This was the 3rd time that I competed in the 1/2 IM at Highcliff. It was a great race with a beautiful course as usual. Typically we go up on Friday night and stay over, although this year we decided to drive up to the race that morning. We woke up at 3:30am (ugh!) got packed up and headed out the door by 4am. I had 2 Cliff bars for breakfast at 4am, and then 1/2 a can of Red Bull around 4:30 or 5am. I was really tired on the way up to the race as I had been up late for several nights in a row. I kept dozing off in the car on the way to the race--don't worry, Matt was driving!
We got to the race around 5:45am. We put our bikes together and found out that my rear tire was rubbing. We switched rear tires and put Matt's on my bike, but it was actually worse. I ended up just riding the tire with the rub. As a result of all the mishaps with the tire, we didn't get a chance to warm up and were rushed with packet pick-up and transition set-up. We ran down to the race start and got there within a couple of minutes of the start.
The water was pretty choppy from the wind and the swim was pretty wavy. I had trouble sighting buoys and felt a little sea sick at times. I did a lot more breaststroke strokes than usual, just trying to get my bearings. I wanted to make sure that I didn't swim off course (like at Lake Mills). Finally, I rounded the last buoy and swam into shore. Wetsuit strippers were provided at the race this year and I decided to take advantage of it since I generally have trouble getting my suit off. The strippers were great. They helped me and I ran into transition. A spectator shouted to the girl right infront of me that she was the 2nd woman out of the water; so I knew I was in contention...
I got out of T1 and onto the bike ahead of her. I was conservative riding up the hill and onto the bike course. I had some muscle tightness in my deltoids the first 10 miles, likely related to the new bike and positioning, but it subsided after that and I was fine. I really liked the new bike set up (Planet X Exocet). My legs felt much stronger and powerful, and less tired while biking. I had borrowed an Adamo bike seat from Dave Orlowski, and really liked it. Dave had also lent me a Lazer aero helmet to try and that was pretty awesome too. Overall, I had a good bike split, but found that I had difficulty focusing on biking. I had to consciously remind myself several times to focus on what I was doing. I tried to time myself between each 5 mile marker to measure for consistency and found that I ranged anywhere between 12-13 minutes all the way up to 17-18 minutes. I waited for the faster woman bikers to catch me on the course, but no one did; until the last 3-5 miles. That was when the first girl caught me, other than Jackie Arendt, who was miles ahead of me by now. I kept her in sight all the way to T2. She exited before me, but I caught her going up the hill on the run. We ran together for a while (which was kind of nice--I liked the company) and traded positions on and off. I was having a bad stomach day and could tell from the first mile on the run that it was going to be a tough one.
Throughout the run I battled sloshy stomach, side stitch, and the infamous Adrienne abdominal pain (intense cramping-almost like a charlie horse-1.5 inches to the right of my belly button). I was able to keep the stomach issues somewhat in check by using breathing strategies and briefly walking through a couple of aid stations. I started to feel better around mile 6 and picked up the pace a little bit. By mile 7.5 or 8 the side stitch and pain were back again; and worse. I had to stop and walk for about 300 yards. Renne Groff Richards passed me and encouraged me to run with her, but I couldn't. I started to run again, but at a very slow pace. The stomach pain and side stitch never went away and Sue Pierson passed me around mile 10. It was frustrating because the rest of my body didn't feel tired. Finally, I shuffled through the last few miles and then ran down the hill and into the finish line.
Overall, I was happy with my race as I had improved my time from previous years (even with accounting for the short swim). I am still baffled by my abdominal pain and need to do some more reading on it. I think the gluten-casein free diet has helped, but there is definitely more to it than that.
Keep doin' it:
- Adamo seat
- Lazer aero helmet
- Positive mental attitude
Things to Ponder:
- More Saltstick tablets on bike and run
- 1 salt tab per mile on run
- 2 salt tabs for breakfast
- Powermeter to keep effort/pace even
- Trade out Red Bull for First Endurance EFS Pre Race
- 21 mm tubular tire doesn't rub; also use long set screw tabs
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