Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 2012 – Race Report

Well, what to say about this race. In short, it was a bit of a grind.

That said, while I would have liked to have done better, I’m not really too torn up about it and am still pleased with the outcome given what I was working with.

As mentioned previously, in the lead up to the race I barely thought about it. I never really experienced the usual nerves and aside from our regular race prep on Saturday morning, the day prior was definitely not very typical of “race day-eve”.

We spent the afternoon with family cheering Cam on to an 11th place finish in the 10,000m (yay!) and then headed to a friend’s house for a bbq. It was a great, relaxed day, where I barely gave any more thought to the fact that I had a race the next morning.

We headed home just after 8pm to get everything ready for the next day (something that I usually do much earlier in the day, so that felt a little weird) and headed off to sleepy time village.

Of course, as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, the nerves finally hit.

When I awoke Sunday morning I felt like I had barely slept and for some reason, I was still feeling really nervous. I don’t know why, but my tummy was full of butterflies. The usual routine followed: breakfast, coffee, bathroom, yadda, yadda... and then we were out the door and on our way to the race site.

Set up transition, walk transition, porta-potty stop, lube of various body parts, wetsuit on, nerves, nerves, nerves… and it was go time!

I was in the first of two waves for the Olympic distance race, which started 2mins after the sprint wave. There were A LOT of breast-strokers and back-strokers in that sprint wave, which added a few little obstacles once my wave was finally underway, but it wasn’t as bad as it looked like it could be while we were standing on shore waiting to start.

What to say about the swim. It didn’t feel terrible, but I also didn’t feel like I had much to give. There was a bit of bumping and banging and jostling in the first 400-500m, but it spread out pretty quickly and I thought I settled into a rhythm okay. Unfortunately, I was much much slower than I should have been (and that I know I am capable of).

The swim just felt long and it seemed like I was in the water for a pretty significant period of time. My thoughts drifted at times and my tummy started growling pretty badly with (I would guess) about 400m to go. Never a good sign.

Out of the water and up to T1 I was shocked by how wet I was. That probably sounds a bit weird - like duh, you were just in a lake - but as I tore my wetsuit down it felt like half the contents of Elk Lake spilled out of it. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much water dripping off of me ~ I was absolutely drenched! I even had to wipe my face with my hand to be able to see anything through the water dripping from my hair as I neared my bike. This didn't really affect me negatively, but it stood out to me, as it was kind of unusual.

Anyway, T1 felt like it was in slow motion. There was nothing wrong with it or crazy or comical, it was just slow and methodical.

I had a decent mount, and as I started riding I heard [coach] Kelly say something from the side of the road. I’m pretty sure I looked at him and said something like “that wasn’t a great swim” in the most monotone and unenthusiastic voice ever. I think his response was something along the lines of “that’s okay, you need to keep going”.

What to say about the bike. Well, it didn’t feel terrible, but I also didn’t feel like I had much to give (sound familiar, haha). My tummy was still feeling quite hungry, but I just couldn’t seem to bring myself to get anything into it. I knew I had to take a gel and some fluid, but it was the last thing I wanted to do and so I just kept turning over my legs and trying to push as much as I could.

Shane passed me with a smack on the butt much sooner than I would have liked (or was expecting) and so I grumbled about my bad swim as he passed. Later he would tell me that he thought I said "that was a fucking fast swim!" Haha, how completely opposite my dear. Opposite.

Just before the turn around I finally sucked it up and got a gel in and tried to make a better effort to drink.

Now, for all my grumbling, I do quite enjoy the out and back style course. It was fun (and also a good distraction) to see my Dad, Shane and Kirsten at different points on the road… and you know, even though I was failing hard at my nutrition and felt a little lethargic, I actually was enjoying myself and was in a fairly good head space.

Coming into T2 I had a decent dismount and racked my bike easily. I again felt a bit dazed and like I was moving in slo-mo while at the rack, but I got my race belt, socks and shoes on and was out in a somewhat respectable time (not fast, but not terribly slow either).

As I left transition I heard my Mom yell at me that my Dad was just up ahead. I don’t know if that was good motivation or what, but I felt like I came out of transition running well. My calves were kind of tight, but nothing horrible, and I actually had a bit of a spring to my step.

I think I probably caught my Dad about 1km in and slowed down for a few moments to chat (and also contemplate whether I should just run with him or actually try and push on). He was also experiencing some crampy and uncomfortable calves, and so I decided to forge ahead.

I felt like I was running pretty strong for the first 2.5-3km when all of a sudden I got the worst cramps in both sides of my abdomen and in both of my calves simultaneously (that’ll teach me to only eat one gel and maybe half a bottle of fluid on the bike). The cramping was bad enough that I pretty much stopped dead. I walked for a few moments (it felt like forever, but probably wasn’t much more than 45seconds to a minute - although I never actually looked at my watch) and then started running again.

I tried to focus on staying relaxed and calm and just pushing through. Telling myself just to run at Ironman race pace and see how that felt. After another km or two I started to loosen up and feel a bit better. The stomach cramps passed and my calves began to release. I think my pace picked up slightly, but not too too much.

Much like the bike, even though I felt a bit flat, I was still having a good time and did try to smile and thank all the volunteers at the aid stations.

With about 800m to go I tried to pick it up a little more, but also had the thought of “well, if Kirsten catches me now, she deserves it.” A true competitor I am, haha.

I rolled across the finish line in 2:48:29. About a minute slower than last year at this race, but still good enough for 2nd in my age group (which honestly, was a bit of a shock, but I'll take it!).

Initially I was a bit disappointed in myself and the race that I had, but then I cut myself some slack.

I’m in no way trying to make excuses for my performance, but I started to think about the fact that I had just finished the biggest part of the build to Ironman. I had a very unusual week (for me) leading up to this race, and had been on antibiotics for the previous 6 days. Of course I felt a little sluggish.

When I put it all in perspective, it definitely made me feel better about the day, and I was really pleased with my mental game and the fact that I pushed through even when I wasn’t really feeling it. In the end, it wasn't meant to be an "A" race, but it definitely turned out to be a good "race effort" training day.

Oh, and winning a sweet draw prize basket full of cycling goodies also helped!