Event: Rohto IM 70.3
Distance: 1.2mi swim, 56mi bike, 13.1mi run
Location: Bayside Miami Florida
Race weight: aprox. 152lbs
| MY DATA | Official Data from Chip |
| swim 44.48 | 44.49 (2.21/100m) |
| T1 4.57 | 3.24 |
| Bike 2.49.40 | 2.51:14 (19.62mph) |
| T2 4.57 | 4.49 |
| Run 3.07 | 3.08 (14.21mi) |
| Total: 6.52:29 | 6.52:28 |
| Bike cyclocomputer: cateye | |
| distance: 85.67----max:41.7km | |
| avg. 30.5km/h-----time: 2.48 | |
Arrival:
Everything went smooth, I touched down in Miami at about 1:47pm and after some long walking and hustling with my bike case we picked up our rental car and went straight to the hotel. It was just fantastic facilities, close to the airport , quiet, new and staff attention was just something else, we even got upgraded to full breakfast for free. woot!!!
Next was a little shopping for groceries and hydration stuff soo Walmart Time it was! It’s amazing how much stuff you could get there for very cheap. We Took a little trip down the street and went into Applebees restaurant for dinner. After a nice steak it was time to get back to our room to setup our bikes for next’s day race check in and expo.
Day before race:
We woke up early had a nice breakfast (free) , then proceeded to test drive our bike in the hotels parking lot which was great for this purpose. We packed our Chrysler PT cruiser and took the short 15-20 min (without traffic) trip downtown. We catched the site of the new Florida Marlins ballpark and boy it was impressive!!!
After deciding were to park we found some space right in the median on Bizcayne Boulevard for $3 an hour, we ended up paying $15 bucks, but we were right across the street from transition zone. Nope, transition area was not ready, not open so we opted to check in at the expo which included a rough mid downtown walk to the Hyatt Hotel. USAT license line was huge so waiting what’s the name of the game, paid the $10 one day fee and got our goodie bag. It included a crap ass bag, water bottle, cap and a whole lotta papers. In the meantime we took a look around the booth’s , I picked up the official event cycling jersey and met female pro and eventual winner Leanda Cave. After that it was time to help my main man Eric with some bike tweaking and down we went for a light spin and run brick. That was a mission, we ended up riding like 20min on the curbs and a short run inside bayfront park. I felt ok during that just a light persistent headache perhaps because all the sun I had taken, Eric was firing on all cylinders though.
I proceeded then to rack up my bike #862 and that was all for me to do in transition, sayonara! Took the trip down to the hotel and decided to swim some minutes and I felt good. Everything was set, had dinner at Chillis that included a full rack of ribs, loaded mashed potatoes and corn, yes that was my carbo loading. Later heard that race pasta party was crap so it was a good call for me.
Race Day:
Race morning started with a 4.30am wake up call. I felt good, took a shower, last minute preparations, porta potty stop, had breakfast then another porta potty pit stop.
Breakfast:
1 bagel with butter = 110cal
2x 4onz cans of apple sauce = 200 cal
1 botte of sports drink = 150cal aprox.
total: aprox 460calories
Finishing that bagel was a mission and in no time we were on our way to transition. Luckily it was easy finding a parking, well after paying $10 of course, but this was one of my main concerns coming into the race, were to park near transition?, but it ended up been quite smooth.
Into transition,got body marked (in the street) identify our bike rack , pump tires, put gels on bike, struggled badly to put salt tabs into dispenser, body glide and off to the start area. I was on the 8th wave which meant that with a 30min layover after the pros I was in no hurry. I said bye to friends got a bunch of hugs and good vibes and walked my way the starting pier not before stopping on a porta potty for my 3rd pit stop of the day!!! woot This was good news since I’ve spend the last 2 days without any intestinal action.
Swim
After some nerve racking waiting I was asked to jump in the water, I took a hammer gel just before the start just to make sure I was topped on my reserves. After some confusion the gun went and so did I. I was swimming smooth and powerful and preparing myself for a great day, first buoy came in no time and this is when the problems started. I couldn’t see shit of the 2nd buoy and current was pushing me backwards so I struggled just following feet to this point. I was starting to catch a LOT of women from previous waves but I just wasn’t confident in my navigational skills, after some more struggling I decided to stop and fix my goggles as they were fogged up to the fullest. To the 3rd turn and this is when major catastrophe began, i was starting to get twinges on my calves and they were about to cramp, I was fallowing an orange sign thinking it was from the race course but boy was I wrong? It was a boat course sign and it was the only thing I could see and it guide me to a hard right turn as I was been pushed by the current. I had some room to make up and was starting to be passed by later waves. After my detour I decided to stay calm and use the current to get home. Got to the exit stair and my hip flexors were just lucked up and getting out of the water was a victory. Swim time 44.49 31rst place on my age group. Not bad, Not bad
Transition 1
Not taking into consideration the calves cramps that kept me from running full force, t1 was uneventful and I was on my bike in not time.
