The day before the race some of the elite athletes (who race in a small group separate to age groupers like me) recognised me from last year. We had a short conversation. I jokingly told them I have gotten very fat and wished them well for their race. I actually felt quite embarassed and uncomfortable. I wondered whether I'd made the right decision at the door in my apartment to come back here and race. Not only would I be comparing my performance from last year but so would they!
I had other things to worry about too, like electrolytes. On such a hot day one of the biggest concerns, beyond hydration, should be losing too much salt out of your body. Was happy to find that some tents at the little Expo had GU2O.
Now for the cycle itself.
I was pooped from the swim coming into the transition area - a clear sign I was way too unfit for what I was doing. I noticed one or two bikes of guys I thought might have come out the water before me, still on the racks. Packed my wetsuit in my bag (as these bags are packed into trucks and driven to a second transition area - quite unusual). I didn't have to worry about goggles because I didn't have any!
I also quickly attached my Polar Heart rate monitor to my bike, realising, as I did so that it was sitting snugly because the plastic face plate was at home.
As I wheeled my bike out I noticed Jason started to get out of his wetsuit.
I quickly caught the two guys just ahead of me, then put my feet in my shoes and enjoyed the rest of the long downhill opener. My heart rate was at 165 which is way, WAY to high. It needed to be around 150-155. I was also not flying down nearly as hard or fast as I could, so the 165 told me to wake up and smell the coffee.
At 2-3km the guys I passed in the beginning, edged by me. Soon after, Jason pulled up alongside on his blue Cannondale telling me I was "Looking good."
I let him go, then with a bit of an effort, pulled alongside him and spoke a little more. Finally I let him go, telling him if I kept this effort up for too much longer I'd blow my race and have a very difficult day. From then on I settled into my own race, gradually easing slower and slower and being passed by one, then another, then another guy on a bike. Some guys had style, like one on a Cervelo that pulled right to the top 10 men when I saw him again.
My cycle was so fast last year, I struggled to make some turns. In part it was the speed, also the momentum generated by the deepness of the Zipp rims, and sometimes it was because a thin layer of gravel lay on some corners - a recipe for falling. This time I had none of those problems. I started pouring water over myself pretty soon.
Since my watch had stopped recording the swim at 2 minutes something, and was not facing me squarely, I wasn't very clear on my schedule for gels. The rule is every 30-45 minutes, but I abandoned that and just went by feel.
On a short out and back section I saw Jason again. He made up a few places, and shortly before halfway Ee Sung Hee patted me on my butt as she passed me, wearing the yellow jersey of the Tour de France no less. Made me smile. Soon after I really began to struggle. I felt very tired, uncomfortable. My arms and shoulders weren't used to an aero position at all since all 3 my training cycles had been on conventional bars.
The girl from Sokcho who injured her legs stuck her face out of a yellow bus and shouted something, and when the bus returned she shouted over a microphone PAAAABBOH (which means 'stupid').
From then on I didn't feel so great, and even went onto the small chainring from then on. I couldn't believe I wasn't even at 50km.
Over the next 10-20km I felt irritible, probably should have eaten something but didn't feel like it. Felt uncomfortable and hot and very very tired. I think the hard swim was part of why I felt tired, and the heat. I also think some days you wake up feeling awesome. Some days you are way below par. This was the latter.
At about 65km, after seeing Pete and another guy on an out and back stretch, and anticipating they'd soon catch me, I got off my bike and cooled off in an irrigation canal.
Felt better getting back on the bike, and got into a steady rhythm for the last 20km.
I remembered how I had overshot a turn in last years race, and had to come back and still managed to stay ahead of the pursuing pack. I remember how annoyed I was because of that unnecessary waste of energy.
Then, approaching the 10km to go point I noticed the first runners. What was quite funny is they recognised me and some of them, although they were suffering and overheated, smiled at me.
At one aid station, with about 7.5km to go, I think, one of the woman shouted at me, "You did it!"
A bit further down the road I found Jason, swung around and cycled with him for a bit. He said he was having stomach cramps. I know on a run like this it's good to have some company, anything to get your mind off the torturous heat. It was quite funny pulling up at the same aid station again. "I did it?" I asked with a big smile.
Jason ran off and I wondered if I should go any further with him. Maybe he didn't want to talk or anything. But then he said something and I cycled up to him and we spoke a bit more. After a few more minutes and funny glances from passing runners and cyclists (remember I was running at this point in 2004), including one guy who shouted, "What happened?", I turned around, told Jason to "Livestrong" on the run (he was also wearing a yellow wristband) and headed back.
I was pretty sure that I was in no condition to do the run.
I thought, if I see Pete, I'll have to do the run because he can't have done much training. (I learned later that he had done some!)
About 1 or 2km from the finish and 2nd transition I found Pete, turned around again and told him I didn't think I was going to run and chatted with a him a little. I went down a small downhill with him so when I turned around had to go back up it again!!! I must have cycled about 100km!
So you know I arrived at T2 thoroughly bewildered. Very very tired, after about 4 and a half hours out. I had no wish to do the run, but a strange thing happened after I left Pete. I looked at the triathletes plodding along slowly and I thought, What makes me so special? Am I so special that I must sit out of this race because I don't feel so great? If these people can do it, if they can struggle through it why can't I?
These inklings got fuelled even more as I headed slowly into the transition - the tar so hot I could barely stand still on it. Everyone seemed to be focussing on 'the foreigner', including a Korean girl who stood around me telling me over and over to "Hurry up". For the first time, I think ever, I couldn't even find a place to rack my bike. I had to push one or two bikes to the left and right to make space!
Then, slowly I got into the mode of putting on my shoes, stuffing some gels into my shirt pocket and getting my heart rate monitor off my bike. This last move was not because I felt I needed it. I just thought, left in the sun, it would probably be destroyed. I also stuffed something under the wheel of my bike to prevent heat from the road absorbing into the rims and exploding the tyres.
I started moving forward and felt okay. I plodded out of the transition like someone who has not run for a month. I was like, Okay, okay...let's go.
One of the triathletes from Sokcho who came to Cheolwon with his family gave me a drippy coffee icecream as I came out of the transition.
I'd just done 100m. What lay ahead was 21km through an oven. To stand around for the time I would have been out there would have been hell. But I was supposed to run.
(To be continued...)
No comments:
Post a Comment