Race Reports
Training:
I followed a 20wk program, basically from beginnertriathlon.com,
starting in early June through mid October. I tweaked the program
some, but followed the schedule pretty religiously; probably only
missing a few workouts. The keys to the training weeks were a build
up of long swims, bikes, and runs each week with smaller workouts in
between. This program had a long bike over the weekend, a long run
mid week, and a long swim late in the week. I interrupted training
when I went on a hunting trip to Colorado at the end of August. The
break was timely since I got some good high altitude hikes in along
with some much needed rest. Overall, the training wasn't too bad
early on, but by the end of July and most of August, the combination
of the heat, humidity, and longer workouts were really tough and
something I don't look forward to doing anytime soon. I pushed
through the tough months, though, and ended up very comfortable
doing long swims, training rides, and runs. As it turns out, the
"heat" training helped for the Great Floridian. My longest
ride was ~110mi, with my longest run being 20mi and my longest swim
greater than 4000m.
Race Week:
My family and I made the trip to Florida on the Sunday before the
race. We stayed in a timeshare next to Walt Disney World, donated to
us for the week by some close friends' family. These friends were
originally planning to join us in Florida while 2 of us did the race,
but unfortunately, David, the other triathlete "blew out"
his knee over the summer and had to drop out of training and the race.
So, our family had a huge condo for a week, which was nice. The week
leading up to the race started warm and humid and ended hot and humid.
We did one day at Sea World, Disney, and various other attractions. I
wanted to get out and about to re-acclimate to the heat, etc. It
really felt like the peak of summer! I did a couple of light training
runs and one short bike ride, just to make sure everything still
worked. Starting Thursday until Saturday morning, I began to
concentrate on hydration and food intake. We also didn't do too much
other than hit the pools and a few other minor activities. I went to
the race site Thursday morning to partake in a pre-swim in lake
Minneola along with a slow bike of the run course, a light jog for 10
minutes or so, and to pick up my race packet. I was surprised the
water was as cool as it was and it put hope in me that the race would
be wetsuit legal. Now, the short jog scared me since it was very hot
and humid and I knew it wasn't going to get any cooler. Friday, I
dropped my bike off at the venue along with a couple transition bags,
listened to a pre race meeting, then got out of there. I didn't want
to hang around since I thought it might make me nervous. As it turns
out, during the pre race meeting they informed us the water
temperature was 77 deg and more than likely, the race would be wet
suit legal. Relief wouldn't describe the feeling I felt.
Race:
I went to bed fairly early Friday night and actually slept pretty
good considering the circumstances. I got up at 4:30am to eat a
bagel, banana, and drink some coffee and Gatorade. This is standard
fare for me before any race since it gets everything going, if you
know what I mean. I stretched, got the rest of gear, and I took off
to Clermont with the rest of the family at 5:30. It's about a 30min
drive and we actually got a pretty good parking spot. After the short
walk to the transition area to get body marked and to drop off my
special needs bags, etc, I was sweating pretty good. Not good!!
Then, we were told the water temperature was 78 deg. GREAT! At
least I didn't have to worry about this. I got everything ready to go
by 6:45am and then spent the remainder of time (until 7:30) hanging
out with my family and friends. Surprisingly, I wasn't very nervous.
I just wanted to get going since it was going to be a long day. I
donned my wetsuit and before I knew it the race started.
I walked out into the lake and started slowly. I've had trouble in
the past starting too fast nearly hyperventilating. Of course, it was
crowded at first. I got slapped, kicked, and even had my goggles
dislodged, but really nothing I wasn't used to. Now, I know I swim
crooked at times, but some people are terrible and take 45deg angles
while running you over. Anyway, I get to a comfortable pace and try
to find some drafting partners but the water is dark and it was
difficult to draft. The first lap was uneventful and I ended up going
faster than I thought I would go (36min). Starting the second lap, I
took my time, saw my cheering squad, and got back at it again. The
second lap felt just as good as the first and I ended up going just
a touch slower (~38min). I was very happy with the time. On the way
to transition, they strip your wetsuit off, give you your bike bag
and then you get ready to bike.
Once again, I took my time to make sure all was in order, got my bike
and started off. I noticed my heart rate monitor stopped working when
I mounted my bike. I was flying blind. It might have been a good
thing, since it was something else I didn't have to worry about. I
just went by perceived effort. It was starting to warm up by this
time. Other than a couple of short, steep climbs, the first 35mi of
the bike isn't too hard. Some of the roads were busy and I got buzzed
by a few trucks, which I didn't like. Then you hit Buckhill Trail, a
series of 3 rather large, steep "rollers," and Sugarloaf.
This stretch was hard but nothing I hadn't done before, just not
during a race and heat! I was following my nutrition and hydration as
planned. My stomach didn't feel too good at first, but later got
better. Due to the heat and humidity I took Endurolytes every hour.
