Rev3 Knoxville - Post Race Report
This past weekend, I raced in my 2nd 70.3 mile triathlon, Rev 3 Knoxville. This was a race that I had originally registered for when I was training for Ironman Louisville because it had a great hill profile, and lots of elevation. For weeks I studied this bike course, watching videos of the bike leg and reading race reports, but let me tell you they did NOTHING for me this weekend. Here's how it all went down.
FRIDAY - May 20th We left Pensacola around 12pm en route to Knoxville. We had no real schedule pressing, we just wanted to get there and get situated before the weekend hit and things got hectic. We packed the car, and mounted the bike on our Sea Sucker Talon bike rack. Now, this bike rack scared the sh*t out of me because it was industrial suction cups, and that was it. I was terrified that the bike wasn't going to hold and my weekend was going to be over before it started. But that was the least of my worries.
Between the thunderstorms we drove through, and the accidents we sat in traffic for, and the construction that hit, a 6.5hr drive turned into nearly 10hrs. But things almost got worse. As we checked into the hotel, I went to park the car in the parking garage. I didn't realize that the bike aero bars extended as high above the car as they did. When one of the height bars of the garage broke, I stopped the car and luckily I stopped when I did. My right aero bar was pressing agains the concrete beams, and had I continued, it probably would have snapped the bar or tore the bike off the rack, possibly damaging the car. But alas, I was saved. We were in the hotel room at last.
SATURDAY - May 21st Check-in Day. Packet pickup started at 10am, but I decided to walk down a bit early. In all actuality, I didn't know how long it was going to take to walk there, so I left hella early, and even tried to drive there before circling the block because it was close enough. Lesson learned.
But again, I got there around 9:30 and hung out until 10am when packet picket opened up. Packet pickup was super smooth. It goes quicker when you bring all the right credentials with you. I was in and out in less than 3 minutes, and then I checked out the rest of the expo. There wasn't a lot to look at. The clothing selection was minimal, and I had already purchased most of the bike gear and nutrition I was going to need. However, I purchased an extra C02 cartridge, an extra Gu (Espresso, because I like it), and a tube of Base Salts. Yes, I learned my lesson from Miami. Apparently I sweat A LOT.
I felt prepared, and fully stocked. So I headed back to the hotel to prepare for the practice swim. I drove there because I didn't realize how close the swim exit was to the expo. I did get to ride down some pretty epic hills though. HOLY SH*T! I haven't been near hills like that in a long while
The swim was pretty relaxed. The water was a nice and cool 71 degrees at the swim, so I was testing out the Zoot wetsuit that I borrowed from a friend. I was nervous about it. I didn't have a good experience last time, so I really was freaking out. But I got in the water, and felt amazing I swam about 200 yards or so in fresh water (no salt, no gasoline, no chlorine) and it was stupendous. I also met a few people that I had been chatting with online. It's always nice to meet people in real life.
Out of the water, and back to pick up the bike to drop her off before the race. Again, I walked her down, yes my bike is a female, and placed her in her resting spot. She had her sister next to her so that was kinda funny. Once I left, it was off to pick up the family for a lunch date, and a chill evening. Nothing but resting before the race.
SUNDAY - May 22nd Race Morning. No matter how confident I feel, race day always gets the nerves moving. And sadly, the day started out like crap.
Up at 4:30, and immediately into the bathroom to prepare while not waking the rest of the family. No oatmeal for breakfast, so I substituted with a banana nut muffin and a Chocolate Banana and Peanut Butter Shakeology. Not a bad breakfast, but I think I needed more. Either way, I packed my bag and headed to the transition. I felt like I was forgetting something.
I started the 15 minute walk down, and about halfway there, I swore I left my swim cap and goggles in the room. So I ran back, waking Connie, and nope. I had them in my bag the whole time. Should have checked there first. So, back to transition.
I got to transition, pumped up my tires, and everything seemed to go smoothly. I figured that setback was the worst that was going to happen. Started putting on the wetsuit, and headed to the swim start. During the walk there, my barefoot found a raised piece of the sidewalk and bruised the ball of my right foot. Could not put a lot of pressure on it, and it was throbbing. Not a good way to start the race.
The time came to get in the water, and I got nervous. Was I prepared? Was I going to be able to swim the 1.2 miles. I hadn't really been able to swim more than 800 yards as of recent, and now it's go time. Oh well. The adventure was about to start. I got my Garmin ready, and the horn went off. I selected Triathlon mode and started swimming.
