Mike’s First Half Iron Distance Race (Cathy’s husband guest blogger)

4:40am wakeup; 5:30am departure

It was a warm, cloudy late summer morning on September 7.  I will get back to that in a moment.  Having missed my connection from Philadelphia, I was a little stressed, but the way the Cape Air crew on Saturday morning handled the flight from Boston to Martha’s Vineyard was a precursor to the fun and good times that were to ensue upon making it to the Vineyard for the triathlon on Sunday.  Our first good decision was to drive the bike leg of the triathlon which literally covered the entire island.  We had one less thing to worry about on race day after having racked our bikes and registered for the race the day before.  I was number 74 and it didn’t look like many folks signed up for the entire half iron distance event – 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run.  Then we had an early dinner at famous Giordano’s and stopped at State Beach on the way home so Eric (aka the Belgian Block layer) could take a practice swim.  Afterward we headed to Diane’s (aka Name that Tune Diane) friend’s place a few miles from where we live on the Vineyard for some excellent dessert and good times.  After getting home, we went through our triathlon checklist and made sure our beverages, Shot Blocks and other nutritional items were good to go.  We were in bed by around 10 PM.

Men 40 and over lining up

After my best sleep before a race yet, I woke up when my alarm went off at 4:40 AM and had a quick breakfast with coffee, loaded the truck, made sure we had everything we would need and headed out with Cathy (aka Aquabike Specialist) and our friends.  Allison (aka Southern Belle), who recently relocated from NYC to Dallas, couldn’t participate due to an injury, decided to come along first thing in the morning even though the sun was not yet up.  She was our cheerleader with a reinvigorated Southern accent, photographer and spiritual advisor for the event.  Way to go Allison and don’t forget there is always next year!

Go - into choppy waters!

My start time was scheduled for 6:47 AM but the transition area as they call it was to close at 6:15 AM.  Having practiced getting my gear together before, we had plenty of time to get organized, head to the beach, swim for a few minutes and make sure we had our wetsuits and swimming gear on properly.  The surf was up so by the time they put the last buoy in the water it was really hard to see it about a half mile away.  The surf also makes for some challenging open water swimming.   The good news is that none of us were deterred and all of us were able to complete the swim leg.  My biggest issue was seeing the buoys well. The jelly fish that stung me in the hand and the neck didn’t bother me too much - luckily I had experience with that.  I missed the last buoy by about 300 yards and I am sure that added to my time which was about 15 minutes longer than I expected at close to one hour.

Only 56 cycling miles to go

I felt pretty good coming out of the water.  After making it to the transition area, I peeled off my wetsuit and was pleased that the Trislide spray I used really worked to ease getting out of it.  Earlier I was a little out of it at 5 AM when we arrived and realized I left my socks in the truck where Allison was peacefully catching up on some rest due to our loud neighbors and the noise they made the night before.  Thankfully, my wish to have somebody deliver my socks to the transition area was answered – thank you Name that Tune Diane.  I dried my feet, put on my socks and put on a tri shirt from a Sprint Triathlon we did earlier this year over my tri-suit not realizing I was putting it on backward.  No worries, after slipping on my cycling shoes and clicking in I was off and riding - Riding for 56 miles that is!  Other than having to make a bio break, I never stopped pedaling.  By mile 46, I really wanted to get off of my bike.  As I have said many times before, if you get through the ride without a mechanical issue like a flat tire, the ride leg is a success.  So, for all of us doing the cycling leg, aquabikers and relay partners, we had success.

One of the best things about beginning the run is that the transition is really fast – Get off the bike, change shoes, take off your helmet, put on a hat, take some water and Shot Blocks and go!  Did I mention, you need to remove your cycling gloves…oops…forgot to take those off.  The good news was that the excellent tri organizers set up six water stops so I could drop my gloves at the first one.  After mile one, I met Lori, part of a team that is friends with Peter Frates, the guy for whom the entire ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was created.  We were running the same speed so she told me all about Peter, his wife and baby and it was hard not to get emotional.  For the next 10 miles we ran together.  For that distance, you need to talk to somebody.  At mile 11, I decided my time was slipping so I went ahead.  A short while later, I thought I saw behind me a Vineyard buddy, Wayne, who was with Price Waterhouse and now runs Hinckley Lumber with his family on the Island.  I slowed nearly to a walk thinking it would be fun to run to the finish together.  As “Wayne” approached, I realized this guy looked a bit younger than Wayne and more to confirm what I already knew, I said, “Are you Wayne,” and as he flew past me, he said “Wayne, NO I am not Wayne.”  I was a little bewildered and decided I better pick it up.  We started closing in on the finish line but I realized the Wayne look-alike was going too fast for me and I was passed by Keri, a relay runner and friend of Lori and Peter’s.  I turned it on but couldn’t catch Keri either.  I did manage to outrun a few others so I was pumped by that.  I figured just completing a 13.1 mile run was something.

Home stretch!

After about six and a half hours, it felt great to complete the event.  It was unbelievable to have Cathy, Allison, Diane, Eric and Richard (aka Steve) greet me at the finish line.  It always provides a burst of adrenalin when you hear your friends and family cheering you on!  The icing on the cake was the massages purchased by our house guests for those of us who participated – those were really sweet!

After such a great day, I want to thank my friends and family who were involved and those who wished us good luck.  The volunteers, triathlon organizers and police all did a great job (except maybe for that guy who forgot to tell me which way to go on Moshup Trail).  In all seriousness, it was a great event and I look forward to more people joining us in the future.  Go to google and search for Vineyard Triathlon orwww.vineyardtriathlon.com  to find out more and see you next September. 

