The idea of doing a triathlon was by no means new to me. Way back in 2003, I ran my first marathon, and the next logical step to me seemed to be to try a half ironman distance triathlon. The circs. were thus. I volunteered at the Santa Cruz half, and saw an Asha alumni, Rajesh Agarwal participate, and was mightily impressed. Enough to quickly buy a couple of books on triathlons and swimming in particular. I made my own attempts to improve my swimming but sooner than later frustration got to me and I gave up. No, I sort of put it off indefinitely. I guess "indefinitely" = 9 years.
When Chakri sent out a discount coupon in Feb this year for the Wildflower triathlon, I was quite amused that I had somehow made it to the list of folks considered interested in (capable of?) tris. I had been biking and running the last two years but a triathlon still seemed a stretch, but it did occur to me that I could actually do a relay with someone doing the swim leg and still feel like I have been part of a triathlon, and that reeled me in. If I was going to do this, where else than the prestigious Wildflower ….. and I quickly registered a team. Eventually, after some anxiety about Raghu's readiness to swim the distance, Vivek Kini agreed to swim for me.
Wildflower, Chakri kept assuring me, was not going to be easy, and we had to train hard. I was very ready for that - I just loved biking anyway. We rode quite a bit from Feb till May. I consider myself a much stronger biker than runner, but Wildflower cutoffs seemed very aggressive to me - 56 miles of quite hilly terrain in 4:15 was 13-14 mph on average, and everyone promised it would be blistering hot. The run, in comparison was 13.1 in 3 hours and didn't seem as daunting. And so I put in all my work on the bike for the most part. We did a few bricks, but I surely didn't do any justice to the run department. To be precise I did 2 bricks, one was a 6 mile run that we ran at a very easy pace, after a 50 mile flattish ride. The second was a 6 mile run that turned into a 2 mile run and 2 mile walk after I had too much back pain …. this after a 70 mile hilly ride.
May 5th was the Wildflower Long Course, as it was called. Long course, because they do not have an ironman distance triathlon, just the half, and so that was the longest there was (though I did hear rumblings that they plan to start a full next year!)
Two weeks before that Chakri said we should go on a test ride of the same route - an on-location simulation, if you will, and I was more than ready. I felt confident I had done my training. 56 was easy for me on the bike, just that I had to do it a bit faster than I was used to, but Chakri and Chandrika had periodically pooh-poohed the idea that I might not be ready for that. I treated it just like another of our weekend training rides ….. we got up early on Saturday morning and the four of us, Chakri, Chandrika, Stan and I drove down in Chakri's car to Wildflower. Chakri has a 4 bike rack, that made the decision very easy as to who would drive :) Chandrika was signed up for the long course too, and Chakri and Stan … well they just love to torture themselves anyway :) The plan was to get there early before the sun started torching the place, and maybe swim the 1.2 (not me of course) before biking and running ….
You know what they say about the best laid plans …. we got there only by around 10am. Stan busily wolfed down bagel after bagel on the way, but I could hardly ingest any. I normally don't eat much before our regular bike rides, choosing instead to consume on the ride in abundant quantities - a fact well documented by most of my fellow riders! Coffee, on the other hand, is a must for me before any ride or run. I hadn't slept much the previous night either and that always leaves my stomach a little more confused. The last few miles of our drive were spent pondering if swimming should happen or not, and the verdict was a no as it was already late. We changed into gear somewhat lazily …. I carried a camel bak full of water as there were absolutely no water sources on the route and it is usually scorching hot. Just as we were about to head out, Chakri tried picking up something and felt a twinge in his back! Worse timing, he could not have had (Hmm… Yoda :)) Unfortunately, he had to sit this one out after all :(
The 3 of us set off on our bikes. I was feeling confident and good - we had done a lot more mileage quite many times in training with more elevation gain. I was less concerned about the biking than the running. I had reached the point where 56 miles felt like a short bike ride. Such is the power of training! We got past Lynch hill very quickly, and I smiled to myself at the acclaimed steep 1 mile hill at the start - it wasn't anything to worry about really - and were out on the rollers very quickly. I didn't pay too much attention to time - I was sure Chandrika and Stan would take care of that. We went about 20 miles before taking our first break. Most of the time I was ahead, but slowed to keep with them. 20 miles was a lot more than I was used to doing without stopping though. And my stops in training were always nice and long, and filled with adequate munching and chatting. Stan and Rika were all business! They grabbed something to eat, quickly sipped and headed out promptly, claiming I would catch up anyway! I was just getting set for a nice chat and drink and munch! Hmmph! So much for the fun part of bike rides! Rika always had this crazy notion that I am a much faster biker than her. I took my time - though not as much as I would have liked to - I didn't want to lose them completely! Much of the course was long straight-ish roads with almost absolutely no trees anywhere. The whole place even looked very hot and dry and quite drab too for that matter, reminding me of the hot and sunny plains you see in old westerns.
