Here’s my not so brief recap:
We arrived in Panama City on Thursday, two days before the race and got checked-in to pick up our stuff. We spent most of Friday relaxing with a quick 20 min run in the morning, 20 min bike ride around lunch time and an even shorter 15 minute swim in the afternoon. The ocean was rough on Friday and it was really good to get in the water and get a feel for it. Great pasta/chicken dinner on Friday, to bed around 10:00 and then came Saturday morning….
Up at 4:30 and out the door to go get set-up at the race start. We got body marked by two team mates of ours who had volunteered for the day. Doug & Mary were great; it was awesome to see them first thing and get us excited. It was great to see them so bright and chipper at such an early (and cold!) hour. By 6:15 we were all set and in our wetsuits heading down to the beach. I was able to hop in the water and swim for a few minutes before they cleared the water at 6:30/6:45 (I don’t remember which). The pros started at 6:50 and then it was time for the national anthem and the cannon went off at 7:00 sharp to start the race.
The beach was packed with 2,400+ racers all heading out into the water at roughly the same time; crammed into a length of beach about 100 yards wide. I was worried about the swim start, fighting through the waves coming in and having people pretty much fighting tooth and nail for a space of open water to take a couple strokes at a time. Turns out it wasn’t so bad. I’m a pretty solid swimmer once I get going so I just pushed/punched on through and tried to keep a steady swim stroke going. The swim is two loops of roughly 1.2 miles each, on the same rectangular course. From the start you swim straight out to a buoy, turn left and swim with the current for a short stretch and then left turn straight back to the beach; and repeat. But, my first sign that kind of told me I was going to have a good day came as I picked my head up out of the water to run up the beach after my first lap. Some of you may know I am a rather big Dave Matthews Band fan, some may not. But, I’ve been to 55 concerts in the last 13 years. As I pick my head up to start heading up the beach for my second lap there’s a Dave Matthews Band song blasting on the loud speakers. I took it as a good omen that at the exact stretch of time that I got out of the water my favorite band was playing for me. Headed out to lap two and tried to stay steady, I slowed just a little bit on the second lap but came out of the water in 1 hour and 6 minutes for the 2.4 mile ocean swim.
Walked up to the (wetsuit) strippers and then walked all the way to the changing area to get into my bike gear. I tried to keep an eye out for spectators here but wasn’t able to really make any contact. I wanted to keep a low heart rate through transition and recover from the swim as much as possible; that is why I walked the whole way. I think the time sacrifice paid off in the end. Transition changing area was a mad house. It took me longer than I expected between fighting my wet body to get clothes on and trying to stay upright and not bend over into some other guys backside or vice-versa. Eventually, I was able to get my gear on and I was heading out to my bike. I did hear a few cheers for me at this point; I think it was Mary and crew. I made the short walk toward the row that had my bike. A volunteer had my bike ready for me as I rounded the corner out of transition and I was on my way for the bike portion.
The bike course was very, very flat and the roads were very, very straight. Now, going into it I was thinking “great” I love flat roads. At the end I was coming out of it thinking “a hill or speed bump would be nice once in a while”. The biggest climb on the course is literally going over a bridge that has a slight arch to it so boats can pass under it. I’m not talking a large arching bridge that cruise ships can go under, I mean a small bump that an average sail boat can pass under. The first 30 or 40 miles pass by and things are going well. I’m able to eat two whole Clif bars and put down a whole bottle of Perpetuem. A quick stop at Special Needs bags at mile 56 and I’m heading home. I see Kirstin heading toward the turn around and looking great. Again, on the return trip I am eating well, grabbing bananas often and staying with the Perpetuem, water and Shot Blox (Fruit Punch for some caffeine and Margarita for the extra Salt). Back over the hill climb bridge, and a short stretch up the beach road toward transition. No issues what so ever on the bike. No flats, no mechanical issues, no food/liquid issues. 112 miles of 20.0 mph, total time of 5 hours and 34 minutes and I’m finally off the horse. Forgot to mention; it was freezing cold. My bike computer said 45 degrees at the start and only got to 50 degrees near mile 40. The warmest it got was about 60, I think.
