The Effingham Half triathlon could have been expressed in couple words: Very hot! Although the triathlon was on June 21st, temperature for this time of year was above normal causing many of the participants to drop (over 20%) out of the race that day.
The swim was also different that day as we had to swim in Lake Sarah twice! We did one loop and when we swam to shore, got out of the water, shouted out our number and then jumped back in the water to do another swim loop. The certainly did through off one's rhythm therefore increasing my swim time to 48 minutes, at least I was faster here than in Kansas without a wetsuit!
The bike portion was full of rolling hills throughout the course. I felt good the first 20 miles but the heat was starting to get to me and my Infinite drink was hot and my energy levels were dropping so my average speed decreased down to a disappointing 18.9 which wasn't bad but could have been better.
The run was the most difficult half Marathon I had ever finished. The heat at this time was like a sweltering sauna with very little shade. I staggered from one aid station to the next and threw ice sponges in my hat trying to cool myself down. After finishing the first loop at over an hour, it was daunting to get back out there and do the same loop again in that oppressive heat. The sun was so hot my shoes were sticking to the melting asphalt on each step as it buckled from the intense heat. I continued and watched fellow friends Christian and Ian struggle to keep a good pace as well as I started the second lap. I just pushed myself to the finish and realized that this is what Iron Man Louisville will be in late August, although it will be twice the distance! I did finish with a 6:39 which was still faster than last year's Half at Buffalo Springs so my training has definitely helped.
1 comment:
Nice write-up. Definitely a tough race - way to gut it out!
Post a Comment