I continued alone now but I could see them in the distance and I was determined to catch up with them before the next break. I pushed harder than I would have liked to, and the flats were often really false flats that made you think you should be going at a faster pace then you were. Yet, they seemed to be keeping the distance between us intact! It was easy to keep sight of them; there were almost no other riders, very few cars and hardly any trees. I kept pushing and made up some distance by the time I got to Jolon road. Jolon had a few more rollers. Interlake until then was pretty much flat with a little downhill thrown in. I steadily kept pushing - the rollers seemed to be on my side as with each roller I found myself seemingly closer to them. Maybe my reputation for being good on hills was paying off finally. I finally caught up with about 3-4 miles left on Jolon before turning right just before Highway 101, and winding through what I seem to remember looking like vineyards (but now I am wondering why if there are really vineyards in that area?). I hadn't paid much attention to my drinking in my focus on catching up, and I tried to make some amends now. In spite of that, it seemed like I was quite a ways through my water reserves. We turned off of Jolon road, and for the first time I started feeling some fatigue. I checked the odometer - we were just at 32 miles …. that couldn't be right - I was a good rider and 32 should be a cakewalk. Maybe carrying the 3L camelbak and Chandrika's extra bottle in my back pocket was weighing down more than I expected? I felt lower back pain inching in and the shoulders were hurting a bit. By this time the sun was really started to burn the place up. I shrugged off the pain and tried to talk some confidence into myself and slowed down just ever so little. Stan by now had let Chandrika go ahead and was riding with me and trying to see if I was doing okay. Maybe he could see trouble coming before I could :) The road curved back and forth with very small rollers, and I kept looking out for the famous Nasty Grade. It seemed like it would never come! I realized I hadn't been eating much in my rush to keep up with the two of them and their break strategy. Finally the left turn onto Nasty Grade showed up. I had fallen a bit behind, and I stopped for a quick break for food and water. My back was hurting more but I was still optimistic that things would be fine as Nasty Grade was here, and hills were my thing. Once up it, it would be just a 10-12 mile home stretch ride back and then the run.
Nasty Grade started off nice and easy, and I was happy that all the Montebellos of the spring had done their job. But very soon, I started getting tired again. As we moved further on Nasty Grade, the heat started building up. The walls on both sides grew, and it was like we were in a canyon. There air was absolutely still and the sun was scorching. I could feel the heat radiating around me, and it was started to feel like my arms were on fire. I could see Chandrika in the distance also seemingly struggling. Both of us had slowed to snail's pace and were just pushing to keep moving. There was close to zero shade anywhere in sight. We found one tree and headed straight for it, gulped down water and paused for breath, and set off again. Another mile maybe, and we saw another tree up front, and without thinking or looking, I veered onto the left side of the road and pulled under it. Chandrika was already there, and just about ready to head out again. We cursed the heat and she left. I followed shortly, but there was just no respite from the sun. Another mile or so later, she pulled up 100 mts in front of me, got off and bent over the bike like she was going to throw up. I managed to keep it together, and slowly pulled out past her and further up the hill. This was the slowest I had ever done a hill before. I was having to do a bit of zig zag every now and then to keep balance. I saw a gate up ahead and the road turned left and I prayed it was the top, but there was no sign of Stan. By now I was feeling really drained, and set my goal as the gate. I would stop there no matter what. I did. And I saw Stan atop the hill still a good 300 mts away I think. It gave me some strength to know the end was near. I got back on and worked on my mantra - left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot - all the way to the top just looking 2 yards ahead of me. I finally made it and pulled myself off the bike feeling exhausted. I am not sure if Chandrika was behind me or ahead of me anymore, but we got there within minutes of each other. We took a much needed break. Stan was out of water!! I tried offering him some but I too had not much left, and he decided to wait till he really needed it.