Transition two was a bit quicker, walking the whole way through. Again, as soon as I took my feet out of the clips there was a volunteer there ready to take my bike from me and I was on my way. Quick change of clothes, fresh snacks in my pocket and I’m out of the changing area. I stop briefly for three nice girls to apply sunscreen to my legs, neck and face. Did I mention I love volunteers?! 🙂
Heading out on the run for more flatness and more wind. The course is two loops of the same 13.1 mile stretch. The wind was at my back on leg 1 and 3 and in my face on leg 2 and 4. I start out on the run faster than I know I should, but I feel good and holding the 8:45/9:00 minute per mile pace is surprisingly easy at this point so I stick with it. I figure every mile I can do at 9:00 pace equals one I can do at 11:00 pace on the tail end; still trying to keep my overall average near 10:00 per mile. As mentioned, the turn around near mile 6 brings me into a head wind and kills my 9:00 pace. No big deal, I truck on and head toward the starting line/half way turn around. Things are going well; I can feel a few blisters forming on my little toes; like always happens on any run of over 4 or 5 miles, but no big deal. There are hundreds of people at the turn around and most importantly dozens of Cyclonaut supports; including at least 5 Cyclonauts standing in the road high fiving and encouraging us along.
Make the turn around at mile 13 or so and back out for lap two. I had put a fresh pair of socks and sneakers in my Run Special Needs Bag which I was definitely looking forward to. Quick stop to change socks and shoes and I’m off. I’m feeling pretty solid at this point, slowed a bit but still comfortable. I’m eating and drinking at every mile, mixing it up; pretzels, bananas, energy gel blocks, gatorade, water, cola; it’s all good. The second lap is a lot like the first, just getting continually slower as is expected. I continued to feel pretty good the whole way and just kept going. My longest continual run prior to the event was 17 miles. So once I got to that point I was just thinking “hey, each step is an improvement on my longest run; bring it on”. I pretty much run by myself the whole way with very little talking, except the occasional person in passing. I see Kirstin and most of the other Cyclonauts several times on the out and back and she is looking strong behind me each time. The first time I saw her I was at least 6 miles ahead and based on rough calculations I knew anything short of me collapsing on the road would lead to me holding my lead and finishing ahead of her. 🙂 But, she was looking awesome and we both were smiling each time we passed. The run course was great, it was so nice to see all the Cyclonauts throughout the day as we passed back and forth.
Coming down the final stretch toward the finish, slightly after dark was great. I pushed hard with about a quarter mile to go to make sure that there was no one else near me at the finish. I wanted to hear my name announced clearly and individually rather than in a bunch with other people who would have crossed the finish right behind me. I put a solid 100 yards of space behind me and sprinted to the finish; crossing in 11 hours and 34 minutes.
I’m greeted at the finish by another adorable volunteer who guides me through the finish chute; handing me my finishers medal, hat and tshirt. She holds my stuff while I get my picture taken and helps walks next to me toward the food tent. I’m feeling great at this point and able to walk and do everything on my own. It felt great!!!
I grabbed some food, met the family, and got the update on how long it was projected for Kirstin to finish. I went to check on how long the wait was for a massage and to put my name on the list. Turns out there was no wait at all so I got right in. Got a message from two great girls; very well done! I was in and out of there in time to catch Kirstin finishing. The nice security guy at the gate allowed me to go back in when I told him my wife just finished. We were able to take a photo with the both of us at the finish. Luckily, as that was one of the few pictures that actually looks decent for either of us out of all the official race photos.
We stayed up for a few hours, eating and enjoying a good couple beers; then crashed in bed. I’m pretty sure I was asleep by 10:00.
All in all, a great day, a great 4 days actually. Thank you to everyone all through out the year who gave advice and joined us on training days. It was great to have such support and encouragement. I’m ready for the next one but I think it’ll have to wait until 2012 at this point.