83.4 Challenge Weekend
(Fall Creek Falls Half Iron/Half Marathon Weekend)
I’ll be honest it’s been so long since a race that I’d forgotten what race reports were…
I can still vividly recall the day in March when my husband Kit and I were checked into a flight to head to Ironman Puerto Rico, and literally as packing up to go to the airport, our world was rocked, well along with the rest of the world. Things escalated quickly, from the race cancelled, to the flight cancelled, to a torrential downpour and trip to the airport in the downpour to get a refund for our flight—I should have taken this as a sign of things to come, because while at this stage we thought coronavirus would be a blip or minor roadblock in 2020, it has turned into something much much bigger.
I could probably write an entire separate blog post on how much this pandemic has changed the face of life this year in so many ways, so many hopes, and race dreams of 2020 have vanished along with motivation to train some days. Working on the front lines as a hospitalist has been a new adventure daily, racing and training often felt like part of my saving grace- my release, and sanity. Suddenly with part of this lost this year, I felt a part of my identity gone in some ways. Sure, I was hitting the training harder than ever, but it hadn’t been the same. My race calendar nearly full to the brim as I looked into 2020, had been wiped almost completely out, with a few races cancelled very last minute to truly eat away any lasting motivation. Even the local races had been abandoned. So you can imagine, when I heard rumors that a race weekend may go off in Tennessee, just an hour outside my in-laws lake house, I had my doubts. I waited anxiously as long as I could, but the race still seemed on, I pulled the trigger and signed both my husband and I up for the half Ironman. I knew my friends, including my coach, Erin, were running the half marathon on Sunday (half-iron was on Saturday), so I figured, why not do both? what have I got to lose….
It was not until the Friday we left for the race that I thought this thing was sure to happen. I had been anxiously awaiting all week for the dreaded email… “sorry we haven’t obtained the permits” or “sorry the city mandated we cancel”. And not that I place any blame on other races. We can’t. It’s a pandemic. Unchartered territory for everyone. But I was fully expecting a cancellation notice, but when nothing appeared by Friday, I convinced myself this was a go and started really gearing up.
Kit (my husband) and I drove down to my in-laws lake house Friday night, and made it a very early morning hour-drive to the remote Fall Creek Falls in Pikeville, TN. This was a seriously remote place. Zero cell service, more cows than people type of remote. We arrived in the dark on a foggy Saturday morning to find everything that looked like a full on triathlon. There was a transition zone, a finish line, real tents and volunteers- a sight I hadn’t seen since my last race in February of 2020- a sight very much welcomed.
Check in was smooth with a short health screening and temperature check, masks required in transition and lots of over-caffeinated people in spandex wandering around in the dark. Nothing out of the ordinary in transition and before I knew it Kit, Caroline (another teammate/friend) and I were headed down to the swim start. You know it would have been wise if someone had told us to wear shoes to the boat ramp… down the half mile rocky terrain which would be an uphill rocky barefoot T1… but you live and learn… with sore feet.
Swim— The fog seemed to lift off the lake just as the race directors allowed each swimmer in one by one in a very socially distanced fashion. The water was a warm 85 degrees- meaning no wetsuits allowed. I was in the water by 715am and actually had a very pleasant and fairly lonely (just the way I like it) swim. The start was separated enough that I really had minimal contact with other swimmers in the water. Sure, no drafting, but I’ll take that to avoid the hitting/kicking/contact sport aspect that triathlon can sometimes take on when it comes to swimming. The buoys were mostly visible, but it was foggy on the far side of the lake. Luckily there was plenty of kayak support for good visualization. A quick swim, and I was out of the water in 36 min— which for this non-swimmer is a pretty good time.
T1— as I alluded, should have worn some shoes. It was a painful and rocky uphill section to transition. While it felt like a mile, I bet it was only about 1/4. I grabbed a quick waffle in T1 and threw on all my bike gear.
Bike— First caveat to this section is that I mostly hate riding a TT bike. Sure it’s fast, but I strongly dislike the handling and I think I just have a love affair with my road bike. This is important because I had spent about zero time on my TT bike during this pandemic, which meant that I was in for a shock to my system for the next 2.5ish hours. All things considered, it went well. The course featured open roads (not closed to traffic), many hills, and weather changes. I tried to keep my effort contained in the first half of the bike. I had done a good job conserving energy in the swim, and I wanted to continue this for at least the first half of the bike. I felt good for the first half of the bike overall. I tried to keep my power around 170-180 watts for the first half and overall succeeded on this front. Kept the nutrition going with at least 1 waffle every hour, and kept the hydration going trying to get through both bottles by the end of the bike leg. Overall felt good. There were some sections of the bike where I hoped and prayed I was on the right course because I was so alone with no one in sight in front or back for miles.
No real issues to comment on in the bike until it started raining around mile 45ish. That’s when things got real slick and a bit sketchy with some fast descents and heavy cross/headwinds—- mostly this was holding on for dear life praying I wouldn’t wipe out. Luckily I did not. Aside from the scary factor, the rain felt good, and I think because of the cloud cover, we lucked out in terms of heat. The last 10 miles of the bike course seemed to either feature more uphill, or I was just tired- maybe a combination of both, but I was very happy to be back in transition and off the bike. Bike time-2:52
T2- Anticlimactic, smooth sailing, less than 2 min.
