Elephant Man Half Ironman Race Report

This weekend I had the opportunity to participate in my first ever Half-Ironman event at Elephant Butte, NM and to say the race was tough would be an understatement! Let’s start from the beginning. The last time I participated in a race at Elephant Butte, it was a little disorganized, not enough volunteers, and both racers and the race directors lost their cool. I was worried that this weekend might be more of the same, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The race director, Kori, and the rest of her volunteers did a tremendous job. They had over 250 volunteers and at every aid station there must have been at least five people getting you water, Gatorade, or GU. Everyone was very nice and all of them shouted words of encouragement. The course was well marked and at every single turn there was a volunteer to point you in the right direction. The overall organization was great and is reason enough to do this race again. Now for the race.

All season I have had trouble with anxiety and open water swims. I’m not a bad swimmer, but I just can’t seem to get it going in open water. The water temperature was 74 degrees and we were allowed to wear wetsuits, so I put mine on and headed to the beach for a little warm up. I swam about 200 meters to get the blood pumping and made sure my goggles didn’t leak. Everything was good to go and it was time for the start. There were a total of 63 athletes participating in the 70.3 race and we all started the swim at the same time. Most open water swims I get kicked around and swam over a few times, but this race I avoided any trouble and settled into a nice pace. Spotting wasn’t an issue because I managed to swim next to a couple other swimmers the entire race and I just followed them. I of course checked every now and then to make sure we were going in the right direction, but it is amazing how much better it is to simply spot the swimmer in front of you and not have to worry about looking for the buoys. I finished the swim in roughly 40 minutes and felt relieved to have it out of the way.

Now I was ready for the bike and was hoping to make up some ground on people who had swam faster than me. The bike course was tough and had four pretty big climbs. I was riding my disk for the first time and wasn’t sure what to expect, but I didn’t have any issues with it and it seemed to work fine. The first 20 miles went fast and I caught at least 10 people at that point. I was trying not to go out to fast and save a little energy for the run and my body felt good at this point. I was taking in plenty of fluids and also a GU now and then. The next 15 miles on the bike had a mild head wind and one big climb. I have to admit that I did start to feel a little fatigue in my legs at this point, but after 35 miles and a few tough climbs I figured it was normal. The final 20 miles of the bike was super fast! I caught my second wind and the legs really loosened up. There is one final climb before the final 10 miles and I was able to power up it no problem until I got to the very top. I veered a little too close to the shoulder and my rear tire caught some gravel and went out from under me. I wasn’t going very fast so the bike was fine, but I did manage to get scraped up a little bit. I didn’t really lose much time, maybe 45 seconds at the most. I wanted to get to the bike transition and start the run at 3 hours and 45 minutes and sure enough I was out on the run at 3:44.

At this point of the race I am tired, but not like a zombie, more like someone who has just swam 1.2 miles and rode 56. I had a good frame of mind and so far had hit all my target times. I was certain I would be able to hit my goal time of 5:45. The run for both the 70.3 and the Olympic distance is brutal! Not really more than a ¼ of a mile flat spot at any one time. I started the run with the intention of going out a little slow in order to get my legs going after such a hard ride. Little did I know that the first mile would be my fastest! I completed the first mile in 9 minutes and thought there was something wrong with my watch! I was expecting to see somewhere around 8 minutes. I’m not sure what it was, but after the first mile my legs, body, and mind were toast! I wasn’t cramping and my breathing was fine, but my legs just would not move. I tried everything from the old man shuffle, to walking, to stretching, even slapping myself in the face a few times to get them going but it was no use. I had 12 miles to go and was running on four flat tires. I can’t really explain how bad it felt to know that all the months of training still hadn’t prepared me for the race, but I was determined not to quit and somehow finish the race. The next 12 miles consisted of a little jogging and lots of walking. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I actually walked an entire two mile stretch!! TWO MILES! Yes, I was THAT Guy! Good grief. I was being passed by people that I had a two mile lead on at the start of the run portion. It was a very frustrating and humbling experience and showed me that I need to keep putting in the many hours of training. I finished the race in 6 hours and 30 minutes. A whole 45 minutes longer than what I wanted to, but I’m thankful for surviving without an real injuries and can live to fight another day.

On a positive note several of my friends were there and did an outstanding job! Gretchen rocked the Olympic course along with Rob, Mark, and Juan. And Art crushed the Half Ironman course with a time of 5:47! I also saw my good friend Cody, who despite being in a bicycle accident two weeks ago, participated in the Half Ironman and had a strong finish and a time a little over 6 hours. Cody’s endurance was hitting on all cylinders and had a very good run portion of the race.

Not sure what races I have left in me this season if any. I probably won’t be racing again until February, but you can count on me training hard through the winter and hopefully have a stronger base for future 70.3’s. No more being that guy!

