White Lake1/2 IM - Take Two

2007: Freezing cold water...no wet suit, I can' t feel my extremities. Just keep moving your arms, breathe, sight, keep going. There's the orange man. What's that??? My lips are blue? Great, not what I need to know before this ride. Wow, this feels alright. Not too bad. Only two water bottles, hmmm I don't have room for another bottle, what did I eat for breakfast again? Oh yeah, nothing. Back is hurting, it's only mile 30...35...40...need to get off this bike and stretch out...45, 50...will these last 6 miles ever end? Heck yeah, I'm done with the bike....whoa! Crap, I thought I unclipped by shoe, I guess not...yeah I'm okay I'm just freaking tired. thanks. What have I done? Why am I doing this? I can' t move another step. All I feel is salt on my face, that's not good. I need more fluids. Crap, only there is none, I'm bringing up the rear...stupid goal. Stupid triathlon, stupid me for thinking I should do this. What was I thinking. Ah, the end...there's mom, dad, Tim and Ryan...holy crap shoot me if I ever mention doing this again.

02 May 2009: 76 degree water...not too bad.
5:40 am - Alarm goes off
6 am - Packed, dressed and on the bike with Tim to ride to the race site
6:50 am - ready to go and doing a quick warm up swim then a quick good luck kiss for Tim
7:20 am - Horn goes off and I start my swim (in my wetsuit this time!) No blue lips, a bit choppy in the water, pass a handful of guys from the wave in front of me...and then from two waves in front of me...woo hoo Angela. Get to the beloved orange man to climb out of the lake, go to take a step and both calves lock up and I fall down...nothing bad, just stretch out and keep trucking.
T1: Wetsuit comes off way easy, bike shoes on, take a deep breath and a couple bites of cliff bar..get going
Bike - Feeling great. Making myself drink my calories every 10 minutes. Maintained a 20mph pace through 25 miles. About mile 15 a pretty yucky head wind started up and by mile 25 it started to take its toll. I couldn't maintain 20mph any longer. Lost one of my bottles around mile 25 but didn't matter since I had extra cages this time and just picked up water at the hand off. Mile 35, starting to get stiff...standing to pedal, trying to focus and not tighten up. Mile 45...why on earth am I getting this tight...I've been doing long rides, I've been training...what is going on? Mile 53...stinking bike, I don't want to see this taxi again for weeks!
T2: No falling on the dismount this year. I feel good. Down some fluids...put on some socks and let's go.
Run: Wow, legs actually feel good. Hey people calling my name...woo hoo. I can do this. I'm actually sweating water and not just salt. Nutrition gone well so far. Keep this up. Mile 1 have to pee but port-o-john is occupied...keep going. Mile 2, stop to refuel and empty the bladder. mile 3, keep trucking...Hey there's a bald sexy guy...let's give him a kiss...love you Jo. Mile 4 walk through aid station, oranges and water. Met a woman "Kim" and started running with her. From there, we kept stopping at each aid station to refuel. Miles ticked by. Legs getting harder to restart after every stop though. Mile 13 marker...Tim and Brayden and mom and random woman yelling my name. Tim's mom and Ryan "Go Mommy Go" and then the finish shoot and dad with camera. Heck yeah!!!!

Finish: 6:18:49

This was an improvement of 1 hour and 5 minutes from 2007. 9 minutes on the swim, 24 minutes on the bike, 31 minutes on the run and about 80 seconds in transitions. Considering I completely bonked nutritionally two years ago, this year was great just considering how I felt physically during the entire race. Other than tightening up on the bike, I felt great. I was never dehydrated and only had what I would consider the "to be expected" twinges, aches and pains from the race. My only regret was that I stopped at Mile 4 on the run...and then kept stopping at aid stations. I think I was overly concerned about hydration. Not to mention the woman I started talking to kept stopping so I just said "sure, why not" I'm enjoying this race, the company and the fact that I'm not delirious this time around.

Lessons: Still feel like I could have pushed more on the swim, I never race as fast as I swim in practice don't know why. Bike fitness was better but still need to build my endurance so that I can maintain that 20mph for more than 25 miles...or even so I can maintain it through headwind or slight hills. Run, my fitness was definitely there...I just need to push. Next 1/2 IM I do, I'll likely not stop at the aid stations but just slow down to grab the water and oranges. Next 1/2 IM goal is to be under 6 hrs....easy peasy right?

Thank you to everyone for your encouraging words over the last few months! You ladies have given great advice and been so supportive. I absolutely enjoyed this race so much more than 2007, not just because I did better all the way around, but because the support network was so much greater. My parents, Tim's parents, Ryan, Brayden, Marty and Bri, the parking lot woman (don't ask) but most importantly, Tim. He's really done a great deal for my mental preparation for this race although I'm sure he still thinks I'm a nut case. I love you Jo.

What a great weekend. Next year we might be so crazy as to do White Lake 1/2 Saturday and then the sprint on sunday...why the heck not?