Last Saturday at the Gator Ride, I sunburned my face pretty good (sunglasses outline and all) but managed to avoid any other redness because it was chilly and I was covered from head to toe. Today during my practice Quarter Ironman, the weather was lovely and I wore shorts and a jersey. Apparently I decided that again, sunscreen was just too much of hassle, and now I’ve got a sunburned face, two sunburned arms, and two sunburned knees.
Did I mention that I’m a COMPLETE IDIOT?
So, yeah. That practice 1/4 Ironman I’d planned for today. It went….surprisingly well! Even the biking! I am feeling much better about the race in three weeks. I know I can do it.
I tried using the multisport setting on my Garmin, but I messed up and hit the stop button after swimming instead of the lap button. And then started it again when I realized, but by that time I was on the bike. So it’s all messed up. Here’s the summary as best as I can figure:
Swimming: I swam in the lap pool here at my apartment complex since I wasn’t sure if the rec center was open in the morning, and I figured I could use my apartment as my transition area. The pool here is heated, and the water was like bathwater. Seriously, it was so, so warm. Horrible to swim in. I was roasting after 5 minutes and looked forward to each stroke just so my arm could come out of the water, and thus be exposed to the cool air. I don’t know if it was the water temperature or the pool itself (which may be slightly longer than the rec center pool), but I was extremely sluggish for my swim. I did 1050 yards, which is about 6 yards shy of 0.6 miles, in between 23-24 minutes. I’m not sure exactly what the time was with the watch snafu, but either way, it took longer than the 2:00/100 yard pace that I have been swimming at the rec center. C’est la vie. It was only a couple extra minutes.
Transition 1: I took my time changing clothes, since Melissa and her fiancee had happened to come to the pool while I was finishing up. I chatted with them while I put on my socks and shoes and jersey and Matt said that the 1/2 Ironman sounded crazy. Well, yes. I rode my bike back to my apartment for just long enough to drop off my towel and goggles. Total transition time is a guess, since I hit the stop button instead of lap, but I think it was less than 10 minutes overall. Long, but I’m not worried — I plan to take my time in transition during the race. I don’t plan to dawdle, but I do plan to be deliberate in my actions.
Biking: I headed out for a 28.8 mile grand tour of Clear Lake — weave my way over to Bay Area, then down Port Rd to Todville, over the Kemah bridge and down to 96, then west on 96 all the way to Highway 3, then north to Medical Center and home. The wind wasn’t awful, but the first 10 miles of my ride had an on-and-off headwind that was worst out on Port Rd. I managed to keep steady at 13-14 mph through that section, but when I got to Todville things got much better. It was still windy over the bridge — I only got up to 26 mph going down — but turning onto 96 and heading west was the most awesome thing in the world. I cruised through the last 10 miles of the ride averaging more like 18-19 mph without even trying hard. Love the wind at my back! Total time was under 2 hours, though I’m not sure exactly what. The bike says I averaged 16.1 mph for a time of something like 1:48, but the bike timer stopped whenever I was stopped at a traffic light. The Garmin, when I finagle the numbers, tells me something like 1:58 (under 15 mph average). And I’d say it was 1:55 based on the fact that I left the apartment at 11:05 and got back at 1:00 on the nose. Any way I slice it, I was happy; I won’t be having to stop for lights at the race, I don’t think.
Transition 2: Not much to say here. I took my time and spent 8:30 changing shoes, shirt, guzzling some water, eating a granola bar, taking a bathroom break, and telling Jose (my support crew) about my bike ride.
Running: I felt surprisingly good after the bike. I know, I know, it was only half the distance I’ll be doing in three weeks, but feeling that good was encouraging. I set out on my run and stuck to a 5/1 run/walk schedule throughout. Splits were 10:50, 11:31, 11:38, 11:25, 11:25, 11:21, and 5:40 for a total time of 1:13:54 for 6.5 miles. That first split is a little misleading because it only includes 1 minute of walking; the others include two. I have to say — my legs felt pretty good. And as I got farther into the run, I actually started to have more energy. Not in the sense that I felt like I could run faster, but everything started to feel more smooth.
So all in all, my practice 1/4 Ironman went very well. Total time including my leisurely transitions was somewhere around 3:50. While all the distances will double in three weeks, I don’t believe my transition times will, so this makes me feel good, and confident that I can do a 7:30-8:30 Half Ironman.
The running especially makes me feel good. The time cutoff for getting in from the bike is 5:30 after race start, which leaves 3 hours for the half marathon run. Basically, this tells me that as long as I finish the bike leg in time (which I think I can), I will finish the Half Ironman. Because I can shuffle my way through a half marathon in 3 hours.
Yay!
Steeeve says
Yay! is right!! You nailed it, well done! I’m especially pleased that the run was strong, a real good indication the 1/2 is going to go well for you.
I understand there are logistics difficulties, but you need to get the wet suit and open water training organized, it will be the polar opposite of this morning’s swim! Deliberate transitions will be OK, road will be closed to traffic so your ride will be smoother – hoping for no wind!!!
Very pleased for you
justjunebug says
i will refrain from yelling at you like i am your mother about the no sunscreen thing… **sigh**
Vic says
I like what Steeeve said. Looks like it’s going to be an awesome accomplishment for you. You’re ready. Until you said it, I didn’t really realize that you were looking at 7:30+ hours. You are truly and endurance athlete.
Me says
June, can you recommend a good sunscreen that’s sweatproof and waterproof and doesn’t cause me to sweat like a pig? Also, that doesn’t make my eyes sting if I use it on my face?
Bill says
Are you till thinkning about selling the bike? Sorry, but I haven’t had time to read blogs… I’m sure the answer rest within.
Bill