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Race Result

Racer: Stacy Taylor
Race: Eagleman
Date: Sunday, June 8, 2008
Location: Cambridge, MD
Race Type: Triathlon - Half Ironman
Age Group: Female 40 - 44
Time: 5:59:02
Overall Place: 629 / 1382
Age Group Place: 36 / 84
Comment: Two PRs in one day. One was good, the other well earned.



Race Report:



This was my third year at Eagleman and I wanted to raise money for a great cause. I am raising money for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Heritage Fund. 100% of the money raised goes to outdoor sports programs for paralyzed and disabled veterans, many returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

As for the race itself you all know about the heat and humidity. I won’t even try to describe it except that hell would have felt cooler.

After finding out about the weather forecast I gave up my goal of going sub 5:30 for a PR and settled for trying to go sub 6 hours. Having gone 5:45 last year I thought this might be doable, particularly if there was little wind on the bike. I contemplated my race strategy and went back and forth on whether I should try to PR the bike. I knew I was going to suffer on the run anyway and thought if I could PR the bike then it would be a good day.

Pre-Race:
Hanging out with the RATs at the high school was great, but the camping part not so much. It was hot Saturday night so trying to sleep was a challenge. It started to rain a bit, which was a good thing as it helped cool down the air. I didn’t sleep great, but managed about 4 hours.

Kevin, Will and I made it to Great Marsh at about 545. Since my swim wave didn’t go off until 740, I had plenty of time. I knew it was going to be a hot day when I found myself sweating even before I got my wetsuit on.

The Swim:
The water temp was 76 and wetsuits were allowed. This was a welcome change from the freezing temp at Columbia three weeks ago when I had a mini panic attack and couldn’t catch my breath at the start. Today I had no such problem and from the start had steady breathing and felt strong the entire swim. I felt like I was really moving, but it seemed to be taking much longer than normal (even for me). I ended up going three minutes slower than last year, but even some strong swimmers have been saying it may have been a bit long. Time: 43:41. 2007: 40:27. Now – time for the bike!

T1:
I had to visit the porta pottie, so my time was off by a minute and half for what I normally do at Eagleman. Oh well. Time: 4:46. 2007: 3:16. For comparison at the Lake Anna half last September when I PRd in 5:37:49 my T1 time was 1:32:95.

The Bike:
The air temp wasn’t too bad yet as I began my way from Great Marsh through the neighborhood. The beginning of the bike course changed and as I made my way through this new section I thought, “I hope we don’t have to run through this.”

I was fully committed to my strategy to PR the bike and pushed pretty hard the entire time. There was some blatant drafting going on by some women and while I could have taken advantage of it I didn’t want to. I wanted my time to stand on its own, no matter how it turned out. I was surprised how good I felt, but it was getting warmer and I squirted water on my head several times to keep cool.

It got a little breezy and there was a bit of headwind the last 10 miles or so. This is par for the course coming back into Cambridge, but the day was set up for super fast bike times, even with the heat. With about three miles to go we rode back through the new section I mentioned earlier. I watched in near horror as the runners trudged their way out and back along this stretch. I was dreading that I would be joining them very soon. On the bright side, I ended up with a half ironman bike PR of 2:47:40 (20.1mph). 2007: 3:02:55 (18.5mph).

T2:
Repeat of T1 and my times were one second apart. At least I was consistent! My transitions are becoming uneventful so I think this is a good sign. Time: 4:45. 2007: 2:57. For comparison at the Lake Anna half last September my T2 time was 1:29:65.

The Run (aka the road to Purgatory):
What can I say? It was brutal out there even at the start. I was hoping to find my legs by about mile one, but it never happened. I just kept slogging along and while my legs didn’t feel tired or sore I couldn’t find the energy to get them to move any faster and my form was a mess. I wanted to start walking from the start and by about mile 3 and did just that through the next aid station.

Being from a running background I don’t like to walk on my runs. However, I walked more at Eagleman than I did during the Kona marathon. I just couldn’t pick up my feet and bring it out of first gear. My pace was at Z1 and my heart was at Z3. This was my 7th half and I never saw so many people walking before. No one was having a great run; we were just all trying to suffer through to the end.

The volunteers at the aid stations were amazing and they had everything we needed. There were endless cups of ice, ice water and Gator Aid. At one point I picked up a packet of gel and saw that it was chocolate flavored and it felt very warm to the touch. Ewww. I put it back down. I walked through and took my time at every aid station, grabbing at every cup that was offered. I even got a routine down:
Step 1: Dump cup of ice water on head.
Step 2: Drink another cup of ice water, or two.
Step 3: Drink at least half of a Gatorade (it was mixed pretty strong)
Step 4: Dump cup of ice down sports bra. You should try it ladies, it really helps keep your core cooler.
Step 5: Walk while finishing my water and then start “running” again.

The absolute worse part of the run was running back through the new section. This stretch was about 2/3 of a mile long, but it felt like 5 miles. It was a really wide street and made up of very black asphalt road with no vegetation, no aid stations and no spectators. It was awful. I heard later that the temperature got to about 111 degrees on the pavement. I just kept my eyes cast downward as I shuffled along. I didn’t want to look up to see how far I still had to go. Running through this hell hole on the way back to the finish was the worst I ever felt during any race – ever.

I finally made it back to civilization and as we ran back through the neighborhood to the finish, there were neighbors spraying us down with hoses. I muttered thank you and pressed on. After a couple more turns, I finally made it to the finish.
Time: 2:18:11. This was my slowest half marathon ever and I earned my second PR for the day, but this time it was not good news.
2007: 1:56:15.
Finish time: 5:59:02. I met my second goal of the day.

Post Race and Mental Lesson Learned:
It was hot and getting hotter. I changed clothes and hung out at the RATs tent. We shared our war stories and some of the guys still had great days. Eric Dempster and Kona Kevin were 5th and 9th in their age group respectively and took the two slots to Clearwater. Reid and Shawn also had great days. Awesome job, guys. Will, I am glad your migraine went away.

The biggest lesson I learned again was a mental one. From when I first started the run my body was telling me to quit and my mind was starting to listen. My mind was saying, “Stacy, just walk, go ahead, it’s ok”. But I fought hard to shut those thoughts down. I already gave in to shuffling along slowly, so that became my compromise. Your mind is much more powerful than your body. Sure there are times when you can’t go on physically and you should always stop as was the case with most people on Sunday. They were smart to listen to their bodies. But if you are feeling “ok” physically but just want to stop mentally, then don’t. Shut down those thoughts and keep moving forward even if it means walking. Bottom line: When those negative thoughts start to creep in don’t give in, just find a compromise so that you don’t have to quit completely.

Congrats to everyone. So, Eagleman 2009, who’s in? Come on, there’s no way it will be that hot again. Right?