With my form coming around, especially after being off of antibiotics, I felt the urge to try and get some revenge on a course that I have had issues with my last 2 outings there. So, I saddled up and headed to Middleville, MI, for the newly named, Tri Del Sol, to see where my fitness was. It would be a race after a tough week of work and training; having driven to Southern Illinois and back with 24 hours for a trial, only to rush to pack up and head to Michigan, less than 24 hours after getting home. But when I woke up Friday morning in MI, I felt a sensation I haven't felt all season - I felt strong, even with 14 hours of training in my legs.
I went out to the course on Friday and rode the bike portion and ran most of the run course. I found myself being thankful for the cooler weather, even with a strong wind. And my letgs were responding well to the hills, so I found myself feeling good, even confident heading into the race.
Saturday morning brought cool temps, and that same wind. It made the sun seem less hot than normal during the summer, and for me, that was a good sign. As we lined up for the start, I knew my plan, and thought, this could be my time. The first run went well, I felt comfortable running a 5:30 pace and even though I was directed the wrong way coming into T1, I was in 5th, 10 seconds off the leader. As I got my bike un-wrangled from the transition area, I remained calm, and started to ride. The first few miles included a bit of an uphill climb, so I rode conservative, but feeling strong, I sat back in my saddle and started to climb with power and caught 2 of the guys ahead of me. As we made the turn on to farm roads with some rolling hills, I started to hammer into the head wind, pulling back more time on the leaders. As I headed into the bike turnaround, I could see I was about 30-40 seconds off the leader, and I felt like I could close the gap. I was a bit concerned as I saw the approaching peleton heading the opposite way, containing about 4 of the guys who were ahead of me on the first run, all too happy to let someone else pull them along.
So, I figured it was best to ride hard, to ensure to put some time between myself and them. As I shifted gears, I started to hear a crunching noise emanating from my rear deraileur. So, I left it in my 53 x 13 and just went hard. As we got to 2 miles from T2, I caught the leader and started thinking about the second run. It was hilly and I didn't want to give any space. As I entered T2, I assessed my legs, they seemed to be pretty loose, so, I was excited to see what I could do. For the first 1 mile of the 2nd run, I stayed with the leader, and we ran side by side. My legs and lungs felt fine, and I was gaining more confidence with every step. And then it hit - my stomach siezed up, and all the fluid I took in on the bike was sitting in my throat. I backed off the pace a bit, hoping it would settle my system. It didn't. So, I let the leader go, surging every so often to stay in contact. But the urge to vomit was always present, and I didn't want to stop, afraid it would cost me a place. At mile 3, with a 2 miles to go, I got passed by 2 guys, who I knew I could stay with on the run, but my stomach just would not cooperate. As we approached 800 meters to go, I just went as hard as I could figuring I could hold on till the finish. As I crossed, I immediately ran into the bushes and vomited violently, cursing that my hydration/nutrition were my downfall in a race I truly felt competitive in. But the silver lining - my legs and lungs were fine, and as I collected myself and approached the winner, he said that he was sorry I got sick, but glad I didn't hang with him as he was at redline. I rode 3 hours on Sunday, and my legs felt great.
A part of me is excited that my training and fitness is reaching a new point, allowing me to dig deeper, and sustain faster paces for longer periods. But with my goal being half-iron distance Du's, my concern about my nutrition grows even greater as I know I can't afford to have these issues at that distance. Thankfully I have some time to work this out.
As always I want to thank my coach, my sponsors and my Bike Shop guys who are now replacing a cracked rear derailuer, (I still don't know how I raced on it) for having faith in me and helping me constantly improve. Yeah, it wasn't first, but being able to run myself into a top 5 place, 90 seconds off the win, with a bunch of liquid in my throat for 4 miles, lets me know, things are definitely coming around.
