Eagleman 70.3 was my third go at the Half Ironman distance and a buildup race to Lake Placid Ironman. The idea of doing it came from David. David DNF the swim course of the Syracuse 70.3 and signed up for Eagleman afterwards. I borrowed David’s swimsuit for my second go at Lake Placid 70.3 where I finally got through the swim and finished the race getting my first half ironman finish. When returning was when I first learned of the race. I told Jessica who has been interested in doing a half ironman and then my triathlon friends. Slowly there ended up being a group of six of going, five of us from the Queens Distance Runners team!
Five of us, Cathy, David, Matt, Yin, and I, along with Cathy’s boyfriend David rented a cottage about 20ish minutes from the race. I picked David and Matt up and used the bike rack I got from a friend Omar. It was only my second time using the bike rack and I needed some help from David in setting it up. It actually is pretty simple but it’s a bit nerve racking watching your bike hit bumps on the rear view mirror. We stopped by a dinner on our drive down Only problem with random dinners is the difficulty in getting vegan food without asking for modifications but I think I was okay with the food. We only stayed for one night so leaving NYC Saturday morning, bib pickup and bike drop and then racing Sunday.
We found street parking close to the Great Salt marshes easy enough and simply cycled the two blocks or so into the race village. We got our bibs which took quite a while to pick up. My previous two pickups at Lake Placid have been quick and smooth. I learned that the swim course had been moved to another side due to the water being too choppy. As soon as I heard this, I started thinking that the swim may be cancelled. I hadn’t prepared at all for the half ironman and the swim has always scared me. Sure I was still running and I tried jamming in a few bikes rides the week before but it was the swim that I was most worried about. Cathy and the others caught up and we attended orientation together. We learned that the swim course was supposedly in shallow water which was a big relief. It also led to quite a few jokes about our swim strategy. Cathy and Yin decided to swim a bit. I wanted to swim, however I also wanted to just relax for the race. Can’t cramp anything in at this point so I chose not to swim. My car, David, Matt and I were starving so we ate a Mexican place. I wanted to get this potato dish but the cheese was already mixed in it so I got it with avocado and black beans instead. How I wish there were easier vegan options. Then some grocery shopping and onwards to the cottage. The other group had already got in and were now leaving to get groceries and eat dinner. I thought of joining them for ice cream afters, a place had sorbet options, but I wanted to focus on relaxing and not doing too much do declined.
Race day came and the first thing we were relieved to see was that the race was wetsuit legal. Two days before the water temperature was too high and yesterday the water temperature was just barely below. A little bit after, just as I was about to start putting my wetsuit on, it was announced that the swim was cancelled due to safety boats not being able to be on the course. I jumped up for joy! The swim was freaking me out that morning. Then came the long wait to start the bike course. The atmosphere of the race became more chill. I met another man from Queens, Christian who was a strong swimmer and obvious disappointed. I hung out here and there with my friends trying to kill the time. Eventually we were off and boy did the bike start off fast. I made it to 18-19 miles an hour which was fast for me but I thought I could hold it since it was a flat course. I was still easily getting passed. About 20 miles in I started feeling pain from the bike seat rubbing against my skin. I have always used bike shorts but I forgot them and was using a tri suit that was a bit too small for me. It probably didn’t provide enough padding, also my seat was a bit in an angle sit it dropped a year ago. I was using my road bike instead of my tri bike so I didn’t really spend time trying to fix it since I was doing tris and all. In short, just unprepared. Eventually the pain became so great that I had to start taking breaks after 25ish miles. I would have to stop pedaling and stand on the seat for a bit. Around mile 33ish I found a position where the pain was bearable. I still had a slow 8 miles. I slowed down a lot and the race was essentially over me. I finished the bike ride but already knowing I performed badly I did an easy 2 hour half marathon. I mostly passed older racers at this point. Not a great race on my part but it fired me up and got me to start considering serious training for the full Ironman at Lake Placid.
I was the second last of my friends to finish. I was able to eat a bit and drop some things and watch the last of us come in to the finish. We decided to do a celebratory some time later. Our car ate with Jessica and her boyfriend. I had some eggplant pasta dish, pretty sure it wasn’t vegan but I tend to be more vegetarian after races. The post food options for the half ironmans are always pretty disappointing (especially when you compare them to some of the trail races I have been to). David was really looking forward to getting a cinnabon on the drive back but they were all closed by the time we got north enough to the NJ rest areas.
If it was just the race itself, I would say it was a bad experience but having friends to drive around with and hang out before and after made the trip a good one. Grateful to have other crazies in my life!
No comments:
Post a Comment