Eagleman..what a bust

I cranked the AC last night to stay as cool as possible. Unfortunately this provoked my asthma and I woke up coughing. I was able to position myself upright to sleep which helped--you didn't think I would turn down the AC did you?

Up at 3:50 AM. I ate more than usual--half a banana, half of an English muffin, and a granola bar. My heat did not take off until 8 AM so I wanted to get a good base in. Off to transition we headed arriving around 5:30. I setup my gear and then grabbed the sunblock to douse myself. After stretching I sat near the starting pen to watch the 10 heats before me take off. I was grateful when someone blocked the sun from me.

Finally, we got in the water and what a relief. In the heat, in my wetsuit, that water felt so good. I started on the left side of the course, buoys for the course were on the left and I wanted to be as direct as possible. Although I wanted to hit my shoulder with the buoy I did manage to keep them close for the first two turns. After that point, the current swept me wide on the course. Still, I felt very comfortable and I was seeing the course well--and for a change there were plenty of people with me. Coming into the final turn and then the dock I was really getting pushed in the water but I just kept calm and kept moving forward. Finally I was out of the water. To be honest, I thought my time would be about 38 minutes--it was 45. Still, I'll take it.

Off on the bike, I took the first 5 miles to eat and settle in. Thereafter, I just glued it down in aero position keeping close tabs on my cadence. By mile 25, I had averaged over 17 mph which is pretty good for me. I was not tired, my legs felt great so I decided to hit the speed button. Critical mistake. In the next ten miles, I developed a horrible headache, I could no longer eat, and I was extremely nauseous. My average speed fell through the floor and the heat was incredibly intense. I had all I could do to finish the bike and I knew I set myself up for a miserable run.

Off the bike, I did not make it far in the run before I had to pull off to try to be sick. No luck. The entire run was a mix of zig-zag walking, running and dragging my right leg with the piriformis injury, and trying to get nourishment where I could at the rest stops. It was ugly, really ugly. I did finish but I have never been slower. Of my 6 half-Ironman performances this was my second worst. I could not speak for over an hour after the race as I fought my nausea.

Thus far, not a good year performance wise. Given that I am not racing until August I think my two points of concentration are going to be to get my leg fixed and figure out how to overcome my stomach issues in the heat. I will get a PR this year, somehow, somewhere.