St. Croix Half Iron Man Summary - by "G.I." Joe Hensel
I thought I'd let you know in detail how things went last weekend. There were a few things going on. First, there was the matter of the race. We deplaned in the warm Caribbean air at about 9:30 Friday night, gathered my bike case, our luggage, picked up the car, to leave for the beachside hotel. After quickly getting used to driving on the left side of the road, we found our way by an indirect route. The narrow roads and bad surface didn't discourage me too much, and Britta was in good spirits too.
First, my early morning swim left my mouth with a brackish taste. It had been a while since I had swum in salt water. Then, I went to the office to pick up Scott's bike (my friend from New Orleans who was joining me for the race), which he had shipped earlier that week. His flight had been rescheduled from Friday to Saturday, and he would have little time to put it together that afternoon. I set up my bike and his, and followed that up with a run to the grocery. After this, we left for the airport to pick up him and his significant other, Angela. They were pretty tired from their 6:00 AM departure. We picked up our race numbers, got something to eat, and headed to our HQ for a little afternoon workout to loosen up a bit and get the travel kinks out. We went for a 10 minute jog, during which I probably lost a quart of fluid. It was hot! This wasn't New Hampshire.
Leading up to the race, there had been lots of talk about the "Beast", a .7 mi climb on the bike course with a grade that ranged between 14 and 21%. In the race material, the suggested gearing was 39 front and 24 rear for pros, 39 and 26 for elite amateurs, and so on. I had 39 front and 23 rear. I was a little worried. The ride course was looped, so you had to go over that hill twice. As I lay awake that night, I was hoping I wouldn't have to walk the second time. Nothing I could do about it anymore.
The next morning, I woke early and got my things together, which included the ring which I had secretly put in my fanny pack along with the chain I was using to wear it around my neck during the ride and run portion of the race. Everything was ready. Scott and I met up and rode the mile to the race start. There was the usual nervous energy in the transition area. I saw most of the new friends I had made over the last day, got everything set up and made my way over to the swim start. There was a 75 yard swim to a small island which was where the waves would depart from.
The swim course took us about 20 yds out to a sharp left hand turn, after which we would swim out into the protected harbor. The air temperature was probably about 80 at 6:30 AM, and it looked like it was going to be hot and humid. While waiting on the island, I was told that if you took the wrong lane on some portions of the Beast, you could be riding on a whopping 27% grade for very short portions. More good news. The swim waves began leaving, and my turn came up.
The water was warm and calm, and I was eager to get things under way.
The start was pretty congested, especially with that turn so early on, but afterwards, I got into a good rhythm the race was under way in earnest. The calm water changed to increasing swells as I got to the turnaround, but it was at no point difficult. I felt good as I wrapped up my swim. The new goggles suggested by Tomasz worked out great and were really comfortable. The visibility in the water was much better than the lakes I'm used to swimming in, so that was a bit of fun. I could see scuba divers on the bottom filming us as we swam over them. Overall, a pretty pleasant swim.
I exited the water and checked my watch. 37 and change, which was a little disappointing, but not too bad. I had been hoping for under 35. I thought the top pros swam a little slower than I would have expected, so maybe the current had an effect. I ran over to my bike. The first thing I wanted to do was put the ring around my neck. Britta was standing pretty near, so I had to turn away and get my jersey on before she could get a peek. I didn't know if she had figured anything out, but was trying to be secretive as possible. I donned my fanny pack, number, helmet, grabbed the bike, and ran out onto the road, amidst cheers of "Go get 'em mon!" The crowds were great!
Once out on the bike course, I really focused on conserving strength for the 2 attacks on the Beast. It was very warm and a bit windy, and I was immediately drenched in sweat. The route took us about 2.5 miles out of town and back to transition, after which we went from a 2 lane road to winding through the streets of Christiansted on one lane (if you could call it a lane) road with sharp turns that were easy to miss if you weren't careful. About a half mile of this lead onto more open highway, and they had closed the whole route to non- race traffic. That helped quite a bit. I was still holding back until my first ascent of the Beast, but to that point there had been many lesser hills to contend with.
More than the climbs, the descents were all very winding and tight, with moderate to very poor road conditions. Some curves had sand and gravel, some were too tight or too pothole filled to get any speed, and in general, you had to keep your eyes glued to the road. That was a little disappointing, because we were offered some amazing views. Overall, a very beautiful course.
I was getting closer to the Beast. I had been staying hydrated and taking in gels to keep my energy up, but taking your hands off the bars to fuel was a tricky business. I'm glad I had the gels taped to my top tube, because when I ran out of them and had to go to bars stored in my pockets, it was pretty tough to find road smooth enough to get them out, open them up, and then get them into my mouth. I have to say the FEBs (Filter's Energy Bars, made by the lovely Britta) were very good fuel and easy on my stomach.