 

70.3 Miles Done!

Celebrating success at the Lookout Tavern

 

Martha’s Vineyard Half Iron Distance: GULPS and FIRSTS

Warming up

In the Spring we received the bad news that the Vineyard Warrior race would not exist this year.  A few weeks later we discovered some local Islanders decided to take on a new race – but, GULP, it was a 70.3 race.  When we opened up Triathlon Magazine and saw the “busy triathlete’s guide to training for a half Ironman” that came with a full 16 week training plan, the idea seemed plausible.  Fortunately there were also open water swim, aquabike and relay options as well.  Mike and I both started following the plan, keeping an open mind what event we would select.  In the end, I chose the aquabike and Mike diligently followed the plan for the whole thing.

Joining us this year for our annual Mayone MV tri-fest were our friends Diane and Eric from Philadelphia and Allison who flew in all the way from Dallas.  We also convinced our newly friended MV neighbor, Richard, to join in the fun.  Diane, Eric and Allison were to do the relay, but after Allison experienced an injury, we went searching for a new relay partner and found Jennifer.



Aquabikers take your mark

The 4:45am alarm came early but we awoke ready to go and out of the house at 5:30.  It was dark as we drove the 12 min ride to the race venue but Eric said he could see white caps in our usually calm State Beach, which was confirmed as we took a look at the swim course – GULP, 1.2 miles looked really long and the white caps extra challenging.  While I didn’t think I would wear my wetsuit, I decided I could be in the water a very long time and opted for it.

Go!

By 7:00 am, the less than 100 participants of the first MV half Iron distance race were on their way, including 6 open water swimmers, 9 aquabikers, 13 relay teams and 29 brave participants doing the full distance, including Mike.  As I kept trying to reach the first buoy, it felt like it wasn’t getting closer or was even getting farther away.  I think the current was carrying me towards shore and so I redoubled efforts to get to it and then made the right hand turn to head further out to sea to the next buoy and this was the hardest part as the chop was hitting me head on and it was difficult to see the buoy.  I could see a police boat which I thought was near it but as I made my way towards the boat, I realized I had to course correct to get around it.  By this time I had the longest stretch to go and thank goodness the chop lessened and I was not fighting the current as much.  The hardest part was seeing the buoys in the cloud cover and given the distance so I sighted often and the kayakers helped point them out when I got disoriented.  Once I rounded the final buoy, I had a ways to go to make myself back to shore, but I felt energized with the finish in sight.  After 1h 17min in the water, land never felt so good!  I later learned one person exited the water sick as a dog, her body no doubt expelling the seawater she GULPed – this was one tough swim.

Eric says get outta my way!

After 1h17 finally the swim finish

Back in transition, I wasn’t in as much of a hurry as in shorter races.  In the end, I just wanted to finish and knowing I had a long time on the bike and the weather was to clear, I had planned to reapply sun screen.  But then I heard the race director say, “you ladies may want to hurry – they are going to open the drawbridge soon!”   Now that’s a new, unexpected obstacle!  I went as fast as I could for the first few miles to the drawbridge and made it.  However, once I was on the bike, I realized I had forgotten to spray my face with sun lotion in my hasty transition.

I was glad we had driven the bike course the day before.  As much as Mike and I know the Island, we actually found ourselves on a few new roads.  The roads were in good condition and there are many great ocean and country views as you circumnavigate the 56 mile course.  I made it “Up Island” as we say (the western part of the Island to Aquinnah) feeling good, and briefly stopped at the aid station for some Powerade.  I was hoping they might have sun lotion too but no luck.  Knowing I would need one bathroom stop, I decided to stop at the Chilmark General Store for a pit stop – bathroom, buying sun lotion, and eating my Cliff bar.  The clock was ticking as I waited in line to pay for the sun lotion but rather than asking to cut the line, I decided I needed the break anyway, which probably in the end took 7 min off my time but hopefully added to my time on this earth.

Approaching the 56 mile bike finish

I knew by about mile 35 I would start to feel the aches and pains of being glued to my bike and for the last third of the ride, I found myself frequently checking my mileage and celebrating small victories.  I was also developing a severe chafing wound on my upper thigh.  I rode past the street to our house and made my way down the home stretch along scenic State Beach, my all-time favorite ride.  As I finally made my way to the finish line after a very long 5.5 hour workout, my friends were there to cheer me on, and I in turn had the great pleasure of cheering on Mike an hour later.  We had done it!

Richard and I celebrate success

Eric and Diane make great life and relay partners

Southern Belle Allison with her cow bell

Jennifer, Diane, and Eric had a great race

There was still another first we needed to do.  After lunch and the awards ceremony, we made our way back to our house and stopped at the infamous Jaws Bridge, which is known for its scene in the movie but also for the carefree bridge jumpers of all ages.  While most American towns would ban such a pastime for the liability, it is a celebrated activity on our “live and let live” Island.  Every year, Mike and I always say, “we should do it”.  With Eric and Diane’s prompting, and Allison’s photography skills, this was to be a new FIRST.  GULP….I hadn’t anticipated my fear of edges holding me back.  In our first attempt, Eric went and Mike, Diane, and I held back.  In our second attempt, Mike, Diane and Eric went but I couldn’t get myself over the edge.  Mike came to my assistance and while I couldn’t bring myself to gracefully stand and balance on the railing as he had, I did get both legs over and pushed myself off, realizing I would be really mad if I didn’t.  Eric and Diane jumped again to join me in the water.

Back at the truck, Eric awarded we bridge jumpers with a sticker, “I jumped off of Jaws Bridge” hence adding to the day’s awards and another first!