T
Trijack3
Guest
I was speed strolling my way the last 200 yards to the finish line of the White Lake Half Wimpman
when I found myself strolling stride for stride with another 40 something year old geezer who was
complaining of severe cramping in his legs. I was so out of it by this point that I wasn't sure if I
had caught up to him or he had caught up to me... my only focus was making it to that DAMN finish
line so I could sit down, eat something, and cool off. I comisserated with this gentleman since I
had been experiencing the same problem since the first 1/2 mile of the run. He suggested that we
finish together and I said "fine" - whatever... it made no difference at this point. As we rounded
the turn to enter the FFA grounds, he encouraged me to run with him to the finish line. I suggested
he go ahead since I was already "sprinting" at top speed. He left me in his wake as the crowd along
began to encourage us to "finish strong". I have never walked across a finish line at a race before
so this was a new experience.... one that I will remember for a long, long time hoping never to
repeat. As I entered the finisher's chute, I discovered my fellow geezer sprawled out on the ground
in obvious agony.... gee, was it really worth it?!?!?!
I started the day feeling better than I ever have the morning of a triathlon.... extremely well
rested and brimming with hope and optimism, but knowing in the back of my mind that the heat monster
could rear it's ugly head and turn this beautiful day into a hellish experience. I tried to channel
those thoughts into positive ones knowing that my preparation had gone almost as well as I could
have hoped with the only exception that the weather had been so cool that I couldn't get acclimated
to training in heat in humidity.
What I learned this day is that good training preparation can so easily be unraveled by seemingly
minor mistakes in judgment when you are already susceptible to heat related problems. What follows
are some of the lessons learned that hopefully will help others avoid similar pitfalls.... the hard
part is swallowing my pride and admitting my failures after almost a decade of racing.
1) Kick less during the swim, especially at longer distances... save your legs for the bike and
run. I felt minor cramps climbing the ladder to get out of the water at the end of the swim.
2) Use sunscreen. Even thought an extra layer of lotion/oil might make your body work harder to
cool off, the sunscreen actually keeps you cooler because you don't absorb as many UV rays that
will raise your body temperature; and, in a longer race, you don't know how long you might be
out there on the run course just trying to finish.
3) In the heat, go slower on the bike even when you think you are taking it easy... and don't try
to make up lost time on hills or facing into a head wind.
4) Don't count on the water bottles being handed off on the bike course. They often are only half
full, and in hot weather, they are probably going to contain luke warm water that won't help
cool you off. If faced with temperatures in the 90's, buy a cheap styrofoam cooler and a bag of
ice and take water bottles out to a key location on the bike course early before the race and
stash it in some bushes off the road. Act like your getting off your bike to take a pee and swap
empty bottles for full ones. And take an extra bottle on your bike.
5) In hot weather, don't eat anything solid during the race, even if you've done so in training....
don't even use some of the less fluid gels (Power Gel does not get more fluid in the heat!).
Stick with drink replenishers and more fluid gels like Hammer Gel. Solids will draw water away
from your muscles and from your sweat glands in order to digest them.
6) Take electrolyte replacement pills in hot weather to make sure that you don't dilute your
sodium, potassium, etc. because of the excessive amount of drinking that you will need to do. (I
managed to get this one right after several failures in the past.)
7) In hot weather, don't eat the potato chips or pretzels offered at the run turnaround (see #5)
unless you've forgotten #6. In that case, forget about running to the finish and just enjoy the
weather and a nice long walk.
8) In hot weather, if you run out of water before the end of the bike (see
#4), finish the bike at an easy pace, stop for an extended time in
transition to drink plenty of ice cold water, and walk the first half mile of the run to give your
body a chance to catch up. (This is a guess, but I know from experience that it can't be worse than
what I went through.)
Actually, I really enjoyed the first 2 1/2 hours of this race... I had a great time chatting with
numerous people on the bike course and enjoying the pretty morning. But by the time we hit mile 25,
it was starting to feel very hot and the last 24 miles were into a very strong, hot head wind. This
was no time to run out of water and I only received a half bottle of warm water at the last water
bottle handoff at mile 35. If the temperature had been much closer to the seasonal high of 79, this
would have been a great race!
Other observations: it looks like a lot of people dropped out of this race; I heard 3 ambulances
taking people to the hospital and that was only when I was near the main highway on the run course -
I wonder how many actually needed medical treatment; I never saw so many styrofoam cups blowing
across peoples lawns on the run course and so much trash along the roadways - water bottles, gel
flasks and used packets, cups, etc. I hope somebody made a major effort to clean up our mess or we
may not be invited back to White Lake again; Smoothies... what a great idea for a post-race
treat!!!; if there was ever a day when a rain tent would have been great, Saturday was it! I wanted
to jump in the lake and cool off after the race, but it would have been too much effort getting in
and out of the lake, and I would have had to bend my legs.
During this race, I promised myself I would never attempt another race longer than Olympic distance
again, but of course within 24-48 hours I was already planning how to learn from my mistakes and
overcome them. What was that song about an ant and a rubber plant?
High Hopes
Next time you're found with your chin on the ground There's a lot to be learned so look around Just
what makes that little ol' ant Think he'll move that rubber tree plant Anyone knows an ant can't
Move a rubber tree plant
But he's got high hopes... he's got high hopes He's got high apple pie in the sky hopes So any time
you're getting low 'Stead of letting go, Just remember that ant. Oops there goes another rubber tree
plant. Oops there goes another rubber tree plant. Oops there goes another rubber tree plant.
