Chattahoochee Challenge Half Iron Race Report (Columbus, GA)

Going into this race, I had a few goals in mind and a tentative plan to reach them.  I realize that every race course is different and presents its own set of challenges.  For example, my first half iron race last September had pretty perfect conditions on race day and resulted in a fast time for me.  I knew that my swim would not be as fast in this race since we would be swimming against the current for some of it, but I REALLY wanted to try my best to come in under 6 hours.  So assuming my swim was 10 minutes slower, I would need to make my transitions super fast and try to make up time wherever I could.

This was the plan BEFORE I realized that the temperature was going to be 42 degrees at race start and would be maybe 46 degrees by the time I hopped on the bike WET after the swim.  This meant that I needed to take time in transition to put on an extra layer.  So, plan A flew out the window, and I decided I would have to just be as fast as I could given the situations I was presented and play it by ear. 

The funny thing is that as I was packing to leave Friday I emptied out ALL of my cold weather gear and decided to leave it behind.  I was thinking "Why would I need arm warmers?  They take too long to put on! I want super fast transitions!". Thank goodness for the TJ Max near the hotel!

 Race Morning

I was wide awake at 4:20 a.m. and was ready to begin my pre-race routine.   Ate breakfast, got dressed, loaded the car, and left the hotel by 5:30.  We like to arrive early to transition to ease the nerves.  I'm glad we arrived when we did, because it turned out we could choose our own transition spots to set up.  Kimberly and I both were able to snag some end spots, which are highly coveted :) 

 A nice candid photo of us at 5:45 a.m. with huge smiles in 42 degree weather.

I'm on the right, Kimberly on the left.

It didn't take long to setup my area.  I had goosebumps all over from standing around in the cold, and I already couldn't feel my toes or fingers.  It was so cold that I succumbed to this fashion faux pas in the image below.
 

We walked around in an attempt to warm up and get a feel for where we would be running in and out.  I then recited my transition list a few times:

T1: towel dry, jacket, socks, shoes, glasses, helmet, GO!
T2: socks, shoes, race belt, gu belt, grab hat and handheld, GO!

Before the race begins I always seem to enter into a calm dream-like state.  I am feeling normal and happy, but occasionally I look around at everyone in wetsuits and swimcaps and snap out of it "What the hell am I doing?  I'm about to jump in a river?".  The swim start always sneaks up on me...and on this day I stepped onto the dock in my dreamlike state, having watched a few other waves jump in before me, and felt a mix of nerves and calm.  I put on my goggles just in time to hear our start signal.  Here I gooooo....

The Swim: 1.2 miles in the Chattahoochee River

We started the swim by jumping into the river from a small floating dock, which moved A LOT every time someone jumped off.  This was somewhat concerning to me, but in times like this, you just have to take the plunge and not hesitate.  In I went and off I swam.  This was actually one of the most gentle swim starts I've had.  There were not as many of us and we all kept our distance pretty well.

The first 3/4 of the swim was down river with the current.  I couldn't tell if there was much of a current at all, until the turnaround.  That last 1/4 of the swim was against the current, and it felt as if I was going nowhere.  My arms, which were feeling great previously, soon began to get tired and then my left hand went numb/tingling like I suspected would happen.  I really think it took me the same amount of time to swim that last 1/4 as it did to swim the first 3/4!!!  It was tough, but I just kept going.  Plus, I didn't want to stop and rest in the water because I was afraid the current would carry me back...so I had to just keep moving forward no matter what.

I tried going closer to the shore line to see if there was less current, but then my hands scraped some rocks.  It was way too shallow to comfortably swim there, so I moved back over closer to the swim buoys.  It really seemed like the swim finish would never be in sight, but sure enough, there it was! 

I am scared to see that photo of me coming out of the water because I know I did not look good.  I was tired and dizzy and the run was uphill all the way to transition.

Ohhh looky there, I am actually smiling!  I couldn't feel my face so I didn't even realize it! :)

T1:

It was nice having people cheering all the way to T1.  They were so encouraging!

I took off my wetsuit with no problem and followed through with my plan.  My socks were giving me an issue, so I sat down briefly to put them on, but other than that all went well and I was on my way.

The Bike:  56 miles-- out and back course

The bike turned out to be the most challenging part of the race for me, and normally I LOVE the bike!  I  started out with a good pace and my legs felt strong.  We rode along a narrow mixed use pedestrian path for the first 5 miles or so.  There was some debris in the path due to the storms the night before and you had to be cautious to navigate through in case pedestrians were there.  Some signs were placed with arrows pointing which way to go, but there were times when I was wondering if I was going the right way because I could not see any other riders.  Volunteers and police were stationed at major turn points and intersections and that was REALLY good.  I made a point to thank them when I passed because they are so important to races like this.   

After a little while we ended up on Fort Benning.  The road was seamed...and the seams were wider than they should be in some spots, meaning super bumpy and mixed with potholes.  I stayed out of my aero bars for that portion until the road smoothed out and became more aero friendly.  Then I started enjoying it more and was feeling good. 

We then came upon some hills, and some more hills, and more hills than I was led to believe were going to be on the course...but I had trained on hills, so I knew I was capable of doing it.  Most of the problems came from the windy conditions.  When it is windy it is hard to do everything on the bike.  It is harder to eat because you need to keep control of the bike, it is harder to stay in aero and results in more tension in the neck and shoulders.  My arms were actually getting tired and hands were stiff and puffy from holding on to the bike too tightly. 

