High Cliff Half Ironman Race Report - June 24, 2007

Wow! What a great feeling to complete my first half ironman! I knew it would be an awesome feeling to finish, but I wasn't sure if I would enjoy the rest of the race. I didn't know if I'd get bored, frustrated, or if I'd lose heart. I wasn't sure how my nutrition plan would go or if I'd get a flat on the bike or totally bonk on the run. I had no idea how the race itself was going to feel. I'll tell you what though - it felt AWESOME. I can say with complete confidence that I thoroughly enjoyed the race....well, except for the last 4 miles of the run.

Saturday Pre-Race

I had a hard time sleeping Friday night and ended up getting up really early to do my pre-race workout. Saturday was a nice chilly 58 degree morning. I headed out on the bike in a long sleeve jersey and was a little chilled. I didn't feel great on my pre-race ride. I had a nagging soreness in my upper glute from a few days back and was quite nervous about that as it was somewhat tight on the bike. Following my short 40 minute bike, I headed out for a quick 20 minute run. A little tightness in the glute on the run too. At this point I was definitely worried. I didn't want to have a bad race on Saturday, but I also didn't want to race hard and screw something up that would wreck my IM training.

At that point, I was planning to head up to Appleton on Sunday morning. But, what a stroke of luck - my good friend Becca called and said she had decided to do the Half and wanted to drive up Saturday and stay overnight. Hooray!!! Not only did I not have to get up at the butt crack of dawn, but now I had a racing buddy! Part of the reason I participate in triathlons is the camaraderie and the prospect of going up there alone had left me less than excited. Fortunately though, Becca and I now had each other in this little Sunday morning event!

We headed up to Appleton around 730pm. We first stopped for Noodles and Company for dinner and some good girl talk. Then we were off. We arrived in Appleton around 10pm, checked into the Radisson, unpacked some of our race gear and were in bed before 11pm.

Sunday Pre-Race

At 5am, the alarms went off and we were up. I was definitely groggy and tired, but managed to pull everything together. I got cleaned up and dressed and then began to prepare my nutrition for the day. I mixed my sports drinks, loaded the bottles onto my bike and packed my bento box full of energy gels and food. By 530am we were out the door!

On the way to the race, we thought we'd just follow some of the other cars with bikes on them. This was a GREAT strategy, until we realized that the people in front of us had NO IDEA where they were going! Becca and I pretty much remembered the way from our directions (that I lost!), so we turned around and led the caravan of triathletes to High Cliff State Park.

High Cliff State Park is beautiful! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a day of hiking, picnics, boating, swimming, whatever. What a gorgeous site for a race!
As we pulled in to the park, we could see that the lake wasn't completely calm. It wasn't wavy, but my anxiety level definitely climbed one notch upon seeing that. By the time we got parked and headed for registration, it was 615am. Becca still had to register and I had to pick up my packet of goodies.

45 minutes until Race Time...

Becca and I parted ways at registration. I picked up my packet and chip, got body marked and headed for transition. Transition was kind of messed up. There was no rhyme or reason as to how the Waves were organized. I was in Wave 5 and expected to be near the racks for Waves 4 and 6. Nope - I was next to Wave 2 and 7. Makes sense....I found my spot pretty easily and had a really good location. I was very close to the Swim Exit and the Run Exit and had a little ways to go for the Bike In/Out.

I racked my bike, got my transition area organized and made a mad dash for the bathroom. To my surprise, there was NO line at the ladies room...but the men had a HUGE line. Sweet Justice! Gotta love it! After bathroom trip #1, I headed back to transition to put on my wetsuit. That's when I noticed my friends Doug and Laura Meier. Doug was also doing the Half and in my wave! How lucky! I wandered around at this point trying to find Becca. I managed to find some other friends of mine - Dean and Michele. It was great to catch them before the race! After continuing to search for Becca with no luck, I headed back to my Transition spot, grabbed my cap and goggles, headed for the bathroom once more and then down to the water.