The first .4 miles was upstream, and sighting was an issue. I kept up with the chase group for a good portion of that part, but looking directly into the sun for sighting wasn't in my favor. I fixated on a buoy, and swam for it. Unfortunately for me it was the 2nd turn that I was headed for, and I swam into oncoming traffic. I had to backtrack around the first buoy, and then this one to swim downstream. A few minutes later, I checked my watch to see how much further I had to go, and my dumbass never turned it on. So, I started my watch after 30min in the water. I kept on swimming next to someone, My right arm was hitting their left leg for about 100 yards before I stopped feeling it anymore. I kept on going. Suddenly I wondered why I stopped hearing splashing and why I felt alone. It's because I swam about 200 yards off course. A lovely canoe had caught me to tell me to get back on course of I would be DQ'd. I was already in the process of making the turn, and just kept on going
Somehow, after all of that, I managed to make it out of the water in 42:34
Transition 1 was pretty quick. The worst part of it was getting out of the wetsuit and onto bike. I went sock-less with the bike shoes, grabbed my helmet and left. I was feeling good, and was anticipated some hills, but what occurred was not what I expected.
The first few hills came and went and holy hell they were tough. The downhills were nice, but I wasn't ready for the hills in the middle of the race. The course was nice and scenic. Lots of trees, and country, and just an all around nice course. This was more challenging than I expected it to be, and it drained me.
The worst part of the ride was that there were parts where I wasn't sure if I was even still on the course. Plenty of stretches where I saw nobody in either direction, and was just riding along by myself. It was kinda mesmerizing because you get lulled into thinking you are doing better yet worse than you are. I won't claim that was part of the reason that I did so poorly on the bike, but mentally, it didn't help. I started feeling cramping in my legs, so my Base Salt purchase came into play. It actually helped, more on that to come though
The final 12 miles, I heard the one person's voice that I didn't want to hear. My co-worker and friend, Bill. When I heard, "On your left" from him, I had only one word to say. It wasn't a nice one. I tried to catch him in the upcoming stretches, and passed him shortly after he passed me, but I wasn't able to maintain, and he took the lead into T2.
I got off the bike in 3:19:34. Not pleased.
Transition 2 went quickly. I couldn't feel my toes off the bike, but I kept on moving. I got my run gear on and left transition.
Onto the run. I started off pretty fast. I looked down at my watch and I was running a 9:05 pace, and I tried to slow down to about 10:00/mile. Unfortunately, after about 1.5 miles, my quads started cramping again. I went to reach for my base salts, and oh shit.... I left them in my bag on the bike. I was now reliant on the aid stations to carry salts. Luckily for me, they did. So, EVERY aid station I was asking for salt and water. I had my own Gatorade, so I just needed water to rinse down the salt.
The run turned into a run/walk combo, in .25 mile spurts. I just ran out of energy after the first 5k, and had nothing left. Between the Gu and the bananas that I was eating I was hoping for an energy boost. Unfortunately, it never happened.
Again, there were times on the run course, I didn't see anyone. I wasn't sure if I was still on the right path, or if I was last. It was a mental trip, but I just wanted to finish.
Finally I rounded the final turn and all I had to do was run up the hill and through the chute. I could hear the music, and I got more pumped. As I rounded the final turn to the chute, I saw my daughters waiting. GiGi was jumping because she saw me coming, and Mackenzie was trying to stay calm, but was smiling from ear to ear. I gave whatever I had left in the tank and got to the chute, and the girls and I ran through the finish. That might have been the coolest thing I could have done, have my girls finish WITH me
I finished the run portion in 2:48:22. Not my fastest half marathon, but definitely faster than Miami.
All in all, my final time was 6:57:43. I am pissed off at the time, but it was all my fault. I don't regret what I did for my plan, as this wasn't my end goal. What I did will pay off in the end, I promise that. However, for this race, it's always disappointing to me when I don't do better than previous races, so that isn't sitting well with me. But I managed to keep it under 7hrs, and I never felt pressure of not being an official finisher.
Oh well, time to get back to work. Talked to my swim coach and my bike coach, and we have to get a plan together for North Carolina. The conditions are different, the elevation is different, the run is different. This will not be a similar race at all, so the plan changes. I think some of the things I implemented for this race would have been better suited for a flat course. We shall see what happens in October.
