It wouldn't be hard to guess my confidence has been shaken over the last two weeks. That's normal, and for the most part I've tried to shove those thoughts back and be positive. Thursday's workout got me really worried about today's event, enough so I didn't know what to expect.
Thursday I bonked. It could have been the 5-mile run, or the swim, or the ride the night before, but after about 30 miles or so riding on Thursday I was quickly fading. The bad part of that was I was supposed to meet Allen for a ride - another 20 miles, plus the 12 I'd need to get home after that. I've bonked/crashed several times, and I know the symptoms. I might be able to finish Allen's 20, but I'd never get home afterward. I had no choice but to ditch him and look out for #1.
I did run yesterday, though not hard. Other than lifting, that was the end of the exercise day. I laid around the rest of the day doing as little as I possibly could. Could I recover enough to complete the Jim-N-I?
We had some things going in its favor. It was cooler than normal, much cooler. Though a bit windy, this factor alone would go a long way to maintaining hydration. I brought plenty of Enduralytes, planned to take them at regular intervals, and for the first time this year, packed Gatorade in my drink system. If I didn't get too crazy, the ride should be okay.
The run? That would have to be whatever it was. The previous attempt at bricking this week was disastrous; hopefully a few more days to recover from the wreck would improve my chances.
That left the swim. I've recently picked up the swimming substantially, and you might say I'm in a slump. Again, that's normal - the muscles are re-acclimating to the activity. I was simply a victim of bad timing, though it was my own fault. I knew I couldn't press it too hard, or the rest of the day would be in jeopardy. Best to cruise the early part of the day.
Greg was there, and clearly the better swimmer. Nothing I could say would urge him to take the lead - so much for drafting! I pulled lead for the swim for nearly the entire distance, and I will brag about my sighting, which was absolutely flawless. (No applause, please, wait until the presentation is over) Of course Greg could have left me anytime, but was content to swim by my side to the end. It had been a little rough through halfway, though really more mental than physical. After I changed up my breathing pattern, things settled down to a very sustainable pace. I could have gone down and back three more times with little effort.
Biking was next. We didn't have that long of a layover this year, no more than 15 minutes, which was nice. We did our parade loop out to 41, and after we crossed, it was game on. I knew we were in for a quick start. Steve had his P5 mounted with a rear disc, and the wind was to our backs. If we weren't alert, he would have dropped all of us on the spot. Sure enough, we lifted over 30 mph in nothing flat. This was the typical initial burst - Steve is strong, but tends to burst higher for the first minute or so of a pull, then settles down to a more reasonable pace. You just have to be tough on the front part.
One after another we took turns. Most of the pulls were around 5 minutes, which was plenty once we got into the headwinds. I wanted to test myself, so I doubled that to 10 minutes. I wasn't the fastest guy on the day by a wide margin - that would belong to Steve, Greg, Miller, or John T. - but I held my own on strength. That's kind of been the story of this whole year. I'm not unhappy with my effort at all, but to be frank I'm just not very fast.
We stopped after 30 miles for a SAG, then finished the ride with another 15 miles or so pace line followed by the return parade lap. There were minor detours along the way because of trains and blocked roads, but on the whole it was a great time. The only bad thing that happened was when Bob's new Torpedo drink system fired without warning and hit the road, puncturing the tank. On the very first ride. Sorry, Bob!
Now it was down to run. Of all the legs, this one terrified me most. (Kinda sound like Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Future, don't I?) I had no illusions I would run this quickly at all, because it wasn't possible. What I wanted most of all was to simply cover the distance. There was going to be pain, but could I manage it?
Our group quickly split up, and in the front there was Greg, Jimmy, Miller, Rand, and myself. I was happy to find the first few steps didn't bring agony. And, moving toward the first SAG at 3 miles, nothing felt like it was building. So far, so good. Greg peeled off a little over 2 miles in and headed back. Now it was just four.
My Garmin said we were going right at 8 flat, which was faster than I felt I should under the circumstances. I felt comfortable about getting to 5, but 9 would be much harder, as it was roughly double the distance I've run in any single run for quite some time. On top of that, the Sullivan run is just ugly. There is really nothing to look at to take your mind off what is going on. Every time I'm on the course, I'm just thinking about how badly I want to be off of it.
I decided to skip the stops and only grab a water bottle. The guys followed my lead, and we kept pushing along. My fear was if we took even a 2-minute break I could seize up. It was far better to keep going and get it over with. This also lead to a bit of self-inflicted trouble - I was the guy pulling the pace. I was positioned on the front, so I was responsible for how fast we were going. I complained, but there was only one person to blame for it.
Just before the 6-mile stop, Rand began complaining loudly. I could also hear his breathing increase. I rotated to the back and told him to set whatever pace he liked. This would be as helpful to me as it was to him. I was after the finish, not the time. This plan was immediately foiled because he had to stop at SAG #2 to let his heart rate drop. I couldn't stop and wait, nothing had changed. Miller had opened about 40 yards, and now I had to either run alone (Jimmy had also stopped), or catch him.