10 minutes until race time....

I immediately found friends in the water - Doug, Dean, Christine, Becca and Tim. Funny how in a group of nearly 1000 athletes, you can still find the people you know! I did a warm-up swim which gave me a preview of the swells we saw from the car. I also got a preview of the green muck we'd be swimming in.

I wasn't really nervous at this point. I was a little bit, but nothing like at Lake Mills. I think maybe it was because in an event of this length you need more patience and you can't just hammer like you can for a sprint. I was quite surprised by how relaxed I was.

The Waves started going off at 7am. I was scheduled to start at 708am. I waited patiently with Becca and Doug and lined up on the inside of the buoy line. I just kept telling myself 'Nice and Calm....Long and Strong......Don't Panic'. 15 seconds to go...and the cannon went off.

The Swim (1.2 miles)

It was fairly shallow at the start, but definitely deep enough to swim. Despite this most people try to run in the water for a few seconds before starting to swim. I'll never understand this, but I waded patiently behind some people before starting to swim. The first 3 minutes of the swim were not what I expected. Between the lake swells and the proximity of the swimmers there was a lot of splashing and running into each other. I was definitely thrown off by this and needed to do some breast stroking to calm down. Once more relaxed I started swimming.

The buoys were pretty far apart but easy to see. I just took it buoy to buoy. Thinking about the whole swim in one chunk was too daunting. I tried swimming straight, but the swells definitely tried to carry me towards shore during the first portion of the swim. Once we made the turn out into the lake it was smooth sailing. I hit my rhythm and just focus on swimming from one buoy to the next.

While on the 'backstretch', I had some jerk swim over the top of me! I was not expecting this BC at this point each athlete had TONS of space and there was no need to go barreling over people. The guy pissed me off so I tried swimming on his feet for awhile to catch a draft. That didn't work for very long though.

The turn into shore was tough as it was hard to see exactly where the swim exit was and the sun was shining right into our eyes. I managed to find the exit and as I got closer to shore, it gets pretty shallow. It amazes me how many people start walking. as long as your hands don't hit the sand, keep swimming! I was swimming past people who were just casually walking up to transition.

Finally I got up. I had done it! I survived the swim. I headed up the hill into T1 (got to thank the race directors for that) and checked my watch. I was over 3 minutes ahead of my goal time!!!

Goal Time: 38 minutes
Actual Time: 34:29

T1

Nothing too exciting to note from T1. I peeled off my wetsuit, got my bike gear together and I was off. Time to Bike!

Goal Time: 2 minutes or less
Actual Time: 1:57

The Bike (56 miles)

The course at High Cliff is mostly flat, except for the big hill right out of the park. What a great way to start - huffing and puffing at 12 mph. I had ridden this course before so I knew this was the worst of it. Just be patient and get warmed up.

I used the first 5-10 miles of the bike to just get warmed up. There's no sense in hammering early. You'll only pay later. This course is always windy since it's flat and really open. We started out into a crosswind, which wasn't bad. I was able to ride pretty steady.

About 6 miles into the bike, I really needed to use the ladies room! I knew there would be a porta potty on the course, but wasn't sure when it was coming. Finally, 8 miles later it appeared! Hallelujah! Fortunately too there was no line. I hated having to stop, but knew that if I didn't I'd pay for it later. There went 1.5 minutes.

After turning off of Lake Shore Drive, you have about a 4 mile gradual uphill directly into the wind. This stretch sucks. Nothing like working hard to go 14mph. I ended up hooking onto a good group of women at this point. (No, I wasn't drafting) We stayed together for the majority of the race and it was good motivation for me throughout.



There is nothing unusual to note about the bike. It went very well. I didn't get too tired. I didn't get frustrated. No Flat Tires or dropped water bottles. It was an incredible success! Another great part of the bike was my friend Michele. Her husband Dean and I were pretty close on the bike and she was ALL OVER the course taking pictures and cheering. It felt so great having support out there! I had a huge smile every time I went by her.