Antman
when I found myself strolling stride for stride with another 40 something year old geezer who was
complaining of severe cramping in his legs. I was so out of it by this point that I wasn't sure if I
had caught up to him or he had caught up to me... my only focus was making it to that DAMN finish
line so I could sit down, eat something, and cool off. I comisserated with this gentleman since I
had been experiencing the same problem since the first 1/2 mile of the run. He suggested that we
finish together and I said "fine" - whatever... it made no difference at this point. As we rounded
the turn to enter the FFA grounds, he encouraged me to run with him to the finish line. I suggested
he go ahead since I was already "sprinting" at top speed. He left me in his wake as the crowd along
began to encourage us to "finish strong". I have never walked across a finish line at a race before
so this was a new experience.... one that I will remember for a long, long time hoping never to
repeat. As I entered the finisher's chute, I discovered my fellow geezer sprawled out on the ground
in obvious agony.... gee, was it really worth it?!?!?!
I started the day feeling better than I ever have the morning of a triathlon.... extremely well
rested and brimming with hope and optimism, but knowing in the back of my mind that the heat monster
could rear it's ugly head and turn this beautiful day into a hellish experience. I tried to channel
those thoughts into positive ones knowing that my preparation had gone almost as well as I could
have hoped with the only exception that the weather had been so cool that I couldn't get acclimated
to training in heat in humidity.
What I learned this day is that good training preparation can so easily be unraveled by seemingly
minor mistakes in judgment when you are already susceptible to heat related problems. What follows
are some of the lessons learned that hopefully will help others avoid similar pitfalls.... the hard
part is swallowing my pride and admitting my failures after almost a decade of racing.
1) Kick less during the swim, especially at longer distances... save your legs for the bike and
run. I felt minor cramps climbing the ladder to get out of the water at the end of the swim.
2) Use sunscreen. Even thought an extra layer of lotion/oil might make your body work harder to
cool off, the sunscreen actually keeps you cooler because you don't absorb as many UV rays that
will raise your body temperature; and, in a longer race, you don't know how long you might be
out there on the run course just trying to finish.
3) In the heat, go slower on the bike even when you think you are taking it easy... and don't try
to make up lost time on hills or facing into a head wind.
4) Don't count on the water bottles being handed off on the bike course. They often are only half
full, and in hot weather, they are probably going to contain luke warm water that won't help
cool you off. If faced with temperatures in the 90's, buy a cheap styrofoam cooler and a bag of
ice and take water bottles out to a key location on the bike course early before the race and
stash it in some bushes off the road. Act like your getting off your bike to take a pee and swap
empty bottles for full ones. And take an extra bottle on your bike.
5) In hot weather, don't eat anything solid during the race, even if you've done so in training....
don't even use some of the less fluid gels (Power Gel does not get more fluid in the heat!).
Stick with drink replenishers and more fluid gels like Hammer Gel. Solids will draw water away
from your muscles and from your sweat glands in order to digest them.
6) Take electrolyte replacement pills in hot weather to make sure that you don't dilute your
sodium, potassium, etc. because of the excessive amount of drinking that you will need to do. (I
managed to get this one right after several failures in the past.)
7) In hot weather, don't eat the potato chips or pretzels offered at the run turnaround (see #5)
unless you've forgotten #6. In that case, forget about running to the finish and just enjoy the
weather and a nice long walk.
8) In hot weather, if you run out of water before the end of the bike (see
#4), finish the bike at an easy pace, stop for an extended time in
transition to drink plenty of ice cold water, and walk the first half mile of the run to give your
body a chance to catch up. (This is a guess, but I know from experience that it can't be worse than
what I went through.)
Actually, I really enjoyed the first 2 1/2 hours of this race... I had a great time chatting with
numerous people on the bike course and enjoying the pretty morning. But by the time we hit mile 25,
it was starting to feel very hot and the last 24 miles were into a very strong, hot head wind. This
was no time to run out of water and I only received a half bottle of warm water at the last water
bottle handoff at mile 35. If the temperature had been much closer to the seasonal high of 79, this
would have been a great race!
Other observations: it looks like a lot of people dropped out of this race; I heard 3 ambulances
taking people to the hospital and that was only when I was near the main highway on the run course -
I wonder how many actually needed medical treatment; I never saw so many styrofoam cups blowing
across peoples lawns on the run course and so much trash along the roadways - water bottles, gel
flasks and used packets, cups, etc. I hope somebody made a major effort to clean up our mess or we
may not be invited back to White Lake again; Smoothies... what a great idea for a post-race
treat!!!; if there was ever a day when a rain tent would have been great, Saturday was it! I wanted
to jump in the lake and cool off after the race, but it would have been too much effort getting in
and out of the lake, and I would have had to bend my legs.
During this race, I promised myself I would never attempt another race longer than Olympic distance
again, but of course within 24-48 hours I was already planning how to learn from my mistakes and
overcome them. What was that song about an ant and a rubber plant?
High Hopes
Next time you're found with your chin on the ground There's a lot to be learned so look around Just
what makes that little ol' ant Think he'll move that rubber tree plant Anyone knows an ant can't
Move a rubber tree plant
But he's got high hopes... he's got high hopes He's got high apple pie in the sky hopes So any time
you're getting low 'Stead of letting go, Just remember that ant. Oops there goes another rubber tree
plant. Oops there goes another rubber tree plant. Oops there goes another rubber tree plant.
Antman