The Beast began with a very sharp left turn and a road that seemed to go straight up. I knew that I would have to be in my easiest gear the whole way, so I made no bones about it and shifted down before on the grind. They had the distance and grade marked, so you knew exactly where you were. I was probably far enough up that most of the riders were pretty strong, so I didn't see too many walkers. Those who came through later told me that they estimated that more than 50% of the riders were walking. It seemed that my weight training had paid off. It was hard, but I wasn't having too much trouble, even with my time trial bike, which doesn't have good gearing or geometry for aggressive climbing. I was having no problems, and passing quite a few racers. .1 miles went by, .2, no problems. At .3, my chain came off the front ring and I almost fell over. That's not too much of a problem, but I knew it would be hard to get started again on that grade. I put the chain on, clipped one shoe in and started to ride. The chain came off before I could get the other shoe back in. I tried again and off came the chain! A third try, and a third time off. I decided to run the rest of the way up the hill. Off came the shoes and I took on the Beast on foot.
One side of the road was pretty smooth, and one pretty rough. To stay out of the way of the riders I had to walk on the rough (wild) side. Ouch! I need to toughen up my feet. While running, I noticed that my chain had actually broken. This was a bit more serious, and could have ended my race right there. I had .4 miles to go to the top, but once I got there I had no way to fix my chain, and without that I wouldn't be able to go the remaining 35 miles of the ride. I stopped to untangle it from my derailleur and cassette, and continued up the hill, to cries of "Brokin' chain mon, oh no!" I thought at the top there would be an aid station and perhaps some help. I had to finish the race.
When I got to the top, there was a crew of bike mechanics who took care of the chain in short order. They had to take 2 links out, but there was no other way. I thanked them profusely, told them of my mission, and got on my way, happy to be back on the road. However, the missing links (ha ha) made shifting an adventure, and when I was on my big ring, the rear derailleur was at times almost horizontal to the ground. Certain gears wouldn't work, and in general, it was a little off. I continued riding, still conserving my legs for the next assault on that hill.
The ride continued over the treacherous roads, and the heat was beginning to take a toll. I began to have cramps in my legs, even though I had taken a few salt tabs and lots of sodium in my drinks. I kept going, increasing my salt consumption as much as possible. The miles ticked by. Again, the hills continued, with some of the other ones displaying grades of 14 or 15%. The down hills remained tricky, and once in a while my chain would get locked up in both derailleurs. I wondered how things would go my second time on the hard climb. Nothing was stopping me. 47 miles into it, I was chit chatting with another rider, and I happened to ask him when we would get back to the Beast. He told me that we only had to climb it once! It was a looped course, but they meant a figure eight loop. No Beast re-do! I cruised the remaining miles to transition, where I saw Britta and Angela, got a few cheers, and set myself up for the run.
Immediately after dismounting, I took in 10 ounces of Gatorade from my bike, made a smooth transition to running gear, took my salt tabs, and ran out, taking 3 additional cups of Gatorade at the exit. I was running smoothly and strongly, but I knew what lay ahead. Although my stomach was pretty full, I knew I had to hydrate and take in electrolytes. I could tell cramps were just around the corner. Thankfully, it hadn't gotten as hot as it might have as there was pretty good cloud cover on the run, which was pretty exposed. At the first aid station, I drank 2 Gatorades, a water, a Pepsi, and moved on with a sloshing stomach. At this point it had become a task of managing cramping legs and nausea (which might lead to emptying the contents of my stomach). I knew I still had to get more in. The next station I walked through to allow my stomach to empty a bit and get more fluid in. After a few hundred yards of walking, I was able to run again. My stomach began to feel better and I felt it was ok to skip a station. You couldn't do more than one, because cramps were right around the corner, as was dehydration.
As I came closer to the second loop, I saw Scott. It's always good to have someone you know suffering with you. When I got to the turnaround, I saw Britta and Angela, and they gave me boisterous cheers for the road. The volunteers and spectators were also really charged up, and on that level the race was a blast. I made sure to thank as many of the volunteers and interact with as many of the spectators as possible. That's always a lot of fun.
On the second loop of the run, my stomach felt pretty good, but I was always on the brink of cramping. I took in as much Gatorade, water, and cola as I could, but still had to walk off some cramps from time to time. I knew I was almost to my goal, and the most important triathlon finish of my life. I got to the 11 mile mark and saw Chris McCormack, one of the top pro triathletes in the world who had finished 2nd place that day, riding his bike out to the furthest run aid station, where I heard from Scott he was handing out water and encouraging the weary racers. One of the many reasons I love this sport.
I got about 100 yards from what I thought was the finish line and was ready for the big event. When I got to where I thought it should have been, I saw that you had to turn back into town to run another half mile, actually away from the transition area. I hate it when they do that! I plodded (by this time that was about all I could manage) the last yards to the finish line, covered in cola, Gatorade, salt, chain grease, and generally pretty smoked. I crossed at 5:45 and change. All things considered, a satisfying effort.
Britta and Angela were there, full of smiles. I shuffled over to them, greeted both of them, gave Britta a hug and kiss, pulled out the ring, and asked her to marry me. As bad as I must have looked, she said yes! I put the ring on her trembling finger. I then apologized to her that I wasn't able to get down on my knees to ask, but didn't think I would have been able to get up again.
Scott finished about 45 minutes later. We both agreed it was one tough race, but for me, so worth every moment of it. - Joe
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