I was traveling a lot the 2 weeks before the race while still training hard. The 4 days before the race I worked 2 twelve hour & 2 16 hour shifts. The day before the race I got mandatoried for a totally unexpected 16 hour shift. I was having to hammer a bunch of coffee during that shift to stay awake, which made me really dehydrated. When I woke up at 2 PM I was horribly dehydrated but still had to do a 1 hour run. Running while dehydrated in the heat of the day was a really bad idea. By the time I got home from my run my stomach was upset & I was tired. I just wanted to go back to sleep, so I did. If I was thinking I would have stayed up awhile longer to drink a few glasses of water. I didn't. Not good the day before an Olympic distance triathlon.
The race started out with a 2 loop 1500 meter swim. The wind was blowing hard from the get go. The waves were huge for such a small lake, & the water was very choppy. Surprisingly I still PR'd the swim with a 33:33.
I'd asked a couple of the volunteers & one of the RD's if they were handing out bottles of fluid at the half way of the bike, they said yes. I started the bike already thirsty & dehydrated but still hoping to have a break through performance on the 26 mile bike ride. By the quarter mark of the bike I had finished off my 22 ounce bottle of Gatorade & was starting to cramp up from dehydration. At the turn around of the bike I had been out of Gatorade for quite awhile & was really looking forward to getting a new bottle (or 2) of ice cold Gatorade. Turns out there was no bottles of fluid handed out on the bike. They were only handing out 4 ounce cups. By that point 4 ounces wasn't enough to wet my teeth. I was not happy. Shortly after the half way point each time I tried to speed up my legs would cramp. By the the end of the bike I was so dehydrated my stomach & legs were a mess. I didn't want to stop my race, but knew I was risking injury or sickness if I continued. So like any hard core triathlete I racked my bike, threw on my Zoots shoes & continued with my race.
At the 1st aid station of the run I grabbed 2 small cups of fluid, 1 of Hammer, 1 of water. The minute I slammed the 1st cup I immediately vomited it back up. I thought it may have been a fluke, so I tried to drink the 2nd more slowly. But after I drank the 2nd one I threw up again. At that point I knew I should have stopped racing, but I continued because I'm race retarded.
At each & every aid station I tried to drink a little, but after each one I threw up anything I drank, no matter how little I drank.
The 1st 2 miles of the 6.2 mile run I walked. My body just couldn't handle anything faster than a walk. Miles 2 through 4 I was able to jog at a decent pace, but still couldn't run. I'm not sure why, but my I was able to push myself pretty hard on miles 4 through 6.2 even though I was so dehydrated I was beginning to see spots & feel light headed enough that I wasn't able to run in a straight line anymore. On miles 4 through 6.2 I kept a 7:30 per mile pace. I know those numbers sounds fast, but it was mostly down hill, so it's not nearly as fast as it sounded.
I was hoping to finish the 1st annual Storrie Lake triathlon in under 2 hours 40 minutes, but I only did it in 2 hours 58 minutes. I finished in a slow time, but I consider finishing a huge accomplishment.
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