Pre-race day... was too busy! The day started early with a trip to the expo (about a 20min drive), I registered and ended up speaking with a wetsuit company, HUUB about their product. Talking and talking... and I tried it on. I liked how it felt, much better then my current one.... but I wasn't sure if it would be quite right, so I asked and was granted the ability to return it if it was not comfortable, excellent... and off we went to the swim site (about 30min drive) I made it just on time to get in the water for about a 600m swim. Great news - the new wetsuit was awesome! This was a mega confidence booster because my other wetsuit just didn't fit me right. Now it was nearly 10:30am and we needed to get back to the hotel to get my bike together, pack my red and blue bags, eat and go to the 2 transitions to drop off the bags! So it was a quick lunch, good thing England is big on potatoes filled with stuff - I was able to eat carbs without gluten! Getting the bike together and packing the bags took a little longer then expected, about 2:00pm we were off to the swim/T1 site. I made a stop at the mechanic to make sure everything was tightened on the bike, filled the tired up with air and went to the check in. Mind you the cut off time for check in was 3pm for T1 and 4pm for T2, so I was pressured by the clock. I turned in my bike without going for a ride. (hmmmmmmm) Bike bag was dropped off and we were off to find a school to drop off the T2 bag. We arrived about 30min late, but we were far from the last one to get there. The school was tucked away and the GPS gave the directions to an annex, so it was a bit of a challenge to find. Thank goodness for the helpful locals! It was just after 5:00pm when we arrived back at the hotel. At this point, I was beyond exhausted. I had a shower, ordered some room service, and was in bed by 8pm. Race morning would begin at about 3:00am. (somewhere in the day we had a stop at the supermarket for my pre-race breakfast).
Race Day: First alarm 03:00, fill myself with an apple and a few raspberries. Lay down for about 45min. I tried to sleep but mostly just went over my race plan and visualized. 03:45, alarm #2, up for my cereal and some coffee. Time to get changed, gather my white bag (post race bag) and get out the door by 04:30! It was about a 30min drive to the race site. After getting there, I left my ex with my wetsuit and bag, visited my bike and met up with my friend who was also doing the race. It was comforting to know he was there doing it to. After a little chat, I was out to get my wetsuit on and line up to get in the water. The race officials did some announcements and then let us all in. The time went by so quickly. Before I knew it, I was in the water waiting for the start. I picked a spot out to the right and about in the middle. After my last experience in a Korean race where swimmers hit, kick, swim over/under you, I wanted to be safe. The swim started after about 10min of waiting in the freezing cold water. With this race, a wetsuit was mandatory due to cold water temps. So you could imagine how cold I was after 10min of just treading water. The race started 10min late, so at 06:10 we were off! I will describe the swim as friendly and calm. I did not once get kicked, hit, swam over/under, and there were no attempts to drown me! I really enjoyed my swim. I did go a bit slower then I was planning to. My legs experienced some cramping on the 2nd loop, but overall, it was a good swim. I exited the water in 1:30 (for 2.4miles), then was off to get the wet suit off, get my bike stuff, and get on the bike! I moved a little slower than I wanted to, it took 8min to get everything done. Some things I did: remove wet suit, put on shoes and helmet, get out nutrition to put on my bike (I missed the briefing due to timing of the day, so I had no idea about special needs bags, meaning all nutrition had to be on me), ran to my bike, filled my 'bento box' and was off, all in a matter of 8min. I wasn't moving as fast as I should have, but I was cold! The first bit of the bike was about 20miles out to the 3 loop course. This went by quickly. About 10min into it my watch had flown off my handle bars, so I had to stop and get it than put it back on. Arriving at the beginning of the 3 loop course was a great welcoming party, that faded as I approached the first climb, a 3 mile slog up, up and up some more, some parts were 12% grade, most were 8%... I would say this climb was followed with a fun and fast downhill, but the downhill part was a bit scary. I don't mind going 40mph, however I was riding on these ZIPP 303 wheels, and the breaks were different than mine, and it made me nervous. First time on the big downhill, I froze, the morning temps were only about 16C and the sun was not shinning. I was still wet and shivering the whole first loop. After the big up/down, there was another good climb that wasn't nearly as bad, the downhill the followed was much more fun. After the first loop the temps had started to go up and the sun had come out. It was much more to my liking. However, a twinge in my knee had kicked in. I had a feeling that I knew just where it had come from, my seat being too high. Towards the midway point, I found my friend on the course, after a short chat, I was feeling energized, but was in pain. The 2nd half of the loop is all up/down, shorter stuff, but not ideal. It hurt. Really hurt. At this point, some back pain had set in as well. As I finished the 2nd loop I was looking at the time trying to determine if it was possible to finish before the cut off. I was moving much slower then I expected. I decided to endure the pain of the big hill and see how the 3rd lap went. This was tough, very tough. The big hill reduced me to walking for about 20meters, just up the 12% part as it was very painful. The downhill was good, I was used to it by now. But the next big climb that followed was a bit disastrous. It bought me to tears while riding. After getting to the top, I stopped to stretch out my leg a bit hoping that would help. I recalled the reasons why I was there, the fact that I spend the last 6 months training for this, the time, the effort, the money I raise, the people expecting me to finish.... and I put all the pain aside, picked up the pace and went for it. Much of this last 15-20 miles was filled with grinding my teeth and tears, but I pushed though the pain, constantly trying to do the math - do I have enough time... will I make the cut off... I think so! I can do it, if I keep up this pace, or push a little harder. I was within a mile or so, I knew it would be close, I kept pushing... I arrived! I was greeted by a race official to tell me that he would have to take off my timing chip and that I had just missed the cut off. *heartbreak* I was gutted, absolutely gutted. My race day was over, just like that.
I suppose in a way I was a little lucky, my ex was there waiting for me at the transition to cheer me on. This came in handy for getting back to the hotel, as the race did not offer a ride to the finish line (odd, I assumed it is something they would do). I made a stop at the medic to try and get ice, which they didn't have, but I got some Ibuprofen to help with the inflammation and pain. Than we were off to find a cab back to the hotel.
The rest of the day was spent trying to hold back tears, gathering my bike and bags, and eating a pizza that I did not feel was deserved.
Being my biggest critic, it has been hard to come to terms with what happened on race day, needless to say, my failure was all my fault. I can't say the elements or food intake contributed. My body (stomach, energy levels) felt find when I arrived at the end of the bike, I am confident if I had arrived just a few minutes earlier, I would have finished the race. This was a huge learning experience for me, and I have a laundry list of items that I would change. One thing that worked well was my calorie plan, so that is something I will stick with. I know that for my next one, I want a faster swim, faster bike and faster run.... so back to work I go now that I'm back in Korea!
The rest of my trip in England was magnificent! Some relaxing in the north, London, and some of the Olympics! Couldn't have asked for a better time, thanks to the one who treated me :)