Rats.
I ran back to him, and realized I'd just chosen to suffer much. Miller is a machine, and even though he raced 100 miles just a week ago, what we were doing was a joke to him. The only good thing about all this was I would be done sooner. Just when it looked as though it would just be us, I heard Jimmy's characteristic foot slap on the pavement. Turning, I saw him trying to get to us. I asked Miller to ease up to let him back on, and then we were back to three.
The unfunnest part of the course was upon us - the small hill at a little over 7. It isn't huge, it's simply poorly placed. By this time of the day, and after hours of working out, that little hill feels like a mountain. I cruised over, though my heart spiked on it. Shortly after we hooked left, then right, and there was only a mile left. This is where I really began to work on the other two. They were trying to be kind to me by waiting, but the truth is I didn't want that. I kept telling them to go, I had this, my day was made. When we made the final turn onto Steve's road, they went. It didn't much matter - my Garmin told me we were already at 7:40. It only went down from there. They put about 40 yards on me in the end, but I didn't care. I finished every step of the run, and indeed, finished the entire day. Victory.
Now technically Jimmy finishes as the winner - again - though I'm not sure how that works out when you consider place in the other two legs. But let's not dwell on that, take your stinking victory, Jimmy. In my mind there were two unheralded studs of the day that substantially raised their games. Rand and Allen, take a bow!
Both guys had outstanding swims. Rand finished very early, and probably had one of the best swims I've ever seen him do. Allen went the whole way, never flinched or hesitated, and best of all, did it without a wetsuit. That's a huge deal, and really no matter what the rest of the day brought, it was a major victory.
Both rode well. Rand stayed with the front group all day, something he's NEVER done before. Once again, that's a big deal. Allen was broken off early, as was inevitable, but what is noteworthy is being isolated made for a much harder ride, which he completed.
Finally, the run proved a struggle for both at some point, yet they both finished the whole thing. Rand was there for 6 miles, and I think if he'd taken care of hydration a bit better early on, he might have gotten farther. Allen is coming off a bad hamstring pull, so anything he did was a win.
There were individual great efforts all day long. Greg in the water and on the road, Steve on the road and the grill, Jimmy taking the victory, Dennis riding 30 miles and running 9... it was a great day. I was sorry to have to leave early (unavoidable), and I can't believe such a wonderful part of the summer has already come and gone.
Thursday I bonked. It could have been the 5-mile run, or the swim, or the ride the night before, but after about 30 miles or so riding on Thursday I was quickly fading. The bad part of that was I was supposed to meet Allen for a ride - another 20 miles, plus the 12 I'd need to get home after that. I've bonked/crashed several times, and I know the symptoms. I might be able to finish Allen's 20, but I'd never get home afterward. I had no choice but to ditch him and look out for #1.
I did run yesterday, though not hard. Other than lifting, that was the end of the exercise day. I laid around the rest of the day doing as little as I possibly could. Could I recover enough to complete the Jim-N-I?
We had some things going in its favor. It was cooler than normal, much cooler. Though a bit windy, this factor alone would go a long way to maintaining hydration. I brought plenty of Enduralytes, planned to take them at regular intervals, and for the first time this year, packed Gatorade in my drink system. If I didn't get too crazy, the ride should be okay.
The run? That would have to be whatever it was. The previous attempt at bricking this week was disastrous; hopefully a few more days to recover from the wreck would improve my chances.
That left the swim. I've recently picked up the swimming substantially, and you might say I'm in a slump. Again, that's normal - the muscles are re-acclimating to the activity. I was simply a victim of bad timing, though it was my own fault. I knew I couldn't press it too hard, or the rest of the day would be in jeopardy. Best to cruise the early part of the day.
Greg was there, and clearly the better swimmer. Nothing I could say would urge him to take the lead - so much for drafting! I pulled lead for the swim for nearly the entire distance, and I will brag about my sighting, which was absolutely flawless. (No applause, please, wait until the presentation is over) Of course Greg could have left me anytime, but was content to swim by my side to the end. It had been a little rough through halfway, though really more mental than physical. After I changed up my breathing pattern, things settled down to a very sustainable pace. I could have gone down and back three more times with little effort.
Biking was next. We didn't have that long of a layover this year, no more than 15 minutes, which was nice. We did our parade loop out to 41, and after we crossed, it was game on. I knew we were in for a quick start. Steve had his P5 mounted with a rear disc, and the wind was to our backs. If we weren't alert, he would have dropped all of us on the spot. Sure enough, we lifted over 30 mph in nothing flat. This was the typical initial burst - Steve is strong, but tends to burst higher for the first minute or so of a pull, then settles down to a more reasonable pace. You just have to be tough on the front part.