With 2 miles to go on the bike, I managed to catch up with one of the women I had been chasing. We chatted the last 2 miles while both trying to crack the 3 hour barrier on the bike. What a fun last 2 miles. The support of other athletes is amazing.

Nutrition and Hydration on the bike...I got through 2.5 bottles of water/sports drink. It definitely wasn't enough, but luckily I never paid for it. I took some clif shot bloks, a balance bar and a gu. I tried to eat/drink every 15-30 minutes. Overall, it worked well for me. I'm happy to report no stomach issues!

Goal Time: 3 hours or less
Actual Time(w/bathroom stop): 3:00:53
If I hadn't stopped to pee: 2:59:23

T2

What a pain to run 30-40 yards in your bike shoes across uneven grass. Oh well. I dropped my bike gear, grabbed stuff for the run and headed out of T2.

Goal Time: 2 minutes or less
Actual Time: 1:37

The Run (13.1 miles)

With about 8 miles to go on the bike, I really started thinking about how much a half marathon can hurt. I definitely had anxiety going into the run. I was dreading it.

The run is a 2 loop course through the trails of High Cliff. It's gorgeous! I loved the run course. It was mostly flat, fast, well shaded and fun! Of course, the race directors send you up the big hill that we rode out of the park. I took it nice and slow. Many runners were walking and I resorted to walking as well towards the top of the hill.



I had some hamstring/glute pain during the run, but this was expected. What I didn't expect is how good I felt on the run. I didn't hate it! And it was going fast! Every aid station, I dumped 2-3 cups of water on me to keep me nice and cool. I also drank some water or gatorade or a combination. I took a gel at Mile 3.5 and again at mile 9.

Michele and Laura were everywhere on the run course! Again, it was so great seeing familiar faces. And I was really having fun! I could actually smile honestly and be excited every time I saw them.

I started the 2nd loop and knew I was going to get tired at some point. The question was when. Mile 9....that's when my body said 'I want to slow down. Actually, I don't want to do this anymore, but since you are making me I'm going to hurt you'. I took a Gu at this point and had some water, which did help for about 2.5 miles.

I met up with a gentleman named David at Mile 11. We both were looking to finish the race in the next 20 minutes so we stuck together and motivated one another. Without David, I honestly think I would have slowed down more than I did.

At Mile 12 I saw Laura and Michele again. I said to them 'I lost my smile at Mile 9'. Laura said you'll find it again in one more mile. That was a nice reminder that I was almost done.

David and I made the final turn down High Cliff hill. Yes, that's right - we get to descend the beast that we had to climb twice. Thank goodness! David started to pull away, but as I saw the finish I picked it up. I started cheering and smiling and displaying LOTS of enthusiasm for finishing my first half....AND in the final 25 meters I looked at my watch and knew I was going to break 5:40!

Goal Time: 2 hours or less
Actual Time: 2:00:45

Overall Goal: 5:45 or less
Actual Time: 5:39:42

AG Place: 4/13
Div Place: 19/106




Final Race Thoughts

I was almost in tears when I finished. I didn't think I would enjoy the race as much as I did. Nor did I think I'd break my goal time by over 5 minutes!

I am so appreciative of the fans and volunteers. They were so supportive and made the race that much more fun and bearable. I highly recommend this event to anyone who wants to do a half ironman. It's a beautiful course and a well run event.

I was lucky to be able to see all my friends finish as well - Doug, Dean, Becca, and many others! I'm so proud of Becca. She took 1st in her division and finished over 30 minutes ahead of what she expected. She's amazing!

After Becca finished, we got cleaned up and left the park. We grabbed some food at subway and headed back to Madison.

As I lay here at 3 am, I am sunburned and sore. But I'm also proud of my accomplishment today. Sure, Ironman is still daunting, but after making it through today I feel much more equipped to deal with what's to come on September 9th.

Next Event: Janesville Sprint Tri, July 14th