It's GO TIME!

Well, the clock is ticking down and I have about four days before the Elephant Man 70.3 and I have been a nervous wreck! Every night I dream about the race and every swim stroke, bike pedal, and run step that I’m going to attempt and I wake up exhausted. Even during the day at work I can’t seem to get the race out of my head. I have had a good several months of training and my body is feeling pretty good. I have never really tapered before because all my races have been sprints and I have not had the need, but I have tried to taper down for this race. Not sure if I’m doing it right, but my legs should be fresh come Sunday.

One of the things that I have been working on the past couple weeks is my race day nutrition. Once again, since all of my races have been sprints I have only needed a minimal amount of nutrition during a race. I am at the point now where I can handle drinking HEED, a limited number of gels, and the Gatorade Primes. I tried to drink the Hammer Perpetuem, but just can’t stomach the taste or the way it makes my stomach feel. I know in future 70.3 races I will have a better handle on my nutrition, but feel like I can finish this race with the energy I’ll need.

I’m committed to wearing my wetsuit if it is allowed. I had been going back and forth and at one point was not going to wear it, but to put my mind more at ease I’ve just decided to go with it. The water will be a nice 76-80 degrees so temperature shouldn’t be an issue. My swim training has been OK, but the real issue for me is just to relax in the water. If I can relax and just settle into a nice pace, the swim should be fine.

I have heard so many stories from people about their first 70.3 and appreciate all the advice and help they have given me. Gretchen and Bobby have been a tremendous help and I wouldn’t be where I am now without it. Also, Rob and Art have been great to train with and push me every time we go out for a ride, swim, or run. And I can’t forget the words of encouragement from Cody, Juan, Francois, and Matt.

My goal time for the race is 5 hours and 45 minutes and of course to have fun! Even though I’m pretty sure the less time I spend out on the course, the more fun I will have J!

Training at the Lake

This past weekend Art and I took the opportunity to have a training session at Elephant Butte and wanted to cover all aspects of the race. I have never gone over a course as much as I have for this race and hope that the extra insight helps out.

We made it up to the lake by 7:00 am and decided to do a thirty minute swim with our wetsuits just in case we decided to wear them for the race. As I stated a few weeks ago the water is still very warm and there might be an outside shot that wetsuits won’t be legal for the race, but I think the water should be just below the USAT max temperature. The area for the swim at Elephant Butte is really a nice spot and because it is in more of a large cove than the wide open lake, it offers very calm water. We ended up swimming around 1500-1800 meters and my wetsuit ended up working out fine. I was a little worried about overheating, but that was not an issue. The only real issue I had was the restricted shoulder movement that my full suit causes. If you have a sleeveless wetsuit I would go with that. Also, the transition from water to bike is a good 250 meters, so be prepared for that.

Art and I decided to ride the entire bike course at a steady pace of 20 mph and see how we felt when we got done. The first twenty miles offers up two good climbs that will get the legs burning, but for the most part the first twenty miles consist of a few rolling hills and you should be able to make good time. The roads are not in perfect condition, but we didn’t notice any large potholes or other issues that you need to worry about. There are several cattle guards throughout the course, but none of them caused any problems. Since I had trained on the first twenty miles of the course before, I was particularly interested in the thirty miles that the 70.3 riders will have in addition to the Olympic course loop. The 70.3 course does not disappoint. The first 7-8 miles are fast with a little head wind, but once you reach mile marker 7 you begin a very long climb. The climb is over a mile long and requires a steady effort. I forgot to mention the big dog that sits in the middle of the road and chases you and tries to bite your tire as you go by. During a training ride the dog was a source of comic relief and made me laugh, but during the grind of a race I doubt I will be amused. Once you reach the top of the hill you have around 6 miles before you turn around and head back. On the way back you have a slight tailwind and can really build up some speed. Five miles before you reconnect with the Olympic loop you have your final climb of the race and it is steep. The good news is that it is tiered. Once you get to the point where you don’t think you can climb anymore it actually becomes less steep and you can catch your breath before one more final climb. Once over the last hill you have 10 miles of flat ground that you can build your speed back up on.
Once we finished the bike course we decided that we would do a thirty minute run over a few of the last sections of the run course. At this point the sun was in full force and I’m sure heat will be a big issue on race day. I wish I could tell you more about the run course, but for the 70.3 people it is a little confusing. The first five miles follows the Olympic distance course and seems pretty straight forward. The remaining 8 miles involves several turns, a short out and back, and then a nearly three mile climb to the finish line.

In all, the course offers plenty of challenges and should be a great test of endurance. Hopefully this helps a few of you out there and I look forward to seeing you at the race.