Race Result

Racer:	Myron Rosmarin
Race:	Ratman
Date:	Sunday, August 27, 2006
Location:	Reston, VA
Race Type:	Other - Other
Age Group:	Male 40 - 44
Time:	6:52:54
Comment:	Of Mice and Men

Race Report:

Stats:
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Swim (800m in the olympic sized Lake Newport pool): 28 mins
T1 (Lake Newport pool to Hyatt Regency parking lot): 30 mins
Bike (Reston Metric Century, a very hilly 65 miles): 4.5 hrs
T2 (Riding up to the garage's 3rd floor, then staring at my running shoes to determine if I really had it in me to keep going): 17 mins
Run (a very flat 5k): 36 mins

About the Ratman:
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While this annual ritual of piggy-backing a swim and a run onto the Reston Century has a name -- The Ratman -- it is hardly an official event. Consider that the distances are completely up to the participant.

I've heard people use the term Mouseman to describe this event with smaller distances. That said, I'll consider that what I did was indeed a Mouseman. I'll save the term Ratman for some day when I can do a 1 mile swim, at least the metric century and a 10k run.

But then, what do I call a 2.4 mile swim, the full century followed by a full marathon run? (uhhh Myron ... that would be an R.O.U.S.man -- Rodent of Unusual Size).

Race Report -- The Swim:
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The swim began very uneventfully. When I got to the pool at 6:20am, there were already about half-a-dozen people swimming laps. Each person had their own lap. The scene was very peaceful and lacking in the usual excitement before a race begins.

I had my plan and I was going to stick to it. Concentrate on going slow. Nice, long and unhurried strokes. 50m of breast strokes followed by 150m of freestyle. Repeat 4x. My goal was to complete this in about 25 mins but that was more of a target, not something I was trying hard to achieve.

When I got out of the pool, I felt strong ... as if I just had a nice warm-up, not a work-out or competitive event. That was exactly how I wanted to feel.

I drank some Gatorade and was off to the Reston Town Center to start my ride.

Race Report -- The Bike:
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It was a bit strange to start the ride without Mark Calem there. Afterall, all five century rides I've completed so far were done with Mark. Now I was going it alone. No worries, I thought. Piece-a-cake. I'm just doing the metric century right?

"just doing the metric century"

HAH!

Northern Virginia is deceptively hilly. It sits right up against the Shenandoah Mountains. The foothills that separate NoVa from the Shenandoah are home to some very charming towns and villages and the most beautiful farm country I've ever seen. And the roads that snake through this area have more peaks and valleys per square inch than a roller coaster.

Three things made this harder than usual: 1) a nasty cramp in my side, 2) I really had to pee (maybe 1 and 2 are related) and 3) my right knee was in pain from the start.

I pulled into the Hamilton rest stop at mile 30 and was very grateful for the chance to get off the bike, stretch, pee and eat. I had a banana and a blueberry muffin. I honestly thought that the worst part of the ride was over. Well, actually from a geography perspective, it was. But from the perspective of my anatomy, not really. It was a short stop and I was back on the bike.

The next leg of the trip was a ten mile jaunt from Hamilton to Watertown. More rolling hills that were more up than down. My plan was to skip the Watertown rest stop at mile 40 and continue to the Ashburn rest stop at mile 55. Guess again.

By the time I got to Watertown, I really needed another break. Something about this ride was just kicking the crap out of me. Here it was mile 40 and I was feeling beaten. But now I was sure, the worst was over, right?

Well, mostly right. There was still one nasty climb left ... Simpson Circle in Paeonian Springs. I guess in every one of life's little challenges, there's that moment where you have to be kicked while you're already down. It's only then that you can get back up. By the time I got to the top of the climb, I felt something I can't remember ever feeling on the bike ... like I was going to throw up.

With Simpson Circle behind me, it was a mostly downhill ride to the end. But you know you've truly bonked when it's hard work just to keep going downhill. This is now the second time that's happened to me. (The other time was with Eric Savitz in Silicon Valley. Yeow! that was a bad one.)

In any event, I was at least feeling inspired enough to skip the Ashburn rest stop and head for home. But I had to force myself to eat and drink. I had no appetite at all but knew if I stood any chance of completing the run, I'd better nourish myself.

Pulling into Reston Town Center was not the usual happy experience it was in the past. First of all, this was just 65 miles, not 105. And I felt lousy ... especially my right knee which by now was becoming downright painful.

I rode up to where my car was parked and began the process of transitioning to run. The idea of continuing on seemed ludicrous. The idea of not continuing was even harder to imagine.

And that is what memorable moments are made of.

I wasn't going to stop ... no way. I strapped on my Cho-Pat knee braces and I marveled at how good it felt to put my knee in the brace. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all. But first I had to walk (or limp) down three flights of stairs.

Race Report -- The Run:
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My first thought upon reaching the street was "hmmm, it sure is hot." I sure do hope that water jug is at Wiehle Ave. I'll be in sad shape if I get there and the water isn't there.

I started running in my usual slow jog pace watching my heart rate very carefully. It hit 150 almost immediately and I kept thinking "slow down". The problem is that if you're me, running any slower would mean jogging in place. But I did slow down and kept my heart rate in the 140s. For the next mile and a little, all I could think about was water. Would the water be there?

When I crossed the Isaac Newton Square stop sign, I could barely make out something orange in the distance. Was that a Gatorade jug? I struggled to focus my eyes but I couldn't tell. As I got nearer, my spirits rose. Yes! that orange thing was a Gatorade jug. And then another scary thought quickly crossed my mind. What if it's empty???

It wasn't. There were cups and ice cold water inside. I was going to do this! I filled up a cup and made the turn to return to the finish. I walked at a moderate pace savoring every drop of icey water. By the time I was at the Isaac Newton Square stop sign again, I was done with the water and threw the cup away in the garbage can that mysteriously happened to be right where I needed it.

So now I just had a little over a mile to go.

It was a hard mile but not terrible. In fact, it was the kind of "hard" that makes finishing so much more sweeter.

Race Report -- Epilogue:
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Two questions linger for me: 1) was this the hardest thing I've ever done? and 2) was that harder or easier than the Reston Triathlon that's coming up.

As for whether this was the hardest thing, one thing is for certain, it was without question in the top two. I keep thinking back to the Lake Tahoe Century (which would be the other hardest thing). That was really hard because I had never done a century before. A big part of that accomplishment was the struggle to continue into the face of the unknown. That's what this was ... especially at T2 when I had to muster the energy and courage to go run.

And will this be easier or harder than the Reston Triathlon. Maybe the easiest way to compare is total time. This was over six hours of effort during a seven hour period. I expect the Reston Triathlon to be over in about 3 hours and 45 minutes. We shall see.