Race Report!

It's done! First, thanks for your support, comments and questions. It's good to know that folks were out there and tracking things. I'll get together with Kate at some point and figure out how we did in raising funds for the AED. So, the report. Got up at 4:30 thinking it was a 50-50 proposition if I would do the race. The weather forecast called for thunderstorms and I wasn't going to go if storms were rumbling around. But I got up and checked the forecast on TV and on-line and looked outside and it was cloudy but I decided to go for it. Got my Dad (he's a nice guy) to drive me out to a reservoir type spot a couple of miles down stream on the Saco where there was a dam on the river and there wasn't a current, like there was upstream where we were. Did a little warm up swim and set my watch on the timer mode and was off sometime around 5:30. I had set up through mapmyride.com an out and back of 1.2 miles, so I swam the first segment pretty much as I expected and pretty much the same pace I was use to from swimming in the pool. On the second time around, I hit the storm. I didn't notice any thunder and lightning, but it was raining buckets. It took about 15 minutes for the storm to pass and I kept on going, and then things settled down again. It was sort of interesting to reach the turn around spot and to look at the storm that had just passed by. I got back (and swam a bit more to be on the safe side and make sure I did the full 2.4 miles) at 1:39 and met my Dad again as he brought me my bike. About that time another storm came around and this time there was definitely some thunder booming. We waited around to make sure the storm was sliding around us and then I began the bike at 2:07. The transition time was 28 minutes, which was probably about 10 minutes or so beyond what would be typical. But, off I went. Again, through mapmyride I had set up two loops on either side of the Saco. I had ridden these loops in training, so no surprises. I ended up stopping at the house at the end of each loop to get more drink and food, except for the first loop when Dad, once again, met me on the road. The stops were certainly longer than when I did Lake Placid, but on the other hand it was nice to get off the bike and walk around a bit. I had my bottles (I did Gatorade and water) and food (bagels and peanut butter and jelly and Clif Bars and bananas) all set to go. During the second loop I hit another 15 minutes of rain, but it was mostly just overcast all day with a few breaks of sun on occasion. Pretty comfortable on the bike, and was able to do a bit of aeroing (a new word, I think), which helps with time. Something I did note was how polite autos and trucks were. I didn't have a single case of people trying to show off their driving skills and see how close they could get to me. I even had a couple of trucks pull all the way to the opposite lane! Much better than what I sometimes have encountered. So off the bike after 112 miles at 9:16 and spent some time changing into my running gear, so started the run at 9:38. I wasn't really thinking about overall time at this point, because I wasn't sure how the run would go. In the end though, the run went well. I set up a loop of 3.4 miles so I could stop at my "aid station" on a regular basis. I was a bit stiff to start. but I began to loosen up as the run continued. Running is my strength, so for me the key is to get into a rhythm. I felt good on the run, and this segment there were only a few splatters of rain, and no downpours. So I did my seven loops plus a portion to make it the full 26.2 miles, and got greeted at the end with my daughter, two nieces and sister waiting at the end of the driveway. That "Eye of the Tiger" music made it all worthwhile! Ended at 4:04:45. Thanks to my crew. including Mom and Dad and Cathy, for their support and running commentary. You too, Sarah! Interestingly, my time for the activities themselves are not much different from when I did Lake Placid 5 years ago. I'm feeling pretty good about that! I'm definitely stiff and sore today, but not so bad that I can't get down stairs, which is my measuring stick! So the journey ends. Thanks again for being along for the ride.