Well, it was just down to 12 more now, but I was beginning to feel pain all over, and my head wasn't feeling too good. It looked like we were falling behind on time as well, but that wasn't a big concern for me anymore. I was still trying to convince myself I would feel better on the flats ahead and recover a bit of energy, enough to get the run in somehow. We started off again, those two looking much fresher than I was feeling and they went on ahead. Whoever said it was all flat after Nasty Grade was smoking something. It was definitely uphill for a good bit more and then rolling for another couple of miles I think. Finally the much talked about long downhill came up. Stan had been riding back and forth, and promised a nice ride, and said its just 10 miles from here, and 2-3 of those are downhill. As I started down, my muscles felt like they were hurting, and I had to keep stretching my back every chance I got. Leaning forward on the downhill was hurting my back too much. Just as we finally got to the bottom, I felt a slight cramp in my right hamstring. I quickly relaxed the leg and started focusing on kicking from the hip and leaving the leg muscles loose. As Stan came by, I told him I was cramping and he said take salt … it hadn't even occurred to me! I stopped and took a couple and drank a lot of water. Now even flats were feeling like torture. Chandrika had disappeared ahead of me somewhere. I kept telling myself just 8 miles more and pushed as best as I could. The cramp came back, this time stronger and in the quads too. I kept adjusting and trying to move slowly. In a few mins the left leg started cramping too at the calf. I stopped and stretched a bit, and kept drinking water. Stan was by now staying behind me all the time. I put in another mile and was feeling like I was going to pass out and found a tree on the left, and found my way across the road for some much needed shade. My head was not computing anymore and I was unable to focus on much. I accepted that I would not be able to run anymore, and told myself I just needed to get back to the car.
After a longish break, I gulped more salt pills and water and started back with Stan saying just 6 miles more or something like that. By now I was just looking in front of my front tire, and not really registering much, just saying keeping pedaling. At one point Stan said "pothole right in front of you" and I just had enough time to veer around the edge of the pothole. I wasn't thinking anymore. I just wanted to get back. The rest of the ride was the same. Lots of cramps in both legs, periodic stopping and drinking and getting painfully back on. Even the tiny rollers on San Antonio felt like big hills and I could barely keep myself moving. Stan drifted back to Chandrika, and I figured we were close to Lynch hill. That was a 1 mile downhill, so I just needed to get to that left turn. I kept my eyes peeled on the road for the yellow left turn marker, but it never seemed to come. Soon I started going just slightly downhill, and it puzzled me a little as I didn't remember this when coming out at the start. Nevertheless I continued, until finally I saw a Run course U turn marker. I was sure as hell we didn't' pass this, so I pulled up, and called Chandrika. VM. I called Chakri. VM. Tried again, and got him, and he confirmed that I just missed the left turn and went by. I had not even noticed that Stan and Rika just ahead of me had taken the left. They were so close they thought I would have seen them. I turned around and saw the road snaking ever so gradually uphill, hardly a 2-3% grade. But I was beat. Mentally I had decided there was no more uphill, and my mind just gave up. I asked Chakri to come pick me up, found the nearest tree, let my bike drop to the ground and collapsed beside it. 3 or 4 times along the last 8 miles I had felt like passing out and I felt like it again. A huge headache was building up and I was feeling nauseous. Finally Chakri arrived. Having tweaked his back, he could not lift anything, so I had to put up the bike myself on the rack. I am not sure how I found the strength to do that. I walked over to the passenger side and saw something on the seat, and quietly walked across to the other side rear seat. I didn't have the mental strength to think of clearing the front seat!
We got back to the start point where we found Chandrika and Stan looking tired, but already a lot fresher than on the ride. I was completely out. I didn't want to take a step out - I just wanted to be where I was and sleep. Chandrika got some paracetamol from some other nice people nearby, which I took and collapsed back in the seat. Chandrika and Stan looked like they could do a run, but they finally decided against it, and we left soon enough to go have lunch. Through all of lunch, I was quite out of it and only started feeling a little revived by the time we got close to the bay area.
