Square Lake Half Ironman: Part 2

Or, “Who needs 2 nipples anyway?”

Or, “My cat fought back.”

(Here's a link to "Part 1" of this race report.)

OK, to answer a FAQ in the comments of my last post: I “Body Glided” my face in T2 because the head piece to the Grim Reaper outfit touched my face and cheeks. After 13.1 miles of running, I still wanted to have skin on my face and cheeks. Make sense? Good. I thought so.

So, where’d we leave off in the last post? Oh, that’s right. It was T2, and I had just put on my Grim Reaper outfit. I was ready for the last leg of the day: the 13.1 mile (hilly) run.

On the run, we ran out of the park, and then looped right back past the finish area. So Steph caught photos of me heading out on the run:

When I was about straight across the road from the finish line (which included a large group of spectators), people started cheering for me. I pumped my sickle in the air as a show of appreciation:

They cheered louder. I loved it. They loved it.

I started passing people pretty quick. Everyone had something to say. I always came up on another runner, and I’d say something like “Good morning,” or “Keep it up.” They’d start to say something back, and then realize that they were talking to death. Most would start laughing (or at least chuckle). All got all kinds of comments from both men and women that I passed:

“Dude, that’s awesome.”

“You look like how I feel.”

“I’m doing pretty good, but I wish YOU’D get away from me! Ha!”

I tapped some people on the butt with my sickle when I passed them, but I startled a few of them, so I stopped with that. I wanted others to have fun. Not freak out.

So I went out at a good pace, and I really felt good. My first mile was 6:53. And I hit mile 3 in 21:30. I was feeling great!

Then it started to pour.

I took off the head piece so I could see a little better. I was also concerned that it would rub my nose raw. I felt the rest of my outfit get heavier and heavier. I was starting to hurt at the turn around, which was at the top of a big hill that I felt like I crawled up. I turned back to the park in 48:20. That was a GREAT time, but I was going downhill quick.

I was bonking.

At the next aid station, I ate some Snickers Marathon bars. I needed food in me. I should have consumed more near the end of my bike ride, but I was more concerned about pedaling while not being clipped in for those last 20 miles. My nutrition was gone; I was losing it. At least I had hit the turn-around, and I was running into all kinds of people that were still running out, and they were loving the outfit. I was running next to someone, and his family was out there and got a photo of us running together. I smiled for the photo. Then I realized my face was covered and it didn’t matter. Then I felt dumb.

I had to stop and walk a lot. I was starting to get disappointed, but I kept telling myself, “Steve, you’re doing this race for FUN. You don’t need to get down on yourself. You’re doing this race in a frickin’ Grim Reaper outfit!” My feet started hurting too: my right big toe felt like it had a blister the size of an acorn on it. I just didn’t want to think about it. I just kept moving.

The hills were getting to me too. Here, look:

See? It's as bad as it looks.

My longest mile out there was over 12 minutes. Ouch. But I was still smiling. And the athletes and aid station volunteers were lovin’ it. I ran into Pharmie when I was at mile 10 and she was at mile 3. She was looking good! We smooched, and we were both on our way. It was done raining at this point, but the sun was threatening to come out and really heat the place up.

I had to stop and walk once more at the last water stop. By now, my stomach was feeling better, and I was past the “bonk” feeling. But my big toe was still getting sorer. I put my hood back on, and took it home (all-in-all, I probably had the hood on for about half the run). Here I am just outside of the park, nearing the finish line:

I turned into the park, and headed up the hill to the finish:

Everyone was laughing and cheering (except for the little girl on the far right who looks a little freaked out):

But then again, I tend to freak those
people out on the “far right!” Ha!

