Rain day...I mean race day report

A course record but no personal record. I was hoping to make use of my race wheels and cut my bike to under 3 hours. The rain gods had a different answer and my results deviated from my hopeful expectation.


Race day forecast called for rain after noon which in my view would be a welcome addition to a blistering, unshaded run course. The day started very overcast with a bit of chop in the water but slightly less than last year. The women's field was split into two heats this year, basically the young then the old ladies....I am an old lady of course. An ocean swim is challenging and I was getting tossed a bit but I was better prepared this year and felt like I moved well through the water. I was as direct as possible on the course and really only strayed a bit twice...once when the field started heading for the wrong buoy and once on the return as I was fighting the surf which was pushing me toward shore. I was calm and comfortable and my arms were churning faster then they seem to in the pool. My only complaint on the swim...the constant sea grass that I kept eating. I was pleased to see that I cut 8 minutes from my swim time last year and although slow at 44 minutes I was smiling.


The run to the bike transition was in deep sand for about 200 meters then through a water park. I was nervous about the bike. I wanted to get on and off before it rained......fat chance. I was roughly 15 miles in with a completely black sky in front of me. I just wanted to outrun the inevitable storm...not a chance. It started raining but it wasn't horrible. I tried to stay away from the pools of water collecting in the roadway. Have you ever been driving your car and been stuck in a downpour where your windshield wipers on high did not aid in your visibility so you pulled over? Imagine doing that on a bike except not pulling over. I wish I were kidding. I did not know what to do, obviously with swirling winds and heavy rains I slowed down dramatically. There was a guy perhaps 25 meters ahead of me and I hoped that I would see him before I clipped his wheel if in fact I was gaining time on him. I could not see at all. Later, when the rain subsided, I looked into my bento box which was full of water. My clif shots and endurolytes were floating....yes, floating. I had to bail out my bento box to try to salvage my nutrition on the day.


It rained again while I was on the bike, slightly less heavily but for a sustained period of over an hour. Again visibility was poor and the road was collecting water like a pool. The entire ride, between the rain and swirling winds, proved all too tense. I gave up on a good bike time early and just focused on surviving and staying out of the way of the 3 to 4 pelotons of cheating drafters throughout the race. Chris Legh, a pro and someone I thought would win the race dropped out because of all the illegal drafting that was occurring. I am hopeful that this will draw attention to this continuing problem with the race.


On to the run, when I arrived in transition I was happy and hopeful. I had done a fair amount of speed work despite my hobbled foot and sciatic problem and I thought I could move up in my age group chasing the old gals down. Everything was soaked, my running shoes weighed at least 4 pounds more then normal. Surprisingly I had no legs in the run, nothing, nada, no gas. Disappointing to be sure. At that point part of me wanted to DNF. Honestly, I could have wrapped my mind around the concept but I had no legitimate reason to do so....instead I mustered on.


In the end, I beat my 6 hour 38 time from last year. I had a great swim at 44 minutes, a long bike at 3 hours 16 minutes, and a long run at 2 hours and 22 minutes for a total of 6 hours and 29 minutes. My personal best at this distance 6 hours 23 minutes. I know I am capable of a slightly over 6 hour completion of this course so I will return next year. I have competed here in 125 degree heat index and in extremely hard rain....what more can the Mayan gods throw at me. We will see next year.


As a postscript, when the results were originally posted they listed me as a DNF. While I knew I did not qualify for a slot to Nationals I was really upset that the slow race I put together with considerable effort was not recorded. I managed to get the race director to fix the results and accurately report my finish, unfortunately I was not alone in my incorrect DNF status...it happened to many folks. Hopefully they too corrected this error.

There is a sadness that my season is over. I made great improvements this year but I also know that I am capable of much more. I'll look for some competition in the coming months--perhaps a half-marathon or two and I may be tempted to compete as early as January or March. I am my only limitation.