All Things Considered...

I PREd by ~ 17 minutes.

So I am satisfied. But let me give you the full report.

Friday night

Ed and I drove up to our hotel in NH Friday evening after work and quickly grabbed some eats at the restaurant...it was perfect, they had a chicken and pasta dish as a special on the menu, and that satisfied my last carb-filled meal of the day. We popped Slumdog Millionaire into the DVD player in our hotel room and vegged out until our pal Anna showed up and then we called it a night.

Pre-race Saturday morning

5am came, and we all had a full night's sleep! Who gets a full night's sleep before a race?! I delved into my morning nutrition of 1.5 cups of applesauce, banana, protein shake and bottle of Endurance, and was eagerly awaiting the first poop of the morning to come. And I waited. And waited. We packed up the car, and I scooted back to the bathroom. Success!

Unfortunately everyone's inability (or ability) to poop had an effect later in the morning.

We made it to the race site, and parked our car about a mile away from the start. Went through the usual triathlon morning prep - pumped tires, etc and we walked to the transition area. We quickly realized we were running late. Ed was in the first wave, and we could hear the National Anthem as we approached transition. Anna and I grabbed our race packets and set off for transition. As I set up...I realized I was missing something...FUCK FUCK FUCK.


My wetsuit was in the car.


And I didn't know where Ed was with the car keys.


Fuck.


I ran to the race packet area and found Ed getting body marked. They lost his race packet. And his wave was about to go off. I grabbed his keys, tossed on my sneakers and sprinted out for the car.


It was 7:20 when I began my run, and Ed's wave was going off at 7:30, and my wave was around 7:45am. Well, I guess this was my 20 minute warmup! I was body marked and racing to the car, passing spectators who wondered why the fuck I was running in the opposite direction of the race. Mary and Ange were walking on the other side of the street, "Kim, what's wrong? Where are you going?" they shouted. "I forgot my wetsuit in the car!" I yelled. "Do you need help?!" they asked. "No thanks, I'm almost at the car!" I ran on. I grabbed the wetsuit and sprinted back. Tick tock tick tock. I mentally made a list of the things I still needed to do in transition - EVERYTHING! Set up run stuff, get my Garmin ready - and the clock was ticking. I was the LAST person in transition. Absolute LAST. I didn't have time to fully prepare my transition area, but I needed to make sure I got into my wave. I ran down the beach and saw that the pink caps (my wave) were nearing the front of the start line. I pulled on my wetsuit without body glide, and was grateful to run into Meredith and Meg in the water. I turned 30 this year, entering into a new age bracket, so this year we aren't in the same wave. The water was freezing and Meredith and Meg both were covered in goosebumps. Meredith says "get in the water before you swim - it's bleeping cold". I dove into the water, and immediately lost my breath. She was right, the water was breathtakingly numbing. I couldn't feel my hands. I was starting to freak out.


Swim
I didn't have time to really freak out. I situated myself where Coach PP instructed me to - middle/side. I chose the left, closest to the buoys. 3-2-1...and we were off.

Wow physical swim. I think more physical than IMLP if you can believe that.

I wasn't comfortable. There wasn't any point in the swim when I felt comfortable. I was freaking out a bit. I was freezing. I was struggling for a breath. It seemed like the longest swim in the history of swims.

I made it to the turn around buoy and felt okay. I still wasn't comfortable. I felt like my strokes weren't smooth whatsoever. I felt like I was hacking away at the water.

I was passing some blue caps - these were men 35-39 and clydesdales. They were struggling. I made my way around one of them, when all of a sudden.

PAIN.


EXCRUCIATING DEBILITATING PAIN.


I got punched in the right calf.


My calf cramped and totally seized up.


I yelled "FUCK" and turned onto my back to try to massage it out, but I could see swimmers right behind me. I turned back over - and began swimming with my right foot totally flexed. The pain stuck with me.


A red cap of a woman the wave behind me passed by, and I hung onto her feet for a few minutes until she sped away.


Then, the swim ended.


I slowly got out of the water, the calf cramp making it difficult to walk. I heard Mary and Ange yelling "RUN!" but I couldn't.


I was dizzy but managed to snag a wetsuit stripper and made it through to the transition area.


Swim time: 0.93 miles = 29:34 (shaved 5 minutes off my previous time)
Transition: 2:16 (nothing great to report about this)


Bike
I was determined to have a great bike. Out of all the events, I would like to think I'm strongest on the bike. I wanted to average 18 on this damn hilly course. I had to remember to give 90% and save some of my legs for the run.


The hills were tougher than I remembered. They sucked. Big time.

I don't remember much about the bike, well, because I think I was so focused on being in a box of hurt that I didn't pay attention to anything else. I focused on biking strong. I talked to myself a bit. Reminded myself that I needed to suffer. And I did. My secret goal was to finish the bike in 1:30. I was trying to calculate in my head as I rode. At the hour mark I was average 18.2 mph, PERFECT. Go go go. I REALLY tried to push myself the last half hour. The last few hills were crippling. 4 mph?! UGHHH!!! I tried to focus on gearing and remaining strong despite the pain radiating from my calf.


My Garmin said 1:30 when I pulled into the transition area, but unfortunately I was a minute and change shy of my goal.


Bike time: 1:31:56 = 27.25 miles = 17.8 mph (shaved nearly 8 minutes and 1.5 mph off my previous time)

Transition: 2:06 (noticed the top of my foot was bleeding. Feet were covered in dirt and pine needles. Awesome)


Run
Did I have any gas left in the tank? I had to give it my all. Run so hard that it hurts. Well my calf hurt, I can tell you that much.


To put it bluntly, the run sucked dick.

I was struggling. I passed QT2ers, and Coach Tim when I set out. I gave a little wave. I saw my super fast buddies finishing their run. I was jealous. There was that hill ahead. Oh dear lord.

Baby steps up the hills. Baby steps, probably slower than if I was walked instead.

Box of hurt? I was in a freaking football field of cripple. I passed Ed, who was on his way back. I just kept trying to get my feet moving.

My pace was slowing and there was nothing I could do about it. My friend Chris caught up to me on the run, and we ran together for a few minutes. I made it to the turn around, and walked for a minute up the slight hill. Halfway point. Get with it.


I desperately wanted to pick up my pace, but I just plain couldn't. I felt my run goal time slowly slipping away. There weren't going to be any 8:30s today. No sir.


The finish line was near, and sweet baby jezus, we had to run on the beach? Christ, this was new from last year! How was this lady sprinting on sand?! I got to the mat and gave it my all.

And then nearly collapsed in pain.


Run time: 54:49 = 6.2 miles = 8:50 average (shaved 4 minutes off and 40 seconds off my average pace from previous time)


Overall time: 3:00:40 (SO CLOSE TO GOING SUB-3)
26/86 in Females 30-34

107/398 Females


I'm satisfied.


Next up - Vincentown, NJ Sprint Triathlon July 11th.


But first - massage tonight!

My friend Anna completed her first EVA Olympic distance triathlon - and she smiled throughout the WHOLE thing! She kicked butt!

After-Party Pictures!!!