I'm a Half Ironman!

Oh man, it was a brutal course on a brutal day! The race started off well enough, with cool 55 degree termperature, a warm calm lake, and the sun breaking over the peaks surrounding Castaic Lake (lagoon, actually) as I neared the swim finish. The swim is 1.2 miles, which happens to be the furthest I’ve ever swum. I didn’t start great– not warmed up enough, so the first half I alternated between side stroke, rescue crawl and regular crawl. 2nd half I found my rhythm & swam crawl the rest. Out of the water in 57 minutes, followed by a 10-minute Transition 1 which included a restroom break.

So onto the bike. A 7-mile climb, 1700 feet vertical to climb. I was so surprised & proud to pass 4 people! Then the gnarly descent, sadly interrupted by a flat tire which cost about 15 minutes. Ugh. Well, nothing to do but go. Back up, then down, up down up down up down. All told, there were 6800 feet of climbing the first 42 or 46 miles (my GPS measured the course at 52 miles). I was worried I wouldn’t make the 6:15 Bike+Swim cutoff. But, thanks in art to the missing 4 miles, I easily made the mark. Flew down the last 10+ miles, and pulled back to the transition area after 4:35 on the bike. My longest bike ride ever. Detecting a theme? Six minutes gearing up for the run, then away I went. GPS data for the bike.

At this point, I should mention the weather. It was a beautiful, clear California day. Perfect weather, really, for just about any activity. Other than running. Or cycling up hill. I was hydrating well, but my body could only metabolize so much fluid. By the time I started the run, the mercury hit a crisp 85 degrees. A pleasant, dry, non Santa Ana 85. But 85 still. So I started to run. Initially, the worry was my lower back, totally stiff and very hard to run. Plus a mild cramp in my right calf. The back loosened a tiny bit after 2 miles and the cramp resolved itself. I was running about 10/mile, feeling good but warm. But then, about mile 4 or 5, the heat really took its toll. No matter how much water or Heed I drank, no matter how many salt pills or GU I ingested, no matter how many ice cold towels  or cups of ice I cooled my body with, I could not get my core body temperature down.

So slow, slow, slow. I was hoping for a 2:15 half marathon– that was NOT in the cards! Instead, I staggered through in 2:45 and didn’t have a whole lot in reserve. Every time I ran more than 3-4 minutes, my brain would give my body an ultimatum– stop running or I’m shutting this down! Even with that, walking sometimes 10 minutes at a time, my heart rate was upwards of 160. I was dehydrated, but couldn't metabolize the liquids. I was overheated, and every step I ran exacerbated it. Alas, I pushed through & proudly crossed the finish line 8:34 or thereabouts. I had dreams of a 7:30 and expectations of 8 flat, but the heat & the flat ended that. “Running” the half was harder than the 2nd half of any marathon I’ve run no matter the heat. Just couldn’t get hydrated fast enough during the bike, and started the run already overheated. GPS data for the run.

Regardless, I’m proud of what I managed to pull off. I only had this idea 6 weeks ago, started training 5 weeks ago, ran my first Tri 4 weeks ago and bought the bike 2 weeks ago. All of that, and I finished one of the toughest 1/2 Ironman races in the world with brutal hills on the bike, a flat and temperatures not suited to running. It seemed like a crazy idea a month ago, even crazier when I glanced the course, but I did it!

Results here.
I’ll post the link to photos when they’re posted.