of the bike were a wonderful strong taiwind which I think really benefited me because it allowed me to settle into the ride and get calm and centered. I took a GU in the first 10 minutes with some water and then waited 10 minutes to start drinking my Infinit. Then about every 45-60 minutes, I would have a GU or some banana for the first 64 miles. Conditions from Mile 5-68 were pretty much 80% headwinds/crosswinds with some 20 mph gusts and 20% tailwinds with over cast skies. I hop scotched back and forth with several women who were having a rough day. One of whom talked about stopping at the high school and not doing the second lap. I told her not to decide until she was at the school, that things could get better but later I saw her at the finish and she said she stopped as the High School after the first lap, she just didn't have it in her to deal with more wind.

Around Mile 50-60, I found myself really getting angry and frustrated by the windy conditions and the seemingly endless first bike loop. I knew I needed to change my attitude and I tried to tell myself "This is a BAD PATCH, you have these in Ironman" but that logic wasn't helping much. So I thought back to the night before and I took a cue from Nancy's 6-year-old daughter, Catherine, who the night before was working on an art project and singing "Sing a Song" by the Carpenters. That was one of my favorite songs as a little girl so I figured "What the h*ll, I might as well sing..." And so I sang all the lyrics I could remember of that song, out loud, as I rolled on down the road in my aero bars.

IT WORKED! Totally redirected my mind and from that point on, I would sing whenever I felt the inner bitching begin.

At special needs, mile 68, I chugged down a Red Bull, grabbed 2 quarters of my PB&Fluff sandwich and a baggie of Pringles. The PB&Fluff just didn't taste good so I tossed them (some raccoon is very happy now!) but the pringles were a nice change of texture and the Red Bull was the perfect pick me up. I was pretty disappointed in my first loop time of over 4:45 and knew that it would be possible to slow down even more in the coming head winds if I didn't do something. I took the 2 miles to snack and then I decided that there was absolutely NO REASON that I couldn't hold my pace at around 15MPH for the next 42 miles if I just stayed relaxed and consistent. So I set about setting specific hour goals - by 3PM I wanted to be at the 85 mile mark, MET IT. By 4PM the goal was 100 miles and the last Porto-Potty/Get water at the last Rest Stop. MET IT...From then on the goal was "IN BY 5PM" According the the watch on my bike, I met that goal at 4:56PM but my finish time says I was over it by 5 minutes - so that last 12 miles took me longer than I had hoped but I was really happy with how I was able to take control of my emotions and pick small goals to focus on.

The following was my song list: "Sing a Song"; "20,20,24 hours to go, I wanna be sedated"; "Burning Down the House"; "Fly like an Eagle" (Inspired by the fact that parts of the course are part of the Eagleman Half bike course), "I wanna be a Rock Star" and "Good Vibrations"...I realized I didn't know very many lyrics but the chorus would work just fine until I got bored and started a new song. LOL

I'm thinking that "20,20,24 hours to go, I wanna be sedated" will be perfect at Beach2Battleship on the run - just insert "26.2 miles to go...I wanna be sedated."

:) Life is Good!