Bike
On to the bike and I was feeling good. I got passed by a couple of fast guys in the first miles but I found my rhythm pretty quick. My bike performed smooth and I tried to stay under my limits thinking negative split. I stuck to my nutrition of 24onz of hammer sustained energy + gu brew + a couple of powerbar gels. My goal was to hit 300cal x hour and I was pretty closed. When I finished the bike I wasn’t feeling any hungry at all. I continued to stay in a comfort zone of 32-34km/hr as I look at the trains of drafting packs passing by me. The funny thing is they all had disks, aero helmets and M dot tattoos. I exchanged my bottle at mile 10 and 30 without any major issues, I was feeling good and starting to overpass people in areas when the winds were stronger. After mile 30 I wanted to increase my effort and that’s when catastrophe stroked hard, my quads locked up and I almost fell off my bike. I pushed the panic bottom and started taking salt sticks , sometimes 2 at a time. I think I ended up taking 10 of them on the bike, so at 215mg sodium each you make the math. But things never got better and by the 70k mark I could press the pedals any more. I spent the last 20k freewheeling into transition hoping to get some relief once I started the run. My goal coming into this race was a 2.45-2.50 bike split so ending up with a 2.51 when I almost back pedaled the last 20k’s gives me some reasons to stay positive. Bike split 2.51 for a 19.62mph average speed.
Nutrition on bike:
aprox.16 onz of gu brew 2x sodium = 90cal
2 scoops of hammer sutained energy = 210 cal
3x powerbar gels = 330cal
30onz water
totals: about 230cal x hour
Transition 2
Man was this part ugly? As I tried dismounting my bike nothing moved, I was standing there just cramped to the fullest. I keep trying to move toward transition but even walking was so painful I was constantly stopping as the crowd yelled “go run go”. I made it to the rack and that's when I started to think my day was over, I struggled to put my shoes on and just laid flat on the grass thinking there’s no way I could even walk again. After 3-4mins of laying to death on the grass I decided to do some stretching and try a walk-run combo out of transitions area. I stood , putted a grimace on my face and started the journey, GOD I was in pain…
Run w a l k i n g
The run was made around bayfront park boardwalk, after that it was up and down 4 times the port of Miami causeway bridge down the American airlines arena to some construction site and repeat… It wasn’t pretty even worse when it’s about 90 degrees and you are cramping to death. I started shuffling and once I got the first turnout I said it’s enough, I sat on a little bench and decided on waiting for one of my friends to come and let them know I was done. People continued to ask me if I was ok but I couldn’t respond. You wouldn’t imagined how frustrating it was to walk by the area were the majority of the crowd was cheering and all you could barely do was walking. Into the bridges I saw Leanda Cave flying by to finish her race and I was just at about mile 2. This pattern continued as I continuously got passed by people , encouraged by other, even massaged by my good friend CHOWPEN, after 3 hours of walking a lot of ice, water and coke I got to that damn finish line. I was done… Total time of 6 hours 52mins 29seconds same exact time I did in west Virginia 2 years ago on virtually no training.
Afterwards:
I got that finish line and felt the emptiness of not reaching your potential and your goals. I also felt the relief of knowing that at least I did it and that there is no quitting on me even when things get really ugly.
I proceeded to the post race banquet grab a a couple of bread sticks, a coke and an ice cream pop and seated in front of my bike contemplating my day. My boy Eric was happy as he had a nice race but only I can understand the sacrificed and effort I put on this race as the cause of my sadness. I packed my stuff, meted my travel partner and leaved downtown Miami, Rotho Ironman 70.3 Miami was history.
I am happy I didn’t quit. I am happy I got that medal. I’m currently working on finding out the source for these bloody cramps that darken my performance and I’m positive I could do good at this distance. I was 31rst on my age group with a difficult swim so I have the talent. I biked 2.51 pedaling 3/4 of my potential so I have the talent. I walked 13.1 miles when the majority of the people would have just called it a day so I have the talent. Bring on the 2011 season…