It felt SO GOOD to be done! After running the first half (feeling great) in 48:20, I could only bust out the last half (big bonk and sore toe) in 1:05:04. I had a glass of water, and a couple of laughs with other athletes and volunteers:

Let’s compare yearly Half IM races. Last year, I did the Chisago Lakes Half Ironman just a few weeks before IM WI. Chisago was a stepping-stone on my way to “the big show.” This year, I barely got in the distance in my training, but still pulled a Half IM out of my butt. Here’s how the 2 races stacked up:

Chisago Half IM 2007:
• 1.2 mile swim - 44:35
• T1 - 5:08
• 56 mile bike - 3:05:13 (18.0 mph ave)
• T2 - 4:00
• 13.1 mile run – 1:48:15 (8:16 / mile ave)
• Total - 5:47:13

Square Lake Half IM 2008:
• 1.2 mile swim - 38:13 PR by 6:23!
• T1 - 3:51 PR by 1:17!
• 54.5 mile bike - 2:54:26 (18.75 mph ave) adjusting
     for distance, it’s still a PR by around 5:00!
• T2 - 4:06 missed PR by 6 seconds, even though
     I changed into the Reaper outfit
• 13.1 mile run – 1:53:24 (8:36 / mile ave) Hmm...
     why didn’t I PR here?...
• Total - 5:33:58 PR!! PR!! PR!!

Yep, that’s over a 13 minute PR! Once you adjust the bike and add 6 minutes to my time (which is adding plenty), I still PR by over 8 minutes! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!? This year, I had LESS long distance training, it was a HILLIER bike, it was a HILLIER run, I wore a frickin’ GRIM REAPER OUTFIT on the run while it was POURING on me and making it heavy as hell! How could I PR?!?

Here’s what I think: First, I had a GREAT day. Secondly, my swimming has gotten A LOT better (thanks to Andrea!). Third, I didn’t have the LONG AND SLOW mentality of last year - everything was about getting in that distance as fast as possible. But, I was still under-trained from 1 year ago. Bottom line: I got lucky and had a great day!

So then something funny happened. I know what your thinking. “FINALLY, something funny has happened to Steve! It’s about time!” I went back into transition to change out of my running shoes and to check the damage on my sore, sore toe. I pulled off my shoe. “What the heck...” I thought. This was attached to my sock, straight off the end of my big toe:

That big divot in it was from my toe. I didn’t know what it was. I went back and showed Steph. She starting laughing. I mean, nearly rolling on the ground laughing. She said, “Steve, that’s Kermit’s favorite toy!”

Holy cow. I should have known by all the cat fur on it...

My cat Kermit had dropped her favorite ball in my shoe at home. And because my toes were a little numb from the bike ride, I didn’t notice it when I put on my running shoes. I had just run a half marathon with a cat toy in my shoe!!

Maybe Kermit was mad that we didn’t bring her along. After all, she was the cat in the photo a few posts back, and she matched so nicely with my outfit:

That cat. I tell ya.

Then, Steph and I cheered for all the finishers. I busted out the boom-box, and we rocked out for a moment. If you haven’t seen the video that I posted Sunday night, here it is:

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c68aWDi9Hz8

Good times. Shortly after, Pharmie came to the line:

Then we walked back to the car, and I finally changed out of the Grim Reaper outfit. But not before checking my nipples. Here’s my chest:

Look closer at the nipple on the right (my left):

Yes folks, I had rubbed the ends of my nipples off. That rain made my outfit so heavy, and it just rubbed and rubbed. They were SO SORE the rest of the day. Pharmie kept saying “they look like hamburger.” Sexy. Two days later, it had scabbed over nicely:

Now, nearly 4 days later, they look about the same as in that last photo. But they’re starting to hurt less.

Anyway, after assessing the carnage that is my nipples, we went back down by the lake to eat. I had 2 hot dogs:

Once home, I cracked into a log of cookie dough:

And I had a burrito for dessert:

All of our stuff was soaked, so Pharmie started some laundry. And we had all of our shoes drying out on the porch:

Well, that’s about it. My second Half IM ended in a Grim Reaper costume, but it also gave me a new PR! What a day!! I can’t wait for that outfit to make another appearance at a race...

Oh, and guess what? This weekend, “Team Happy Pants” is making a comeback!

Matt and I are doing the Cannon Lake Duathlon in Faribault, MN. I’ll start with a 1.75 mile run, Matt will tackle the 14 mile bike, and I’ll finish with a 3 mile run. Should be fun! Stop by after this weekend to see how we do!! Thanks for reading everyone!