B2B race report:
About a year ago the NM Outlaws were casting about for an Ironman race to compete in for our club race. B2B won out over some very tough competition – it won mainly because of the location, time of year (weather ) and cost. North Carolina in early November is incredible!
We had a house on the beach, the weather was perfect, the cost of the race was about $200 cheaper than an M dot race, and they have a half-iron distance and relays. I think the half iron distance race really cemented B2B as our race of choice this way we could include club members that are either not ready for an iron distance race or had other plans that didn’t include a big race in November. B2B is definitely a race destination worth considering.
Packing, driving, flying and organizing 12 athletes and 3 sherpas is a really hard task, Thankfully everyone took on some responsibility and all of our plans worked out flawlessly! Special thanks to Debi, Margaret, Cory, Lorna, and Loraine, you guys had us organized, transported, and fully supported!
Sitting in the Albuquerque airport I suddenly realized that I had forgotten my bike shorts and my run shorts. Darn, that really put me into worry mode, I wasn’t sure if I could find a suitable replacement for bike shorts and I need compression shorts to run in. You all know how you have your favorite non-chafing, correctly padded shorts. Thankfully the expo had some bike shorts. Since I totally suck at shopping it took forever for me to find something, Well, I actually didn’t find anything, Jane and Lorna found the shorts. The local Tri-shop had some very expensive compression shorts so now I had my replacements, and for only $150 dollars. Well, I can always use more shorts.
The days leading up to the race were hectic and not very restful though tons of fun! It’s great hanging out with Anal-retentive, tapering, hyper athletes that eat nonstop. We had a great time walking on the beach, discussing our race tactics, clothing of choice and general logistics. Of course maybe we were all hyper from the sugar of 15 dozen cookies (Thanks Lorna and Cory!)
Race day came much too quickly, The morning started at 4:00am, the usual nutrition, and off to the races! After a quick trip to drop off some last minute items in the T1 bag and then out to the beach. The trolleys to the beach were nice, warm and frequent. After changing into our wet suits and dropping off our gear we headed out to the beach. . We had a bunch of outlaws at the swim start Margaret and Namoi (in their IM debut), Mark T and Jane were up for IM number 2, Miguel, Tim and myself. Margaret looked a little worried, or maybe it was the cold, Naaaa – she never gets cold! A few last minute hugs, good lucks and we were off! The sand was really cold and my feet were numb by the time we got to the starting line but the warm 69 degree water and brisk swim quickly warmed them up. The swim is amazingly fast! That’s one IM pr that I’ll never break! 53ish minutes and it was all over. After the swim I had THE BEST wetsuit stripper of ALL TIME! He unzipped me pulled down my suit over my shoulders, told me to sit, one yank and the suit was off. Wow! That took all of 5 seconds.
The run to the bike start wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, a 400 yard jog in 48 degree temperatures, wet and without shoes isn’t something I would normally do but it just wasn’t too bad, at least my feet were cold enough the asphalt and corresponding little rocks didn’t bother them.
The bike: I had purchased a disposable cotton tee shirt and gloves for the bike because I knew it would be a bit cold out. They worked perfectly and I shed them at the second aid station. The station that actually had nutrition! I’ll be sending the RD a recommendation that he actually have nutrition at the first aid station – like the booklet says. Not only didn’t the first aid station have nutrition it was 30 miles into the bike. I had already gone through my “emergency” gels and all my fluids by mile 25 thinking that the aid station was “just around the corner”. The fist aid station did have fluids and I picked some up, but that meant I needed to make it to the next aid station for nutrition. It turns out that the next aid station wasn’t until about mile 50! That’s 50 miles on Heed and two gels, not a good thing for an IM race. I was pissed, and loaded up on everything because I didn’t know if the other aid stations could be depended on for nutrition. I finally caught my friend Miguel at the special needs station (mile 65) and he wanted me to work on his bike because it was making noise. Huh? Right, I’ll get on that right away! Anyway, the rest of the bike was uneventful except for the head wind for the last 30 or so miles. Wow, the air is thick at sea level and that 5-10 mph wind really took its toll, this wasn’t
Rolling in to T2 was a huge relief, staying aero for 6 hours isn’t much fun and I was definitely ready to get off the bike, my neck hurt, but sit bones hurt, my hip hurt and I was just plain tired of riding.
The run starts off well enough then you hit the mother of all bridges. This thing must be a mile long and goes up and up and up! Nope, didn’t run most of it, my legs just weren’t there yet. Miguel and I left T2 together so at least we had company on the initial walk! After the bridge and the first aid station what comes next? Yes, another bridge, but this time you get a metal grate with little metal things sticking out. Yeah, that was fun, Oh you mean I get to do this three more times? I must say that the first few miles of this marathon was about the ugliest scenery ever. After crossing into downtime Wilmington with the red bricks and cobblestones I changed my opinion of the run. This section was great, the we got to run through some old neighborhoods with cool houses, then to a very nice park area, and then back down to t2. Since this was a two loop course I got to see all my Outlaw buddies and facebook friends on the course. It was great seeing everyone out there having a good time! Everywhere we went people were shouting go Outlaws! By about mile 9, I had dropped Miguel somewhere, and I just started talking to random folks. Most people were happy to talk but a few were a bit cranky – undoubtedly caught up in the dark side of Iron distance racing, not a good place to be. By the second loop I hooked up with Gary, together we pushed and actually negative split the second half. Way to go Gary!
Coming into the finish line was a bit weird. They had the timer about 100 yards from the actual finish line, strange After finishing I found Mr T shaking uncontrollably, and walked him over to get some warm clothes. A few slices of pizza, water, and some nice salty chips I was feeling much better and went to go greet the rest of the outlaws.
Congratulations to everyone! Margaret ( See, under 14 hours!) and Naomi on your first Ironman races, Mr T – thank you for not going into shock from pushing too hard. Miguel, you are a great training partner, double congratulations on your 1st place. Jane, you rocked the course, even with the ITband issues. Tim, wow, you are fast! Congratulations to Orlando who finished his first HIM. Michi, First in her age group! MG – you are tough guy! Debi and Hartley, very nice long brick! Wish I could place in one of my “training races” haha!
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