Midwest Mayhem Triathlon Race Report - 7/17/11

Ardent, baking, blistering, boiling, broiling, burning, fiery, heated, red-hot, roasting, scalding, scorching, searing, sizzling, sultry, sweltering, torrid, hotter than the hubs of hell.  These are just a few choice words to describe the run at the Midwest Mayhem Triathlon today.

Race organizers can control a lot of things, but the weather isn't one of them, sadly.  Excessive heat warnings, heat index hovering just under 100 degrees, these are just "a few of my favorite things".  NOT.  I love triathlons.  I hate hills.  I hate wind.  I hate excessive heat and humidity.  But, what are you going to do?  It's Kansas in July.  Welcome to hell (because of the heat, not because Kansas is awful - follow me here).

I was running 3 races today.  No, I didn't run the triathlon 3 times (but wouldn't that be fun!?).  But, I had 3 goals for today's race.

1. Pick up the speed on the bike leg.  It's just sucked lately. As I have progressed on the swim and run, the bike has taken a back seat, and I'm not happy about it.  I was at 17.5 at IM KS 70.3 last month where I raced at 19+ in 2009.
2. This is a training day race.  My goal is IM Boulder 70.3 in August.  Midwest Mayhem is a traditional race for me and I much prefer the sprint distance in this kind of heat in Kansas in July.  Seeing that I need to keep volume up, I went with the long course.
3. I'm always competitive.  I may have said it was a training day race, but lets get real.  I can't stop myself from wanting to reel in that racer in front of me.  Oh ya, and not DIE FROM THE HEAT!

Results - rather than make you wait or read piece by piece, I'll drop the numbers on you now (hey props to race organizers for ALREADY HAVING RESULTS UP!).

• 31 Overall out of 101, 8 of 16 Men 30-34 - The next guy up in my AG beat me by 4 minutes.  Nice to know I left it all out there and didn't drop a spot by less than a minute.
• 34:06 min Swim - 44th overall - ok since no wetsuits and puts me in the middle of the pack.
• 1:41 T1
• 1:23:49 min Bike - 49th overall - 17.9mph avg - Not exactly happy but not too upset.
• 1:03 T2
• 50:31 min Run - 29th overall - 8:29 min/mile - Happy since it was HOT and I was cooked.
• 2:51:07 Total Time Suffering 

Summary
Goal #1 - Not really met but not a horrible failure.
I've run this event 6 years now.  Only 1 previous was on the long course.  Best sprint average was 19.1 last year.  Long course average from 2007 was 18.2.  I was at 17.9 this year but bettered 2007 run pace by 2 min/mile and ran it 11 minutes faster than 2007.  Bike speed not wholly improved, but overall performance bettered.  Goal is a push.  Words to my Trek and Kuota bicycles for the next 3 weeks, the pain train is coming, better get on board!  Woo woo.  (Terry Tate Office Linebacker joke - anyone else remember him?)

Goal #2 - Met and I got my distance in.

Goal #3 - I finished and didn't die of heat stroke.
Wow that was some suffering I haven't been a part of in a while.  I've been on some long runs in this heat this summer and suffered, but I also was able to stop if I needed and just cut it short.  Can't really cut a triathlon short or you get a nice DNF or DQ next to your name.

Hydration was the name of the game this weekend.  Drank until my bladder exploded Saturday and keep it coming Sunday morning before the race.  I'm not really sure but starting Saturday night and up until the finish line I had some stomach distress.  Not full blown GI or hurling, but just a general queasy feeling.  That may have hampered my performance and my have been a product of my zeal to keep hydrated.  I might have been riding that edge of staving off dehydration and the tipping point of drinking too much fluid.  During the run I felt like I might lose my GU shots and Push Endurance drink from the bike if I ran any harder.  I thought it better to finish the race with everything INSIDE my stomach so I ran the fine line all the way to the finish line.

Bike Leg, I WILL BEAT YOU!  You haven't heard the last of me!