One after another we took turns. Most of the pulls were around 5 minutes, which was plenty once we got into the headwinds. I wanted to test myself, so I doubled that to 10 minutes. I wasn't the fastest guy on the day by a wide margin - that would belong to Steve, Greg, Miller, or John T. - but I held my own on strength. That's kind of been the story of this whole year. I'm not unhappy with my effort at all, but to be frank I'm just not very fast.
We stopped after 30 miles for a SAG, then finished the ride with another 15 miles or so pace line followed by the return parade lap. There were minor detours along the way because of trains and blocked roads, but on the whole it was a great time. The only bad thing that happened was when Bob's new Torpedo drink system fired without warning and hit the road, puncturing the tank. On the very first ride. Sorry, Bob!
Now it was down to run. Of all the legs, this one terrified me most. (Kinda sound like Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Future, don't I?) I had no illusions I would run this quickly at all, because it wasn't possible. What I wanted most of all was to simply cover the distance. There was going to be pain, but could I manage it?
Our group quickly split up, and in the front there was Greg, Jimmy, Miller, Rand, and myself. I was happy to find the first few steps didn't bring agony. And, moving toward the first SAG at 3 miles, nothing felt like it was building. So far, so good. Greg peeled off a little over 2 miles in and headed back. Now it was just four.
My Garmin said we were going right at 8 flat, which was faster than I felt I should under the circumstances. I felt comfortable about getting to 5, but 9 would be much harder, as it was roughly double the distance I've run in any single run for quite some time. On top of that, the Sullivan run is just ugly. There is really nothing to look at to take your mind off what is going on. Every time I'm on the course, I'm just thinking about how badly I want to be off of it.
I decided to skip the stops and only grab a water bottle. The guys followed my lead, and we kept pushing along. My fear was if we took even a 2-minute break I could seize up. It was far better to keep going and get it over with. This also lead to a bit of self-inflicted trouble - I was the guy pulling the pace. I was positioned on the front, so I was responsible for how fast we were going. I complained, but there was only one person to blame for it.
Just before the 6-mile stop, Rand began complaining loudly. I could also hear his breathing increase. I rotated to the back and told him to set whatever pace he liked. This would be as helpful to me as it was to him. I was after the finish, not the time. This plan was immediately foiled because he had to stop at SAG #2 to let his heart rate drop. I couldn't stop and wait, nothing had changed. Miller had opened about 40 yards, and now I had to either run alone (Jimmy had also stopped), or catch him.
Rats.
I ran back to him, and realized I'd just chosen to suffer much. Miller is a machine, and even though he raced 100 miles just a week ago, what we were doing was a joke to him. The only good thing about all this was I would be done sooner. Just when it looked as though it would just be us, I heard Jimmy's characteristic foot slap on the pavement. Turning, I saw him trying to get to us. I asked Miller to ease up to let him back on, and then we were back to three.
The unfunnest part of the course was upon us - the small hill at a little over 7. It isn't huge, it's simply poorly placed. By this time of the day, and after hours of working out, that little hill feels like a mountain. I cruised over, though my heart spiked on it. Shortly after we hooked left, then right, and there was only a mile left. This is where I really began to work on the other two. They were trying to be kind to me by waiting, but the truth is I didn't want that. I kept telling them to go, I had this, my day was made. When we made the final turn onto Steve's road, they went. It didn't much matter - my Garmin told me we were already at 7:40. It only went down from there. They put about 40 yards on me in the end, but I didn't care. I finished every step of the run, and indeed, finished the entire day. Victory.
Now technically Jimmy finishes as the winner - again - though I'm not sure how that works out when you consider place in the other two legs. But let's not dwell on that, take your stinking victory, Jimmy. In my mind there were two unheralded studs of the day that substantially raised their games. Rand and Allen, take a bow!
Both guys had outstanding swims. Rand finished very early, and probably had one of the best swims I've ever seen him do. Allen went the whole way, never flinched or hesitated, and best of all, did it without a wetsuit. That's a huge deal, and really no matter what the rest of the day brought, it was a major victory.
Both rode well. Rand stayed with the front group all day, something he's NEVER done before. Once again, that's a big deal. Allen was broken off early, as was inevitable, but what is noteworthy is being isolated made for a much harder ride, which he completed.
Finally, the run proved a struggle for both at some point, yet they both finished the whole thing. Rand was there for 6 miles, and I think if he'd taken care of hydration a bit better early on, he might have gotten farther. Allen is coming off a bad hamstring pull, so anything he did was a win.
There were individual great efforts all day long. Greg in the water and on the road, Steve on the road and the grill, Jimmy taking the victory, Dennis riding 30 miles and running 9... it was a great day. I was sorry to have to leave early (unavoidable), and I can't believe such a wonderful part of the summer has already come and gone.
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