The next few days were spent trying to forget how it all went. I was mentally demoralized. I could barely finish the ride without passing out, didn't do 56 and still didn't make the time I needed to. Forget that there was a 13.1 mile run to follow! I felt like a failure and didn't want to think about it. This had been a mistake and I wasn't ready for tris or tri-relays. Only an idiot would have picked a really tough half to do for a first tri, even a relay! On the way back from our training ride, Chakri suggested I get someone to run the run side for me even now. I didn't say anything, but it was clear he didn't think I was ready either. Chandrika interjected and said "No, let him try, I think he can do it". I smiled. Good old Chandrika, always so optimistic and good to me. After a week went by - enough time to forget the pain and hurt, I resolved to do this by myself. I probably would not finish but if I gave up now and got someone to run for me, it would feel more of a failure than if I tried. I just wanted to get past the bike and into the run - that was my new goal. I talked to Coach Char, Stan, Vinod and Anshu. Took whatever advice I could get, thought about everything that went wrong and tried to fix as many of those things as possible. I started talking confidence into myself again, and prepared to have a good time if nothing else.
The last week was spent making arrangements. Umesh was joining us and also registered for the long course. He had been coming along really well and was surely ready to ace the course. Rajeev Shankar and Harpal Kochar, two other triathletes, and friends of Coach Char would meet us there directly. I drove and took Umesh and Vivek. Chakri, the angel that he usually is, decided to come along just for company, and drove Chandrika and Char. We came up with everything we needed from one of Mouli's prep lists, put everything in and headed out. We found out Umesh is much more OCD than me when it comes to preparing for trips like these :) Being part of SVTC, he also had access to some premier campground space and assured us we were welcome to use it. While a bit hesitant that we would be one member and 5 pile-ons, we accepted eventually. The drive itself was quite uneventful, as we had been there before. We all took Friday off to get there early and "chill". Umesh wanted to check out the famed bike course on the way, and we did. Driving Nasty Grade felt so easy, but memories of our time two weeks before were still fresh in my mind so I treated it with respect. After we found our spots and settled down, we went down to the start point to pick up our gear and check things out. It was a bloody steep climb down, and this was pretty much going to be part of the run course!! Not fun! Anyway, we picked up our goodie bags and got ourselves marked up with our bib #s. This was one of the best parts. I already felt like a celebrity athlete! Just like those guys you see on TV with numbers on their calves and arms! Totally rad! A little more walking around the expo, checking out the transition area, finding the India flag, and finally we were heading back to our campsite. The climb seemed tough even walking! It was already evening, and we got comfortable, fixed up the bibs on the helmet and bike and got everything ready for the next day. I found I was short of Cytomax, so I switched to Chandrik's Perform (not a good thing to do on race day!). We feasted on lemon rice and curd rice that our TA chef Bhanu had sent with us. I quietly spirited the last remaining part of the lemon rice out to a ziploc for my ride the next day. I had also prepared my jam sandwiches from the bay area itself, something I love for bike rides. Then we sat around the fire as it grew dark, everyone talking excitedly about the next day. I fell silent trying hard to keep my confidence up and focus on getting a good night's sleep. Chakri and Chandrika had individual tents, and the rest of us 4 shacked up in a luxurious 4 person tent Umesh had got. We slept at about 10:30, and sleep came easy, but I was up at 2 or so, and the butterflies started interfering with sleep from then on. Nevertheless I can't say I didn't sleep well. Going by Stan's advice, I had also taken care to sleep early every day that week and try to get as much rest as possible.
We got up and started doing the morning prep. Coffee for me, and this time I followed advice and wolfed down a couple of bagels even though I didn't feel like it. I was already super nervous. Everyone seemed very calm and relaxed. And then it hit me. These guys were all ready. This was easy for them. I was the only one here who would not be finishing the course! And that was all I could think about. It was quite depressing ….. We got everything ready and headed down to the waterfront.
