Learning from Diane’s REALLY UNFORTUNATE Race Day

A few of you knew I was racing today at the Ironman 70.3 in RI.  I figured I’d humiliate myself in the interest of teaching you guys what NOT to do LOL     ENJOY A GOOD LAUGH AT YOUR COACH…Here goes:

The comedy of errors actually started last night when it was forecast to rain with thunder storms through 10am today.  With a 6:05am swim start time (yes, I did say SIX-O-5) I was really contemplating not checking my bike into transition the night before.  You see with this race, the Sat before the race you had to pick up your race packet with your timing chip and numbers the day before.  You also have to drop off everything you need for the run at the expo in a “Run Bag”.  why you ask, because this race is in two locations 1 hour apart and they don’t let you have any transition at either place.  EVERYTHING you need has to be in bags (Run bag/ Bike bag, morning clothes bag, etc…).  You can’t even have your bike shoes next to your bike, they have to either be clipped onto your peddles, or somehow laid on your bike.  This makes for lots of planning and logistical challenges.

Next, you drive the hour from Providence to Narragansett to drop off your bike.  So, being the brilliant person that I am, I decide that I’ll remove my saddle bag from my bike because it’s going to get soaked with the rain, and I can put everything I need into the bag on my top tube.  I’ve never had a flat in a race, so what are the chances I’ll need more than one tube and accompanying “fix-it” kit?  Hmmmm……  I then put garbage bags over my handle bars and seat to keep them as dry as possible.

Sharon was so awesome, she was such a great “driver” for us.  Because my race start was at 6am, I had to leave Sharon’s cousin’s in Kingstown a little before 5am.   Or so I thought…..

So, it rains and pours over night.  It’s kind of muggy in the morning, but we now only have a very light mist, not rain- YAY.  We drive the 15min and come to a screech with traffic.  It’s now 5:30am and we still have to get our bike stuff to our bikes, remove the garbage bags, pump our tires, go to the bathroom, put on our wetsuits, warm up and be out of transition by 5:45, and then line up at 6am for my wave start.  So I decide to jump out of the car slightly before the parking lot so I can get a jump on the work I have to do in transition.  Doug’s swim start isn’t until 6:50, so he has time.

I run to my bike and the bag on the handlebars in nowhere to be found and everything is very wet- including the food I put in the top tube bag last night.  Yummy, mushy Lara Bars will be GREAT!  Oh well, I continue with my “set up” and putting everything on my bike (shoes, helmet, wetsuit bag…)  It is now 5:40 and I really have to go to the bathroom.  There are 2 Porto-potties in transition that has a very long line, so I run to the front Porto potties (you see my bike was in the very bottom left corner of transition and the out of transition Porto potties were on the far right top corner).  There are two lines of about 50 people. But, there are about 20 Porto potties so I should be good- Wrong again.  It’s now 5:45 and I’m only 1/2 way in the line- I say, well, I’d better go get my wetsuit, swim cap and goggles and ask the women behind me if I can leave and come back.  They say sure, so off I go.  I run back to my bike and oh oh, there is Doug with a USAT official with my name and number on a piece of paper (Doug had time so he was pumping my tires while I was in the Porto potty line).  The plug on my handle bar must have fallen off on the car ride down to RI.  USAT rules say, no plug, no race.  So, Doug is looking to get black electrical tape to fix it, and the USAT judge is fine with that.  OK, that crisis averted.   I grab all of my swim stuff and run to the line again and phew, I’m 3rd now.  YAY!  Then I hear on the loud speaker they are delaying the swim start for 15 min.  Another sigh of relief.  I go potty and head to the water….

Ah yah, so when a storm has just left the ocean, it leaves lots of wind and very high waves.  There were white caps on the waves- this should be fun.  I put on the wetsuit and head in the water.  I start to swim out towards the buoys and feel like I am not going anywhere, I turn around and head in and it’s like body surfing.  Interesting (I very rarely swim in the ocean, so my biggest fear was getting sea sick).  But, I didn’t feel sick and the water wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be, so I thought, “it is what it is”.

The swim started with the mens pros then the woman pros then woman over 40!  Why they put us 3rd wave you got me, but I was ready to go.  The surf was so bad they offered people the opportunity not to do the swim and to just do a bike/run.  I didn’t know this until after the race (I somehow missed that announcement) but thought it was weird that the USAT official went to every woman and asked her if she was swimming.  I’m thinking “of course we’re swimming, we’re in line, with wetsuits, goggles and swim caps on, what a weird question”.     Anyway, I start the swim and I was laughing it was so wavy that you could only breathe every stroke, and you couldn’t really do your stroke, it was like pull-pull- breathe- up over mountains.  You couldn’t really see the buoys either. Multiple times I thought “where is everyone!” .  I couldn’t see anyone.  I started to think when I got out that I’d be looking at at least 50min on my watch instead of the 38 or 40 I had hoped for.  But, the way back went so quickly-it was like body surfing- I got into a pretty good rhythm.  I got out of the water, looked at my watch- wow, 36 min for 1.2 miles- not bad.  Today is turning around….

