Harvest Moon HIM Race Report

Or otherwise known as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly....


I was excited to do this race again because it was my first HIM I ever did!  Plus, there were 3 other TriBella teammates doing it, and we were all in the same wave, so I thought it would be pretty fun!
 
I'm going to do this race report a little different than my other race reports because I just didn't feel like this was an actual "race," but more of a LONG training day for IMAZ.  So, here goes...

THE GOOD:

The swim:
Time: 41:18 (Not too bad considering it includes a LONG run from the beach, up a hill, into transition)
If someone would have said that the swim would be the best part of my race, I would have laughed uncontrollably!  But, they would have been right.

My husband actually came with me to watch the start, and it was so nice having him there!  I was surprisingly, very calm at the start and was just READY to go!  The funny thing about IM training is that what once seems like a FAR distance, no longer seems so bad.  After doing the 2.4M swim race last week, looking out at the buoys for the 1.2M swim seemed completely doable and I LOVED that feeling!

The start was a little rough, but after awhile I was able to find my own space and just get into a nice groove.

I finished the swim, and saw my husband!  Yay!!  I gave him a kiss and headed towards transition.

THE BAD
Bike:
Time: 2:58:59 (18.8MPH Avg.)
I hopped on my bike and headed out.  Right away I felt kind of weird, but didn't think much about it.  I got into aero and just made it my goal to ride at a good pace, but not push it too hard.  I didn't want to "race" this because I didn't want to risk having a long recovery and not be able to get my training in for IMAZ.

Source

THE WIND....OH, THE WIND!!!  Mother Nature played a MEAN trick on all of us during the bike.  The course is pretty much in the middle of nowhere on country roads that have absolutely  no cover.  So, when the wind blows, you get blown around, and I got blown around A LOT!  There were times that I actually got out of aero because I wanted to have more control of my bike because I was afraid of crashing.

I got a huge HEADACHE that was pounding pretty much the entire time.  It sucked!  So, with all the focus on the wind, not crashing, and my head, I forgot to hydrate!  I don't know what happened, but I just wasn't paying attention to the time, distance, or anything.  In my mind, I thought I WAS drinking enough, but after the race, I looked at my water bottles and realized I ONLY drank about 48oz. of fluid!  WTF????!!!

I got into transition, felt like a TRUCK had run over me, and took my time getting ready for the run.  I almost thought about stopping, but that's just not in my character, so I kept on going.

THE UGLY:
The Run:
Time:  2:31:13 (11:33 avg. pace) 
Right when I started running, I knew this was going to be really tough.  My head still really hurt, and I just didn't have any energy at all.
The aid stations were roughly every mile, and THEY SAVED ME!  Normally, I don't even need/have to stop at every aid station, but this was not a normal day.

I decided to do a run/walk strategy where I would walk the aid stations, drink what I could, and run between them.  I thought this would get me through alright, but by mile 3 I realized I had stopped sweating.  My head was fuzzy and I began to think that I may not be able to finish.  It was soooo hot and the sun was beating down on me and I could feel my skin burning.

Then, my entire torso started to tighten and cramp up.  My stomach muscles ached and I felt like I was on the verge of throwing up the ENTIRE time!  IT WAS  HORRIBLE!  So, instead of running between aid stations, I just started walking as fast as I could and running whenever I could.

Finally, I had 1M left.  People were cheering and shouting, "You're almost there!" but I COULD NOT run.  It was so bizarre.  Then, I saw the finish line and started running, but my stomach hurt so bad!  I just wanted it to be OVER, so I pushed through the pain and finally crossed those mats.

My husband took this picture as I came in.  He said he barely recognized me because my "running" form was do different.  Look how tight and scrunched my upper body is...

THEN, the best part....THE SLIP-N-SLIDE!!  It was awesome!  The water was cold and it was just what I needed.  I got out, found my family, and immediately sat down.  I wanted to wait for my teammates to finish, but my family had been there waiting for me a LONG time, so after I felt a little better, I just got my stuff and we headed out.

When I got home, guess what I realized?

I got completely BURNED out there!  I did put sunscreen on before the swim, but obviously, it wasn't enough.  I should have reapplied after the bike to avoid this.  It hurts sooo bad and totally could have been prevented!








All in all, it was a pretty tough day for me.  I'm glad I did it, but there were some pretty low points during that race.  I don't know what happened on the bike with my nutrition.  I KNOW how important it is to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, but my head was out of it...it was weird.

So, while I didn't have the best race, I did learn a some very important lessons!
1.  I just CANNOT get behind on my hydration/nutrition because there is no way to make up for it.  I think from this point on I am going to set my Garmin to beep every 10/15min.  That way even if my head gets fuzzy, that beeping will keep me on track.
2.  I learned that I'm a little tougher than I thought I was.  It was a total suck fest on that run, and I was in pain, but I pushed through as best as I could and finished!  I am proud of myself for finishing, even if it did take me a very long time.   :)