The place was already teeming with athletes. The transition area is just something else. You have to see it to understand it. It is just so much more exciting and happening than the start of a marathon and I wouldn't even mention the start of a bike ride in the same breath. I got into the area by displaying the tattoos :) and went over to my spot, put up the bike and arranged everything else carefully, ready for my bike->run transition. Now the wait would begin for Vivek's swim to get over. He wore the all important timing chip, and got into his wetsuit - quite a performance in itself. We went towards the waterfront and watched the waves start. Waves of swimmers go out based on age, category and sex. Starting with young males, to young females, ending with relays. Umesh went first, followed by Char, Chandrika next, and Vivek in the last wave. Vivek likes to go at the end of the wave to avoid people climbing over him - a sensible thing I suppose, except for the impatient biker waiting his turn. I was keen to get any extra time I could from him :) His wave started at 9:25, the swim cutoff was 10:30, the bike cutoff was 2:45 and the run cutoff was 5:45. I was hoping he would save me at least 10 minutes so I had 4:25 to do this whole thing in. I figured I might need that time. Wave after wave went in, and finally Vivek's turn came up. Chakri and I saw him off and moved to the tunnel for incoming swimmers heading to the transition area. We found Umesh, Char and Chandrika - they all came out looking great and very confident. Saw them to their transition areas and saw them off on the bike leg too. Meanwhile I was getting nervous. Where was Vivek? If he didn't make the cutoff, it would be a great pity - I wouldn't even get to try anything at all!! Well, I hoped they would at least let me do the course anyway. I think they would have. He finally came in with a time of about 51 mins and I was willing him very hard to run all the way to the transition area :) My telepathy clearly need lots of work. I had been all packed and ready to go for ages now. All I wanted was that damn timing chip :) He made it into the transition area, and OMG, was he actually going to stop to pick up a cup of water or something?? Yes, he was. I cursed under my breath, and waited impatiently. As soon as he got there, I grabbed the timing chip, strapped it on, and rushed out. You have to "walk" your bikes out, but I ran as fast as I could manage with bike shoes on! And finally I crossed the mat. My ride had begun! My race had begun!!
While Vivek was in the water, I had been reciting to myself everything I had planned to "do right" this time. I quickly checked my watch - it was 10:22. So I had about 4:20 to do this. Temps 2 weeks ago were in the 90s, today in the mid-80s - significantly better. I went up Lynch hill very smoothly and out onto San Antonio in no time. I had packed enough Perform for 8 bottles - yes I planned to drink 2 bottles every hour - one of the fixes from 2 weeks ago. I drank regularly and often. There were bike aid stations amazingly frequently - one every 6-8 miles!! Total of 7 in 56 miles Who ever heard of a ride packed with so many water stops! I had done the math way too many times. I needed to average 13 mph with stops to do 56 in 4:15. To account for Nasty Grade I decided it prudent to keep to about 14 mph till then if I could. I didn't want to push it any more for fear of draining out my legs like 2 weeks ago. As Vinod and Char had suggested, I was trying to do no more than I had to, to get within the cutoff.
Overheard on Lynch Hill:
Rider 1: biking in granny gear very slowly up
Rider 2: walking her bike up
Rider 2 passed Rider 1
Rider 1: "Sheesh, you are much smarter than me"
Rider 2: "Well, my coach said if you can walk your bike faster than you can bike it up a hill, do it."