With all of this, I still started to get a headache. I figured it was
due to my sunglasses, so I took them off, but this didn't work. I
think it was the heat. I knew I was hydrated because I had to pee
badly and ended up going on my bike. Gross I know, but I was proud of
this and washed it off with water at the next aid station. After the
first lap I still felt good, except for the headache. I saw my family,
stopped for my bike special needs bag, reloaded, and took off. The
first lap I averaged 18.4 (57mi), which is a touch faster than
planned. This is where the heat started to take it's toll. By mile
70 I wanted to get off of the bike badly. My gel, bagel, Gatorade, etc
weren't appealing and I started getting twinges in my legs. Oh no!
I was also running out of Endurolytes. I still had the tough hilly
section of the bike to go. I ended up forcing down my nutrition
because I knew I needed it. At every aid station I poured water all
over my head and body to cool down, and this helped. By the time I
hit Buckhill Trail and Sugarloaf my quads were cramping pretty badly.
I didn't know if I was going to make the hills or not. I slowed way
down and took it easy over the 3 rollers. Next was Sugarloaf. At the
beginning, I saw a guy simply drop to the side of the road with cramps
and exhaustion. I was hoping I wouldn't be next. I crept up the hill
in my lowest gear (~4mph). I made it to the top with a smile on my
face and actually felt refreshed. I really didn't have issues with
cramps for the remainder of the ride (~20mi). Not sure why, but I was
pleasantly surprised. I finished the bike (6:42) with 116mi on my
computer. I know my computer may be a little off, but not by 4mi. I
averaged 17.4 overall, so 16.4 on the second half. I felt as expected,
hot, sweaty, tired and wondering how I was going to run 26.2mi. I was
handed my run bag, walked to the changing tent, changed, and was ready
to go for a run.
Normally, the run is my strongest suit and I was looking forward to
starting this portion of the race. Much of the run course is
non-shaded and this played a major role early on. I began the first
couple of miles feeling pretty good but then the heat and humidity
started to hit me hard. I noticed a couple of runners ahead of me
walking through the aid stations and as I approached them, I decided
this might be a good idea, so I tagged along. These two guys, Jason
and Shawn were running about the pace I desired, plus the company
was nice after over 6 hrs on the bike. About ½ way through the 1st
loop of the run, Shawn had to drop off of the pace, so it was down to
two. We trudged along, stopping at each aid station to refuel. Did I
mention it was hot?? My stomach went back and forth between upset and
ok, so I was reduced to mainly liquid intake with a banana, gel,
pretzels and cookies taken when my stomach was up to it. The aid
stations were very well stocked! I took Endurolytes roughly every
30mins. There was plenty of ice on the course to aid in cooling and I
put ice in my hat and shirt, which helped. My headache which persisted
for the first few miles finally waned. The out and back and first loop
seemed to last forever. I saw my kids and wife after the first loop
and their cheering spurred me on. Jason and I pushed through the
second lap and hooked up with Todd. It was nice having another person
to share our pains with. Todd eventually moved on midway through the
2nd lap. Finally, the sun went down along with the temps. By this
point, my legs ached and occasionally my calves seemed to be on the
verge of cramping, and this was something I dealt with until the end.
Jason was having issues with his hamstring, as well. Another lap down,
one to go! The last lap was nice realizing only 7 miles to go. We
weren't going very fast, but we were going! It went by pretty
quickly. Due to the spotlights, you could see the finish from across
the lake and I knew it was within reach. Adreniline pushed me the last
few miles, then down the chute to the finish. My marathon time was
just over 5hrs, which was much slower than I planned but considering
the conditions, I wasn't disappointed.
My wife and kids greeted me at the end with hugs and kisses! I was
happy, tired, and hungry. I spoke to friends and relatives via the
cell phone as I sat down and cooled down for 15mins or so. I wanted
to eat, but also wanted a massage. The massage tent was closer, so
I got a nice rub down. After, I went in search for food, but it was
gone! What! I was in the top 3rd and the food is gone. All of the
sprint and Olympic races I do have so much food, it's insane.
Needless to say, I was very disappointed in this, but what could I
do. I gathered up my belonging and headed to McDonalds! Somehow,
the grease hit the spot!
Overall, my time was 13:18:53 and I came in 73 out of 266 men. I was
shooting for 12:30 but this was thrown out the window with the heat
and humidity. It basically came down to just finishing. 73rd the
previous years was roughly 12:30 – 12:40. I understand nearly 27%
of the entrants dropped out. The experience was great! I liked the
race and the challenging course, but the traffic on the bike and run
was worrisome. Also, it was so dark on parts of the run, I was afraid
I was going to trip or hit a pothole. I hope no one got hurt! I
also didn't like the lack of food at the end. I'm not sure I'll do
this race again. If, and it's a big IF, I do another iron distance
race, I'd like to do an official "Ironman."
Thanks to my wife Jackie, my kids Emily and Bradley for putting up
with me during my training and long race day. Thanks to David for
listening to me through training and encouraging me despite the
fact injury prevented him from joining me. Also thanks for the
condo! Thanks to all of my cheering squad local (Ron and Jenny) and
long distance (too many relatives and friends to list) who think I'm
crazy but pull for me anyway! Thanks to my running partners Jason,
Todd for making the run seem much shorter. Last but not least,
thanks to all of the volunteers for pulling off such a huge event.
#137 Cary Gentry