When I climbed the big hills and started doubting myself, I thought about fellow triathletes Dani Grabol and Kacie Darden (check out their blog and support their RAAM training) who recently won a 517 mile nonstop race which included mountain climbs.  It suddenly made my climb seem so attainable.  My hill was not a mountain.  I could see the top of my hill, and as long as I relaxed and kept doing "circles circles perfect circles" as I recited in my head, then I would make it to the top.

One hill was especially rough near the end, and I struggled on already tired legs to make it to the top.  I got there...only to be greeted by a strong headwind on the recovery.  My mind started saying "It's not fair!  I need to recover my legs but it feels like I am still climbing a hill!".  Ok, actually I was cursing like a sailor declaring revenge on the wind :P  But I soon changed my thoughts to more positive things.  As I was fighting the winds on what should have been fast and flat roads, I thought about my friend Dani as she  rode 422 miles across Florida breaking the existing record.  She encountered such strong winds that she ended up with tendonitis from holding onto her aero bars so tightly.  I thought to myself "You are not riding 422 miles trying to beat a record, you only have 12 miles to go so stop complaining and get it done!"

 I cannot stress enough how much Mental Strength is required in Triathlon.  You WILL have negative thoughts cross your mind at some point in a race of this distance, and you MUST be prepared to turn those thoughts positive as soon as possible.

T2:

It is always hard to run on asphalt when wearing bike shoes and I ere on the side of caution when running my bike to transition after dismounting :)  After arriving safely to my spot, I racked the bike, took off my jacket, changed socks and shoes, grabbed my belts, hat and water bottle and took off.   All went smoothly, I just wish I could be a little faster :)


The Run:  13.1 miles--2 loop course through downtown Columbus

I found my running legs much much quicker than I thought I would, especially given just how tiring that bike leg was.  I saw familiar faces cheering me on and that gave me a boost of energy.  I then saw Kimberly for the first time shortly after and she was looking good.  She was about 3 miles ahead of me on the run.  Her swim and bike times were fast and strong!

They said the run would be flat, but I (and Kimberly and my cramping glutes) beg to differ. After going up two little hills in the first mile, I said to myself "Alright, they lied about the course description. Get over it and move on.  You trained on bigger hills than these, you are fine!"

I tried to keep a smile on my face!

I actually liked the run course because part of it was along the river and the other part was downtown and full of spectators.  It was also good to pass the same people multiple times and form some sort of camaraderie whether it be head nods, smiles, encouraging words or waves.  It is important for me to connect with people on the course and receive as much positive energy as possible because I still find running difficult and there were times when it was really hard to keep going.

When my legs got super tired and I started to overheat near the end, I channeled none other than Chrissie Wellington (pictured above).  I have images of her running her last Kona Ironman (2011) in my head because she is so inspiring.  She did that race with injuries, and you could tell she was struggling during the end of the run, but she just kept going...and she WON!

Channeling my inner Chrissie Wellington and smiling was really what kept me going at a consistent pace near the end of the run.  I was so excited the last mile and a half...and I also remember feeling SO HUNGRY!  I think I even mentioned that to one of the volunteers as he directed me to the finish line "Yay!  I'm so hungryyyy!" and he laughed :)  The finish was at the bottom of a hill which helped me forget about my tired legs, and I sprinted across the finishline with a huge smile on my face! 

 Ooopsie!  

This might explain why I felt like I was overheating near the end of the run :P  

I did put on sunblock in the morning, but did not reapply before the run.  

Lesson learned!

With all that being said, though it was a challenging course and I mentioned many of my struggles above, it was also a GREAT race to say I completed! I feel like I did the best I could and my nutrition was great as well.  No GI distress, no major complaints, and I learned a lot from these experiences.  I also made a point to be friendly and smile. :)  I feel like every race is a different fun adventure in which I learn more about who I am and what I can do, and that's very empowering!  

 Post race celebrating!  Cheers to a successful 2nd Half Iron distance race!  

Thank you to all of the volunteers for making this a successful and SAFE race!  

Congratulations to all finishers!

Official Race Results:

Overall Time:  6:27:19

Swim: 43:21 (included the run up to transition)

T1:     3:06

Bike:  3:23:06

T2:     2:26

Run:   2:15:22

Nutrition Notes: 

I always like to document my race day nutrition for my own sake and in case anyone else is interested.  The important thing is finding out what works for YOU and tweaking it along the way depending on weather, race conditions, how you are feeling that day, etc. 

Pre-race: 

Upon waking, 2 gluten free waffles with 2 TBS almond butter and half a banana. Nuun and water to drink.

Banana an hour before swim start

1 Gu Gel 15 mins before swim start

Bike:  

4 gu gels, 1 pack GU chomps, 3 1/2 servings GU brew (1 gu gel at 15 mins on the bike, then spaced according to 100 calories either gel or chomps every 30 mins and sipping and monitoring gu brew intake throughout ride) Aimed for 250- 300 calories an hour.  Took in about 900 calories total on the ride. Felt good considering the tough course.

Run: 

2 gels, 3 salt tabs, lots of water.  I think I took the gels at 40 mins on the run and at 1:30.  I don’t remember exactly, but typically it is harder for me to eat on the run portion.  I was starting to feel hungry though and I did not plan on drinking the electrolyte mix provided on the course.  I made myself stick with my plan of gels and water only and salt tabs if I felt it was necessary (which it was since I was sweating a lot as the temperature rose).  In hind sight, I could have taken another gel on the bike since it took me longer to complete and I was really hungry at the end of the race.