Alright, this is my first one so I’m just going to kind of wing this based on others I’ve read.
Venue: Old Orchard Beach, ME. This is the first time I’d been to Old Orchard. It’s definitely a family oriented atmosphere with rides, pizza stands, gift shops etc. all over the place, more Hampton Beach than Kennebunkport. I’d say the crowd leans more towards blue collar and the bars sell more PBR than Sam Adams, but it is big mix of people. Everyone was very friendly and it was a fun atmosphere. I met some great people in the race. If you have children under 12 they would love the place. Rev3 just signed a new 3 year contract so I would certainly recommend this to anyone in the future.
Rev3: A lot of you may be familiar with the Rev series. For those who are not, they did a fantastic job. There were multiple meetings to learn about the course and ask questions, tons of volunteers and aid stations. I don’t have a lot to compare it to, but it was well done.
Pre-race fears: Shark attack, drowning, flat tire, not necessarily in that order.
Training: A lot of people will be shaking their heads on this one but I didn’t follow a training plan at all. My plan was to basically do as much as I could. I am married and have a 10 year old girl and 7 year old boy. The last ten years have gone by in a blink of an eye so my kids will be grown in no time at all. I never miss anything with my kids and I promised them that they would come before any training. I also travel for work every few weeks. I was riding my bike since mid April and basically rode once a week anywhere from 35 to 50 miles. I’ve been running for a few years. I ran a half marathon in April and then averaged about 26 miles (3 runs) a week from then on. I was lucky enough to meet Bobby Olson, Ben Fish, and Brian Person at an MS ride in May, which led to me swimming with Bobby and Paul Huijing at Crystal Lake. I probably averaged once a week. I swam the perimeter twice and beach and back the rest of the time. Those are estimates. I didn’t log anything and I don’t have a GPS device. I did also do a sprint triathlon and two Olympics in preparation.
Goal: I didn’t really have a goal but in my mind I was wondering if I could break 6 hours. Time has never been very important to me, hence my lack of timing devices. I don’t want to be a slave to the watch. For me, this stuff is about the challenge, but also having fun and living life to the fullest.
Swim: When I woke up at 4:45 it was 55 degrees. I was walking to the transition area basically thinking “what the hell am I doing?”. Rarely do I get anxious or doubt my ability to do something but I was really questioning myself on this one. I dropped off my transition bag, grabbed a coffee, and walked down the beach to the starting area. The water was 64 degrees, which wasn’t all that bad (felt warmer than Greenfield). Prior to the start was probably the coolest part of the day. Having no writing talent, I won’t be able to do it justice but I’ll try. It was about 6AM and the race started at 6:20AM. I was in the water swimming around. I had my earplugs in. All of sudden I hear the national anthem start to I stand up and am about chest deep in the ocean. I look around. There are some rolling waves but otherwise, the water is really smooth. The sun had just risen above the horizon and this eerie but beautiful glow was shining on us. I looked around and could see athletes bobbing in the surf, swimming, standing on the shore, and could see the silhouettes of the volunteers in the kayaks out by the buoys. That moment kind of flicked the switch in me from “what am I doing?” to “this is the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of”. After the anthem my wife gave me a kiss and I lined up in the gate. The swim was kind of weird. First you have to sprint down the beach about 200 yards to the water and then you swim straight out for about a 1/3 of a mile. It’s difficult because you are being pushed back. Then you swim parallel to the beach for about a 1/3 of a mile. It’s almost like a plane yawing against a crosswind at landing. You are being pushed in so you are constantly angled outward towards the sea to stay in line. Although you are swimming straight, it feels like you are swimming out farther and farther. Coming in is fast as the waves push you along. I was always told the salt water made you more buoyant and this is definitely true.
Time: 39:04 (2:01/100m)
T1: The transition was a little nuts. You had to run out of the ocean, up the beach, and then a 1/3 of a mile on the road to get to the transition area.
Bike: One thing I like about the swim and run is that I feel everyone is on a level playing field. With the bike, it’s not quite equal. The transition area was a virtual showcase room of amazing tri-bikes and I stroll in with my $750 Cannondale road bike. I don’t know how much of a difference a bike can make but I felt I was at a slight disadvantage. My average speed at the sprint and Olympic triathlons was 17.9, 18.1, and 18.5 so I didn’t think I’d finish until about 3:15. I do have a little $10 computer on my bike that tracks speed and distance. I didn’t look at the time until 28 miles and I was at 1:30, tracking for almost exactly 3 hours. That was kind of exciting and definitely gave me a little boost. I felt good the whole ride. Very nice course and the roads were in great shape. No flat….phew! My wife and kids were there to bring me in…such an awesome feeling.
Time: 2:58:07 (couldn’t believe it)
T2: My kids run over to just outside the transition area and my son is telling me about how he found two pennies and one was a 1947 and the other a 1975. Just funny how they have no concept of the enormity of what you are doing. Time be damned, I went over, rubbed his fuzzy shaved head, and said “that’s great buddy”.
Run: My typical half marathon is about 1:37 and I really thought I could pull off a 1:45. The course was phenomenal. The first two miles you run out of town but then you jump on this trail (The Eastern trail). It’s hard packed dirt so softer than road and really great to run on. Most of it was surrounded by trees offering much needed shade. The part that was open had incredible views of estuaries, birds, people kayaking, etc. I felt great the first 6 miles but then my calves started to act up. Since this has happened to me in marathons before, I was kicking myself for not trying compression socks. The last 7 miles I pretty much stopped at every aid station (nearly each mile) and walked 100 feet as I downed coke, pretzels, and water. At the finish my kids got to run with me over the finish line.
Time: 1:54:51
Total time: 5:42:55
Synopsis: A phenomenal experience. I worked hard and met a lot of new friends along the way. Thanks to all of the Cyclonauts for your companionship and support. Special thanks to Hank Pio and Mark Kent, who let me tag along with them on bike rides as well as provide valuable information. Also thanks to Bobby Olson and Paul Huijing for the Crystal Lake swims. Kevin Moloney, I’ve officially removed two reflectors from my bike but the ones in the spokes remain. Maybe next year.
As for Ironman: It’s going to have to wait. I don’t think you can half@ss the training for an Ironman the way I did for the half. When my kids are a little older I’ll give it go and look forward to it but it’s going to have to wait.