Gulf Roast 2009

What a whirlwind 72 hours. There was good, bad and plenty of ugly to go around. But it is over and that is what truly matters. There is a reason I never want to Gulf Coast...the heat. It always seems to fall on one of the first HOTTT (3 T's) weekends of the year. The fact that no one has acclimated to the heat contributes to the carnage that unfolds during the day. 2009 would prove no differently.

As previously mentioned, I was extremely loose before the race. I was so loose that I didn't follow any routine, I just went with it. Jess took the kids out of the school on Thursday, swung down to pick me up and we rolled down to PCB arriving shortly before midnight. Friday, I finally decided to register for the race and then hit the beach for some sun and fun. I tried to prepare for the race but I really just wanted to enjoy myself down there. For dinner, we grabbed a pizza and just chilled at the condo. Then I performed the annual shaving of the head...making sure to leave a nice mohawk in place.

I woke up at 4:45 and began putzing around the condo. I had my traditional PB bagel and a banana. My stomach was a bit distressed in the morning which rarely ever happens. It is likely attributable to all the junk food I ate on the way down there. I was out the door by 5:30 and took the short stroll down to transition. My focus for the morning was positive re-inforcement...reminding myself that I was going to have a good race. I did my thing in transition and got out of there.

The wind was kicking in the morning and the water was choppy. It wasn't horrible conditions but the swells were certainly going to push us around. I got suited up and hit the water for a few minutes of swimming. I tried to keep myself mentally dialed into the race. Finally it was time to enter to the corral and start the day.

Swim:
I lined up to the right with the plan to move to the left throughout the swim. I watched the waves prior to me and it seemed that the undertow was pushing left. When the gun went off, I went dolphining through the first group of waves. For the first 200m I felt good. I remembered what it was like to race. And then I decided to swim to Destin. I was following the feet in front of me but it seemed like I was out to sea and no where near the course. I made a few adjustments and moved more to the left. Suddenly I was inside the buoys.

I made it out to the first turn buoy feeling ok but not exceptionally strong. I could tell that I wasn't with the fast group anymore. I made my way to the second turn buoy and it felt like that....I was making my way over. No hurry in mind. I set my sites on the Boardwalk condos and cruised. I could tell I wasn't having a good swim. I was off in my own little world just trying to get through the 1.2 miles. It seemed that the last buoy was always just a little bit further.

Swim time: 37:05

Transition was the same as IMFL as you made you way up the beach, through the sprinklers and into the parking lot. I grabbed my stuff and was off. I did feel particularly fast but it seems like I got through it at a very reasonable rate.

T1: 2:52

Bike:
I didn't really know what to expect from my body today. Going into the race, my body was not peaking. Instead it was very fatigued. I had a mental plan that I wanted to execute but I kept in mind that I need to just adapt to what my body would give me. I could tell on the short out and back that it wasn't there. I had trouble getting my power up to speed and maintaining the wattage. I kept trying to relax and remind myself that I had 50 miles and the body would react.

We came zipping back through town and you could feel the northern breeze off the ocean. And you felt it between each condo where the dead space acted as wind tunnel. I struggled a great deal in the first 30 minutes to settle into aero position. It was difficult for me to find both a comfortable spot as well as the right gearing. More importantly, my stomach was really bloated and my nutrition tasted like crap. I think I drank the whole Gulf of Mexico.

As we turned up 79, I began to give it a bit more power but the numbers were still a bit low. I found a good position and gear and just focused on executing MY race. Just before the bridge, a cyclist came flying past me as if I was standing still. I sat up wondering WTF. Then I realized the nice tailwind we had. I found a few more gears and took off. I went up and over the bridge and was feeling pretty good on the bike. I reminded myself that the headwind may be my demise on the return.

The stretch on 388 was a bit lonely. The condition of the road was miserable at time. Plus it was so desolate out there. It was also at this time that I started to realize how hot it was. I knew that the key to this race for me was to not get over heated. I took a water bottle from the next aid station and dumped the entire bottle on me. I squirted it into the helmet, back of the neck and chest.

I hit the 28 mile mark and was feeling good despite my power numbers being about 10-20 watts lower than where I wanted them to be. At the turnaround, it was much of the same. I took another water bottle to stay cool. At this point, I was growing aware of how I was slipping behind on nutrition. My stomach was having trouble processing it. I found myself very gassy. I decided to alter my plans given the problem. When I began feeling bad, I had to force some nutrition into the body, then I chased it with some fresh water and doused myself to cool off.