Run— Well the rain that blessed us in the bike course moved out with the sun bearing down in full force on the run. Luckily the course traversed in part through the shaded forest of the state park, which was a nice break from the heat. I was feeling ok starting the run, definitely had some gas left but my energy was fading. I found a nice buddy named Matthew to run with for the first few miles through the woods, it was his first ever triathlon and he was killing it. We ran a few 8:30ish miles together before he took off ahead of me, I saw him on all the turn arounds and he finished strong. The hills started to wear on me as we exited the winding woods trails and hit the roads. Long descents meant long ascents… somewhat painful. There wasn’t a whole lot of flat ground to be found in the run course, but I was grateful for all the other very encouraging participants and the volunteers with cold water at almost every mile.
The course was 2 loops, so once I got through one loop I was luckily able to mentally prepare for what was about the happen on lap 2. While not flat, there was a ton a beauty, and the last few miles of each loop featured downhill- from a steep staircase down a cliff, to a winding lake trail with panoramic water views. I had peaks and valleys of feeling good and bad throughout the second loop. At this point the only nutrition I could stomach was gatorade, but luckily there was plenty of that to be found on course. It was a struggle to get through the last mile- which was entirely up a steep hill, but somehow I kept running to the finish. I knew a PR was close. I crossed the finish line in anti-climactic fashion to find Kit and my friends Caroline and Matthew sitting in the grass. I was happy. My watch said 5:37- which was a PR- though I was unsure of the exact clock time as sometimes it’s off slightly. But regardless, I was happy, and it was done.
Post-race—Final race time 5:38. Half ironman PR. On a very non-PR course. 6th overall female and 3rd age group, so definitely not a bad day. I would say successful day. I nailed my nutrition, I dialed in the effort well, and I felt like I had enough in the tank to complete the half marathon that was the challenge for tomorrow.
Sunday— I wasn’t sure to be honest what I was going to wake up to come Sunday morning. Surprisingly I was not that sore. Tight, sure, fresh, big nope, but I wasn’t feeling bad. It was another early morning and foggy drive back to Fall Creek Falls. I met my friends Erin and Damien at the start. After picking up our bibs and another health screening, Erin and I warmed up for a mile or so down the pavement. The weather was about 100% humidity but temperature was nice and cool, overall it was a very nice morning. I was still surprised at how not bad I felt given what had happened yesterday. The race start was relaxed and small, a fun atmosphere.
I had no goals in mind for this race. Erin had told me to take it slow- to just enjoy the scenery. I knew the course- the benefit of racing two days in a row, so I knew in my mind how much I could probably try to push. I went out a little too fast, as is typical for me racing. The first mile ticked by around 7:15, but really I felt good.
The next couple miles ticked on quickly. I had company for these first few with a new ultra runner friend who ended up taking second place. She was a strong runner- who for her- this half marathon was just a little “sprint”. The first lap (2 lap course), seemed to go by very quickly, even with the hills. I was still keeping a quick pace, but felt good and my body hadn’t yet reminded me in any shocking ways that I had done a 70.3 yesterday. I tried to get water and gatorade down at every aid station, as it was extremely hot, and by mile 5 my shorts were already soaked with sweat.
Mile 8 was when I began to feel the effects of yesterday’s effort. I think that combined with the heat of the day as well as the hills started to slow my pace a bit. I knew after the first 10k of this race I was actually on target to get near a half marathon PR—- which is actually crazy considering this course and the events of the weekend. I also knew that likely that pace wouldn’t be one I could hold through the hills of the second loop. And while I was correct in that assumption, my pace didn’t dial back too much. A couple miles ended up with a bit of walking up the super steep sections, those added a bit of time, but otherwise, I continued to grind through the miles.
Coming out of the woods around mile 12, I was ready to be done. The winding loops around the lake felt like forever, and the uphill back to the park seemed to drag on for eternity. Finally, I saw the crest of the hill and willed my legs to continue to work down through the finish. I saw Erin and Damien cheering me through, and I was so glad to be done. While it wasn’t a PR, the finish was not slow— 1:45— 8:03 pace on a tough course on a tough weekend.
As it ended, this was actually good for 3rd overall. Erin ended with the overall win and had a strong race. I had pleasantly surprised myself with the effort I pulled off on this hot and hilly day.
Post race reflections— Coronavirus has definitely changed the face of 2020, in so many ways. I had forgotten the balance and sanity that racing brought to my life, and I was definitely on a high after finishing this weekend. I wasn’t sure how my body would react to a 70.3/13.1 back to back days, and it turns out, it did ok. I’m constantly reminded that we are able to accomplish more than we think we can, and I love pushing my limits. I was also reminded of the importance that tapering and recovering has in keeping some balance in this sport. Without racing, I have been going hard in the paint training for a long time while sacrificing some recovery. The race weekend forced a bit of taper for me and reminded me that there are significant benefits in dialing back sometimes. So until the next race, and I’m hoping we don’t have to wait another six months… but in the meantime I’ll definitely be training!
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