I run up the beach to the wetsuit strippers, lay down, off the wetsuit goes, run to my bike throw all the swim stuff in the “wetsuit bag” put on all the bike stuff and off I go.  I don’t feel sick, this is gonna be good. And then there was mile 12…  Flat tire…. Shoot!  My first flat in a race. And I was going at a pretty good pace averaging about 19mph on the flats out to the hills.

I jump off my bike.  It’s the back tire- figures.  Off the tire goes, grab all the “fix-it” stuff. I get the tube into the hole and the tire off the rim in about 2 min- not bad.  Then I kept trying to get the tube under the tire, it won’t fit.  What the heck.  I blow into the lever – it still wont fit.  After a few minutes of trying to stretch it, I check the tube size, and shoot………….. wrong tube, this is for my old Trek (it’s a 650 wheel this Trek has 700s).  UGH.  I stand there hoping someone of the hundred people going by will offer me a tube.  No such luck.  People ask “do you need anything “  I yell out “yes, a 700 tube” as they continue by.  I then start yelling “send a SAG vehicle for help”.  Finally after 30 MINUTES(!) a woman offers me a 700 tube.  YES, I’m in business.  In about 2 min I’ve got that tube in, and my wheel back on my bike.

I’m crusin’ now until mile 25…..THUMP THUMP THUMP…. Shoot another flat (ok, I didn’t say SHOOT). I jump off and crap, no tube again.  Now, the entire race is passing me by AGAIN, and still no one is offering a tube.  I check over the tire, don’t see anything, try to pump the tube with the cartridge I have, get back on the bike, go 100 feet and THUMP THUMP THUMP.  UGH, I ask everyone to send a truck to come get me and drive me to Providence-this is rediculous.  I figured I’d just do the 13 mile run and call it a day.

As I wait, some guy on a Harley with arm sleeves of tatoos and no teeth (no, I am NOT MAKING THIS UP) asks if I am OK, and I say “yes thanks, I’m waiting for a ride”.  He says, OK, sorry I can’t help you.  10 minutes later he comes back with a guy in a pick up truck and asks me if I want a ride to Providence.  Ah let me think about it–do I get in a truck with two guys that I don’t know and are all too interested in what I’m doing- I think not.  So I tell them that I’m not allowed to go with anyone but race officials it’s against the rules (LOL).  Meanwhile a race official comes by on his motorcycle and I wave him over.  He calls in help for me, and tells the guys I’m all set.  He then leaves and I’m still standing on the side of the road.  By now 40 min goes by- no help- and at this point I’m very frustrated.  FINALLY after the whole race has practically gone by me (remember this 45 min and the 30 min before makes my standing around time at 1 hour 15min) a SAG truck comes. I ask him to take me to Providence and he says “I’m going the other way, it will be a really long time before I can get you there.  Let me put on a new tire and tube and then you won’t have to worry about it again”.  OK, change in plan.  I’ll ride back to Providence, and do my long run tomorrow.  This will give me a time goal if I do this race again I’ll have atleast done the swim and the bike.  This also let’s me keep this up coming week as a training week to get in some good swims and runs to be ready to swim the swim and to run with Jim at Vineman (it’s a marathon).

So, he fixes the tire (the culprit was a big hole with glass) and off I go. After all of that,  I ended up having a great ride.   My legs felt great, I had good nutrition, and easily could have run afterward.  My ride time was 3:04 for 56 miles, so I’m fine with that.

I ran into transition like I was running, transitioned to the run, then stopped and handed in my chip.  So, although I didn’t do the run, I feel good about the swim and bike and will have a good long run tomorrow.  But, I wanted to share with you my top 10  stupidity moves of the day so you can not repeat what I did.  In other words, do,  as I say, not as I do! LOL

Top 10 lessons:

1.  Leave time for traffic

2.  Check your plugs on your bike the day before

3.  Make sure you have the right tire tubes

4.  Remove debris from tube before you have to change THREE flats!

5.  Keep your saddle bag on your bike

6.  Secure rain trash bags tighter

7.  Don’t put your nutrition on the bike until race morning

8. Get in the potty line 30 min before you need to leave transition- regardless of how many porta-potties there are

9.  Small running pockets in shirts don’t fit 2 tubes (oh I forgot to mention this brialliant move of mine- I was trying not to litter and had nowhere to put them except in my back little gel pocket of my shirt and they fell out while I was riding and one got stuck and then wrapped around my back wheel- had to stop for that one too)

10.  Be flexible and consider the long term affects of your decisions.  ANd, I have to add the 11th one…..

11.  When you ask if someone is OK on the side of the road and they tell you what they need, STOP and give it to them! 

As John Bingham says, “Waddle On Friends”