I started at 7 AM but got to the Boulder Res. a little after 5, so I had a lot of time to get ready. Maybe I should have gotten there later, although I ended up spending 20 minutes in line for a portapotty and was glad that I didn't feel rushed! The swim went really well, surprisingly. I finished in about 35 minutes (top 400 out of 1130 racers, my best finish of the day). A 1:45 pace for about 2000 meters - woohoo! I'm not sure how big my wave was, but it was very nice that the waves were 5 minutes apart. I had much more space in this race than previous ones, so I was actually able to get into a good rhythm and really enjoyed the swim.
The bike started out slowly. My plan was to average about 18 mph, but it started out with a discouraging false flat that made me doubt my ability to even average 16 mph. Luckily, some nice rolling hills and beautiful countryside followed so according to my bike I averaged 17.8 mph. I was very conscious of my effort on the bike, and kept my heart rate below 150 bpm (about 77% of my max HR) except for a couple of times on some small hills. This made the bike section into a somewhat leisurely ride for me, and I enjoyed it for the most part (not to say riding 56 miles by yourself is easy! I don't think I've ever done a ride that long at that pace by myself before.). I had a gu at 10 minutes, and then every 45 minutes, while taking a sip of either gatorade or water every 10 minutes. I made sure to take my last gu with about 30 minutes left so that I didn't have too much in my stomach starting the run. The temperatures were very cooperative, I don't think it got above 80 so that was phenomenal. The only bad thing about the bike was that I got a flat with about 7 miles to go. Even this wasn't too bad though, since it gave my legs a break and neutral support (didn't even know there was such a thing) came along, so I got to just stand on the side of the road and catch my breath. So my official bike time was 3:13.
My awesome friends were cheering me on when I finished the bike. I still couldn't believe I was about to run 13 miles after everything else I'd done. But I was feeling confident that I could do it as long as I went at a nice, steady pace. Positive thinking has been my good friend leading up to and during this race (it should be that way all the time). Again, I aimed to keep my HR below 150, but the last half or so I allowed it to get higher and it was around 150-155 for a lot of the run. Even so, my pace was a little slower than I was hoping for. I averaged 10:40 per mile, which shouldn't be too surprising since my pace on my long training runs is always around 10-11 min/mile. One thing my training the last few months has lacked has been faster paced runs. But, then again, at least I had the fitness to finish the thing, which is really what was most important! :) I was pretty happy that I didn't have to walk much, just 30 seconds at every few aid stations. The last couple of miles I ran by several people (men and women) walking. I had two more gus during the run, and 4 clif blocks. No bonking, and no sloshing-stomach either! Yay!
I did feel really bad a few times on the run. I ran with another women for about 4 miles and we talked a bunch, which helped the miles go by. Then I sang to myself for a while, and also kept reminding myself that this was something I've been wanting to do for a while, so I should appreciate it! The other big motivator for me was the funraising for Faith Alive. My math skills during workouts is notoriously awful, but I calculated that I raised about $15 per mile. And that is almost exactly how much it costs for 1 month of life-saving anti-retrovirus drugs for AIDS patients. I'm not sure if that is what the money will go toward, but it was a nice physical thing to think about as I contemplated the viability of finishing those last few miles in the half marathon. :)
Actually the last half mile was the worst. That was the one time I thought it would be nice to just stop and lay down for a while, and maybe a spectator would take pity on me and carry me to the finish line. So I just said over and over again, "You can do it, you can do it ..." Maybe I sounded nuts, but it helped, and I finished! :) Once again, I had a loud little cheering contingency at the end, which brought a big smile to my face.
So, now that it's over, I am very happy that I did it. I enjoyed most of it, even the hard parts, just because I was so excited to be doing something so big! Two things I would do differently are: 1. We spent a lot of the day before out and about. I ended up being very tired and very busy getting things together Saturday night. In hindsight, I should have gotten everything together Friday night and spent less time in the sun and more time with my feet up on Saturday. 2. Something about what I ate. Too much simple sugars maybe (6 gus, lots of gatorade, and the 4 clif blocks), but my stomach felt awful for about 4-5 hours after the race (luckily it was after, though). If I ever do another one of these (which right now does not sound appealing), I will put some more thought into pre-race day and race-day nutrition.
Overall the race was great, the volunteers were all very cheerful and encouraging, the aid stations were great, the course was beautiful, there were portapotties on the bike which I appreciated. I would definitely recommend this race to someone wanting to try out the long distance!
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