Probably one of the most beautiful places I have seen. The lake is almost completely unpopulated and is literally out in the middle of nowhere in the Appalachians . We left for the race Friday afternoon and drove four hours to Johnson City, a little over 40 miles from Lake Watauga. Meagan, the kids, and myself all slept well in the hotel Friday night and had a 5:30 wake-up call. We were out the hotel and on our way to IHOP by 6 and on the road for the lake by 7. Only 7 miles before reaching the race site I had to stop and use the bathroom. It seemed I would battle the runs whilst racing.
When we got out of the car the sun hadn't yet peaked over the mountains and the temperature was in the low 50s. The water was a nice 71 degrees and so the steam fog was heavy. Gratefully Meagan allowed me to get a wetsuit for the race so I'd be warm after getting out of the swim and onto the bike.
On your mark, get set, go!
The first wave of swimmers was the under 29 men's as well as the Clydesdales. The race kicked off around 910a and the swim started out well. I was feeling great and had someone's feet right in front of me so I figured to keep pace with that person and draft as long as possible. As we reached the first buoy on our 1000m journey I got hard sandwiched by two other swimmers and lost all rhythm and went into semi survival mode.
The freestyle was gone, my drafting was lost, and I resorted to a combination of the back stroke and a side stroke to get through it. To make things better, not only was their steam fog all over the lake, but the inside of my goggles fogged up, and it was near impossible to sight where I was going. A few times I paused just to see where I was and could find nobody around me and no buoy in sight. I just guessed where I was headed and kept swimming. Luckily my guesses were all in direction of the course. My goal for this leg of the race....30 minutes, my time.....25!
Leg one, complete!
Transitioning out of a wetsuit was a little bit of a new experience, but I managed to get out to the bike in a reasonable time. It wasn't long before I realized the bike is where my first hiccup of the race would be. I felt confident, but my computer wasn't working so I didn't ever get distance or speed information and tried to base my pace on feel. Not an easy task for the novice rider. The ride started out with a two mile climb, then flattened out for a little bit. By mile five the runs tried to come back. Trying to hold it in while riding a bike for over an hour has to be one of the most painful things I have ever experienced. My motivation for getting back to transition was that there was a port-a-potty nearby. My goal for this 22 mile leg, 1:20.....my actual time...1:29. I give myself a handicap though for the pain I suffered and for the fact that the ride was significantly more challenging than any ride in Lexington, so I can't complain.
Transition to the run was smooth and effortless. The way that we were routed out of transition took me away from the port-a-potty so I figured to just go for the run and see what happens.
This was the part of the race I was most worried about. I had never run 5 miles in one setting before, in fact the most I had ever run at once was 3.5. All I could do is try. I found a guy from my age group and he seemed to have a good pace for me so I stuck to his heels. This turned out to be a great strategy because it kept me plugging along. It felt great to hit the half way point and turn back to the finish. The last half mile though turned painful. My quads started to cramp severely and it was all I could do to push to the finish.
My goal for this 5 mile run was under 60 minutes, I came across in 55 minutes! I hoped for 50 and was totally on pace until the last half mile, so I was happy!
My overall goal was to finish in 3 hours, and I managed 2:56. My super self goal was a 2:45, and I think I would have had it had I not battled the pain of not pooping on the whole bike ride. The scenery was beautiful, the race was challenging and awesome, the support crew was superb, and I had a blast!
Here are some pics of what the kids did while I was racing.
Throwing rocks during the swim.
Emily going for the hefty throw.
Atlas is looking for distance.
Coen was throwing for style.Then they played hide and go seek in the cemetery across from the finish.
And this is what happens to your foot when you run 5 miles in shoes that are a little small and without socks.
Hopefully it heals quickly. Now it is time to start looking for races next year. Gotta determine when to do my half ironman!