A couple of cyclist began catching me on 388 and I tried to go with them. I just didn't have it. The power still wasnt' there. I tried to remain calm because I was still on par for a solid ride...I took what the body gave me. When we turned back onto 79 we found a nice little headwind. It wasn't brutal like NOLA. But it was enough to slow you down a bit. I took this opportunity to try to relieve my bladder only to fail a number of times.

Though I know not to try anything new on race day, I planned on altering my nutrition plan during the last 20 minutes of the race. I had frozen a bottle of nuun so that I could up my electrolytes. And given the heat, I think it was the right call. I probably got half that bottle down during the last 20 minutes. Too bad Nuun doesn't have calories because my 1.5 bottles of infinit left me well short of where I needed to be.

Bike: 2:33.40 21.9 mph

I felt pretty good coming off the bike. While I fought off plenty of negative thoughts while on the bike, the prospect of not running wasn't there. I felt like a totally different athlete compared to NOLA. I found my rack and slipped on my running shoes. I realized that I had forgotten to put out my salt tabs. Damnit!!!! Oh well...got to roll with what I have.

T2: 1:39

Run:
I immediately found a decent pace and started pushing. My goals for the run were to stay cool and make sure that I put some calories in the body so that I didn't bonk. Jess was waiting about half a mile down the road. She gave me the race time. At that point I had to run a 1:45 to break 5 hours. Doable? Certainly. Just not today. And I was totally fine with that. The bigger key was finishing.

I pushed for the first two miles. I was on fire. I grabbed sponges at the aid stations. I doused myself when I could. At the third aid station I decided to stop. I made the choice to take in tons of fluid and try to cool down. I literally stopped in the middle of the road and drank two cups of ice water. Cold water was the nectar from the gods. All throughout the run, it was the best thing I had ever tasted. One of these days I will learn to develop a calorie rich nutrition plan that only include cold water. :)

The stop certainly cost me time put it probably saved just as much since I felt like I was overheating. I then switched to walking the aid stations. The next few were rough. I would drink anything I could get my hands on. I also began eating oranges for a few extra calories. I worried that my pace was putting me on a destructive path time wise...but I was ok with that. Mentally, I just needed to get through it.

Entering St. Andrews was brutal. There is about a 3 mile stretch with nothing but sand and asphalt adding to the miserable conditions. I continued to walk the aid stations. I also allowed myself to walk past them until I felt like my HR was down enough to start running again. At one point around mile 7, I realized that I was totally sandbagging the run. I decided to pick it up a bit and make sure that I negative split the run. I couldn't believe how easy it was for me to push the pace a bit. However, I didn't find the pace as pacifying or cooler as before so I easily slid back to the slower pace (lesson to learn here).

When I came back out of the park, I had about 4.5 miles to go. While the run time was absymmal, I knew I was still on par for a good race. And athletes weren't catching at a quick rate. I asked for a little from the body and surprisingly....it responded. My times began coming down. I had a different attitude about the race. I hit the aid stations and switched to cola to keep me pepped up. I splashed myself with more cold water and kept chugging.

In retrospect, I realize how close to bonking I was. In my mind, I was calculating my time/pace/etc. I was so far off. I couldn't do simple math. Fortunately the body and mind held up as I pushed the final three miles getting my pace well back down to sub-9. And I was shocked how easy it was (kicking myself). Of course, it helped that the race was almost over.

Run: 2:10

Total time 5:25

I hit the finishing chute feeling ok. I walked over to medical tent and asked for some ice. They gave me a freezing cold towel and an ice pack. Once I felt like my core temp had stabilized I got moving. All I wanted to do was put on dry clothes and sit down.

Overall, it was a good day...just HOT. It wasn't a pr. I consider my performance poor by my standards. But given the conditions, I put up a competitive time. I also adapted and adjusted throughout the day. That was something I didn't do in NOLA. Sure it slowed me down, but mentally, I just needed to prove to myself that 70.3 miles was achievable.

I also give major props to the race. This might have been my favorite race experience. The aid stations had everything you need. I didn't have any problems on the course. I was more than impressed with Gulf Coast.