San Antonio went very smoothly. There were not too many riders behind me, but I was continuously passing those in front - a good sign? I hoped I knew what I was doing, and they wouldn't be sailing by me again at mile 50 or something! I was very conscious of the no-draft rule in triathlons, and the 3 biker distance check, and kept switching out a little very often. No way I was going to get disqualified :) The first water stop came very fast - doh - 6 miles is barely a warm up! I took one bottle of water and poured it right over my head, hyperventilated for a bit, to the amusement of the water stop vols, grabbed another full bottle and filled the one I had already finished. Filled it with Perform and replaced it in bottle cage. Reached around for lemon rice, quickly gulped a few spoonfuls down, grabbed a piece of toast/jam, put the food back, adjusted the bandanna I got from Vinod around my neck - gyan from Vinod - and started out on the course, bread in hand. I checked the watch - less than 2 mins. Good. All was going to plan. This was to be my routine at every single water stop from here on. Meanwhile, while I was racing through my routine, I noticed many bikers didn't even stop or were even faster than me, choosing to grab a bottle while riding and eating on the go! So this was the secret! The next stop was at 12 miles, and was mostly downhill and I was doing good. Same routine to the letter. Except to down 2 salt pills - it was almost an hour into the ride. The water stops were stationed well - such that I hit one almost every hour, so I didn't have to stop for salt in the middle. Brilliant! After stop 3 at 19 I tried not to think about how fresh I was still feeling and not jinx it. I was quite good at 20 even 2 weeks ago, but this was still reassuring. All through Interlake and now Jolon, I was keeping up very high cadence - usually around 90! - good advice from Stan, and my quads were really feeling fresh and not taxed. Waterstop 4 at mile 26 came and went, and I was doing about 15 mph so far. I even dared to pick up some food, esp bananas from the stops. But never more than a 2-3 min halt. By waterstop 5 at 35, I was trying to control my growing confidence. No pain whatsoever, and I was doing great on time. The sun was out and the heat was picking up, but I was feeling good. Finally got to Naciemento and turned onto Nasty Grade. Mile 40 and I was doing fantastic. Now just had to climb the hill and I should …. should ….. have enough to get back in time. Waterstop just before the climbing started. Gosh, they had placed them to perfection! I have to say I was really very impressed with the organization. I added the extra bottle of water on my head this time. 2 downed and 1 refill. I had kept up the furious drinking pace of 2 bottles an hour! Of course, it had necessitated 2 restroom breaks …. And now for Nasty Grade! I could picture vividly how it felt 2 weeks before. It felt nothing like that this time. I raced past people huffing and puffing and was at the top in record time (well, not hard to beat my previous time :)) Wow! I just had 12 miles left. The time was 1:45. 1 hour left for 12 miles of mostly flats and a downhill. I knew I could do this - I had enough strength left. I had almost conserved too much, so I decided to push it a little going back. With goosebumps, I started racing back - most of the time passing lots of riders. I could not understand how most of them weren't more concerned about missing the cutoff - I was probably going to make it back with 10 minutes to spare ….
The last 12 miles were brilliant. I ran away with it, the excitement growing at making the cutoff and actually being able to run … this was all I had hoped for! It all went by in a rush and I was at the tunnel at 2:33 - yippee!! I dismounted with the largest grin on my face, just absolutely thrilled, and walked over the mat. The volunteer stopped me and ….
Vol: "I am sorry sir, you did not make the cutoff. I have to take away your chip"
Me: "You have to be kidding me. I am sure I made it here at least 10 mins early"
Suddenly I couldn't compute 45 minus 33.
Vol: "No sir, you are 4 minutes late"
And while I was gaping in shock, she reached down and pulled off my chip.
Vol: "You can still go out on the run course, sir, but you won't get a time. Sorry"
I was in shock. What could possibly have gone wrong? How could this be happening to me? I walked on in a daze not really knowing what to think. I was just stunned. It felt like the world was crashing down. And then I heard a second voice.
Vol 2: "Oh, he's in a relay"
Vol: "Sir…, you can take the chip, but you have to be out of there in 5 mins"
I didn't stop to wonder or say anything. I grabbed the chip, and ran to my transition area. I ripped off clothes caring not a hoot for decency or what people thought. Off came the shorts and shirt, replaced by running shirt and shorts. Switch the socks and shoes and grab a cap, 2 packs of Gu, one water bottle from the bike, put up the bike on the rack and I ran like mad for the mat. I just had to get past it! And I did! Wow, there must be a god somewhere. The whole transition was about 4 mins.
After about half a mile, the adrenaline wore off, I slowed down, and realized my lower back was hurting like crazy. I slowed down almost to a walk, and tried chatting with a couple of other runners to try to get my mind off the pain. Soon I had to let them go. The pain got steadily worse and I could not run anymore - I walked very slowly, wondering when I should call it quits. If waterstops were aplenty in the bike course, there were ridiculous on the run course. 1 every mile or less!! The first one had a hose to spray down runners!! This was A.W.E.S.O.M.E. I stood under it for a few seconds. It had gotten really hot by the time I had passed Nasty grade, and this was extremely welcome. I realized in my rush to transition, I had forgotten to take the Perform with me. I had to rely on the Gatorade they had now. I had also run out of sandwiches on the bike, so I took whatever food they had. Unfortunately, I don't remember anymore what they had at these stops. I walked some of mile 2 as well, and the pain decreased a bit now, and so I started back on a slow jog. Waterstop came and went with the same routine for me. Now I started trying to recollect what Umesh had said about the run course. He had a whole plan for this but I had never paid attention to the run course at all. I remembered he said something about a hill on mile 4 that I should walk and a stretch of shaded 2 miles from 7 to 9. Then open terrain till 10 and uphill to 11 or something like that and then home stretch he called it. But what took the cake was surely the mile 5 waterstop. He said it was called the Naked stop because all the vols there would be naked!! We had elaborate discussions about this the previous evening at camp, and I found it hard to believe this could be true. But I was just too curious. I had to get there at least to find out!
Mile 3 started, and umm….. that dreaded feeling came to my right leg. I started cramping. Ugh! I immediately reached back for the salt tabs, remembering I had forgotten to take them at the transition. Well not only that, I had also left them in the bike in my hurry!! I drank a lot of gatorade and focused on walking carefully without using the muscles much. It wasn't bad, but it kept catching for about a mile. At mile 4, there was this angel on the road, asking if we wanted salt tabs!! Sent straight from heaven, no doubt. I took two, held on to two more and thanked her profusely. Mile 4 was indeed a hill, but I was walking anyway. Miraculously the cramps disappeared slowly, and I started running slowly again. My stomach wasn't feeling good, and I didn't feel like eating anything but I forced a banana down. We descended to a dirt track. Till now we had been running on the road or a trail right next to a beautiful lake, but it is hard to appreciate it when you are so tired/hurting. Mile 5 waterstop! Grrr….. wait till I got a hold of Umesh. What was all that rot about naked vols?? There were just scantily clad, but so was everyone else on the road, runners and many others. The heat didn't leave you much choice. We started up on this steep hill. Everyone around me was just walking up the hill, and even that was hard on the achilles! How the heck did the pros run up this thing. It was very dry and dusty and, did I mention …., STEEP!! I started to feel a bit nauseous and my stomach was churning a bit. Finally mile 6 came and we were on top of the hill next to San Antonio. Phew! It was mostly flat from here, with rolling hills. By now I had fallen into a simple pattern - walk anything the slightest uphill and run downhill and flats. The running was still very slow. My stomach had that feeling I usually get in mile 22+ of a full marathon. It feels like it is eating itself up, and becoming smaller and smaller, and pulling on all sides to get free. I can almost feel every bit of my abdomen on the inside …. Mile 7 crept up, and it occurred to me I was past the half way point. For the first time, I wondered if I could actually finish the run course in time. I spent a few minutes thinking about the finish line and running through the chute - reminded me of seeing Chakri and Mouli at Vineman 2 years ago. I felt some tears prickling in my eyes at the possibility. But hope is an amazing thing. I felt a wave of new energy, and starting moving a little more determinedly. Soon the campgrounds came and the with it the promised shade. Cheers and encouragement helped too. Mile 8 waterstop came and went. After mile 4 the hosepipes had stopped. I substituted by picking up 4 or 5 cups of water to douse myself. I was going to stick to plan no matter what. Well, the vol at mile 6 was nice enough to interject in a timely fashion "Uh …. I think that's gatorade" just before I poured it on my head :) Bandanna had been forgotten at the transition too, but now that seemed less important. Mile 9 waterstop passed and then we saw him - the naked guy! Yes, right in the middle of the trail giving hi-fives to all. Maybe this is what Umesh was talking about? Hmm… oh well. Finally the trail ended and we came up on San Antonio going down towards mile 10. I finally worked up the courage to look at my watch - I had not done that since the start of the run. It was 4:25. I stopped for a minute - I had less than 4 miles left, and about 80 minutes. This was a done deal!! I could even walk this and do it! I felt a joy I could not explain - I was ecstatic. But more than that I felt immense relief. I suddenly felt like I didn't care about anything anymore. I started back on the course with a huge smile stuck on my face. And then I saw Chandrika running back - this section was an out and back. She was probably a mile and a half ahead of me. She seemed genuinely thrilled to see me - I wonder if she had expected me to pass out by now :) We hugged and talked briefly, congratulating each other, but I was eager to finish this now. It was downhill to 10 where we turned around ….. YES, that same damn spot I crashed down 2 weeks ago at the end of my bike ride. I almost tried to run back up to mile 11 but even adrenaline can only take you so far :) I had to walk it. From 11 it was flat to 12, and I walked/ran as I could. When I saw the marker for 12 in the distance, all hell broke loose, I knew it was down Lynch hill for the last mile, and I could not wait anymore. I ran the rest of the way, holding nothing back anymore and raced down that chute to the clock ticking in the distance. It felt exactly like 2 years ago at Vineman, except I was the one running through that finish line this time. About 30 mts from the finish, I spotted Chandrika, Char, Rajeev, Umesh and Harpal sitting in the stands cheering. And I finally crossed the finish mat. The time was something like 5:20
A volunteer gave me the medal, and I saw Chakri and Vivek right after the finish. Vivek seemed very pleasantly surprised to see me, and I gave him a big hug. It hadn't sunk in to me yet. I walked around to the other side where Chandrika had come down to congratulate me. And then it struck me … I had done it. I had done the impossible. What a race! Who would have thought 2 weeks ago, I would finish this. Making both the cutoffs, and finishing way stronger than then, and feeling better and better as the run progressed, finishing feeling fresh. And then the tears came. Pouring out. I had never believed I could do it. Not till mile 7 of the run. Luckily Chakri was nowhere nearby :) Chandrika said "Okay, now pull yourself together before you embarrass Char" :) I did. It was finally over. I could say I had done a Wildflower relay, a triathlon relay! It was a wonderful feeling I could not explain. Not just pride, but something more. The others of course, had finished easily - this was more a training race for them for the IM distance tris they were doing later in the year. Our final stats - Vivek did a 0:51 swim, I did a 4:10 bike ride (though my bike comp insisted I did 3:55 riding and 4:05 total - imagine that … 10 min stopping in 4 hours - Stan would be immensely proud of that), and a 2:39 run. In the end, I did phenomenally better on the run than I would ever have thought. I had completely ignored it in training and this course was by no means easy. Maybe I am a good runner after all :) I always keep saying I am really a biker and not really a runner. Probably time to stop saying that :)
The rest of the day we spent packing up and Umesh was in prime form …. I almost envied him his skills of cleaning up :) We got dinner on the way back to the bay area. At dinner, Char was talking about Expedition man - a triathlon he and Chakri were going to do in August, and he said "Why don't you do the half there, we will find you a swimmer". I thought about this for a minute, and it occurred to me … yes I could if I wanted to. I can't tell you how good it was to feel that way, to know that I can do things like this now …. that it is indeed a possibility. I had finally entered the tri-world, even if it was just a relay. The only down side might be that I have finally run out of excuses to not start swimming :)
I learnt so much from Wildflower. Much more than I have from any other race I signed up for. You can do way way more than you think you can. Even when you think you are out of it, you body can do more. Train your mind to believe - that is a huge part of doing. Small things make a huge difference. I fixed a bunch of things and it made a world of difference. On the first ride, I didn't drink enough, I was heating up and didn't know it, I didn't eat enough because I was trying to take the same breaks as Chandrika and Stan, but that is not how my body was trained, I pushed just that bit more to try to catch up with them, killing my quads, I didn't go high enough cadence, burning up my legs, didn't eat enough before the ride, and didn't sleep well the previous night. I fixed all of that, and it made all the difference. Belief and confidence is key. Trust in your training, it will see you through.
My deepest gratitude to everyone mentioned in this report at various points, in particular to Char, Chandrika and Chakri. Today, as I write this report, I know I can do a full Ironman distance triathlon some day, and I will and it is because of you. Heartfelt thanks to Vivek for swimming for me - you enabled me to be a part of something I dreamed of for many years, and had more or less given up. There are others not mentioned who helped in many ways - particularly in providing constant encouragement, you know who you are - thank you.
PS: I didn't notice any wildflowers during the real race either, Stan :) Context: during our practice ride, on the way back, Stan asked if we saw all the beautiful wildflowers on the course, and Chandrika and I gave each other a look and decided not to comment :)
