Glen Rock Tri Club

Our hotel room overlooked the beach, and when I woke up just before 5 am, I saw the last of the swim buoys getting hauled out onto the swim course in the Gulf of Mexico. It was then that I also noticed the frequency of waves breaking on the shore, and while there wasn't quite a "surf" it was definitely not going to be anything like the lake swims we've been doing all season. Fortunately, we did a practice swim in the chilly, salty and rough water the day before, so we at least knew what we were in for. Perhaps this was what caused the butterflies in my stomach preventing me from eating my typical pre-race breakfast (which usually consists of a banana and a ham and cheese sandwich.) I managed the banana and a cereal bar, but that was it. Well, all the more reason to be done with the race faster so that I could eat a proper lunch, right?

The pros went off on time, and since I have a recurring nightmare about my wave being called into the water while I'm still trying to get into my wetsuit, I decided to quit thinking about how tough the swim would be and to just get dressed and into the corral with my wave. After all, I did this race in 2007 and didn't drown or get eaten by sharks then, so presumably I'd make it once again. I seeded myself to the far right, on the buoy line, and behind just a couple of other women that I thought might be able to keep me swimming straight if I could just hang on and follow their feet.

Our wave went off, and after getting used to the shock of the cold water, I settled into a pace and managed to make it to the first buoy without incident. After this, things started to go south, literally. I found myself veering way left of my buoy line, presumably getting pushed by the increasingly larger swells rolling in as we headed out to sea. After many corrections, I finally made it to the first turn buoy, and felt my stomach lurch as the waves tried to push me back the way I came. It wasn't long though before I reached the next turn buoy and began heading back toward shore that the fun really started. Heading due east into the sun that just rose in front of us, it was impossible to see anything. No problem, I thought, remembering that I was in the same predicament a few years ago at this race. I would just continue heading directly into the sun until I could sight off the pier on my left.

I was overtaken by a pack of swimmers from the wave (or likely two or three waves) behind me, and I must've gotten disoriented trying to get out of the way. The next thing I knew, the sun was on my left, and I was heading toward a YELLOW buoy, those directing us out, versus the ORANGE buoys that should have been on my left coming back. I had crossed almost the entire swim course parallel to shore, and risked swimming crosswise through oncoming traffic. Of course, to figure all of this out, I had to stop swimming, take off my goggles and look around, then explain to the lady in the boat who was coming after me that no, at least for now I didn't need to be rescued. I managed to make my way back to "my side" of the course, and because either my goggles were filling with saltwater or I was crying, or maybe both, at least they didn't fog up anymore and I had a better view of the buoys, the pier, and eventually (thank goodness!), the shore.

I stumbled out of the water, onto the beach, and fighting the urge to sit down, got out of my wetsuit, through transition and onto my bike. (Incidentally, my sister in law, Theresa, saw me getting out of the water, did a double take because I looked so bad, and reported back to the rest of the support crew that things weren't looking so good for Chris today.) My swim time was 43:37, which was 5 minutes slower than my 2007 swim time. Oops.

The bike ride was a welcome relief to the less than optimal start of the day. After the long climb up and over the bridge, I quickly settled into a comfortable pace and my ride (yes, ride, not race) became very enjoyable. I held onto my pace fairly consistently over the entire course, never felt too much strain on my cardio, but really didn't feel like my legs could give me any more than 22 or at best 23 mph in most of the long, breezy stretches. I had a couple very short sections of 25 or 26 mph, especially where I needed to pass some people, but couldn't hold it. I was slightly annoyed by the large pace lines that formed and passed me, and had no desire to join them, as I thought that would be cheating. Little did I know that in this particular race, that was in fact part of the strategy, to get yourself in a pack and avoid getting caught by the officials. (Unless of course you are John Bye and strong enough to get out and lead the pack you are caught in!) Nonetheless, it was really a nice ride, knowing that once I got home, for the next several months if I'm not on my trainer, I will be wearing many more layers of clothes, gloves, hats and lots of things covering my feet. I ended up averaging just over 22 mph, finishing 56 miles in just under 2 hrs. and 31 minutes, which was about 7 minutes faster than my 2007 bike time.

Started the run, and I had looked at my watch, which said 3:22 heading out on course, and figured that while I was not going to come even close to a podium finish, at least I should come in under 5 hours and beat my 2007 overall time. Then, about a half mile into it, I didn't want to be out there anymore. It was really strange - never had that happen before in a race, and certainly not this season, where I was laser focused on catching everyone in front of me, all the time. I was all of a sudden completely exhausted. Not sure if catching a cold earlier in the week and hacking up half a lung every night up to the race had anything to do with it, or my three week "taper" due to lack of energy, but in my mind this became a justification to essentially call it a day. Because this was the world championships, there were lots of very strong runners, passing me going very fast with seemingly little effort, which in my rather apathetic state, didn't even bother me that much. (Again, really strange given how I approached my other races this season.) However, I forced myself to keep going, and told myself to at least finish the first lap, then I could reevaluate a DNF on my way back to the run turnaround if I was still feeling awful. At about mile 5 & 1/2, just when I was reaching the point where I had to decide if I was too worn out to continue, I saw Mom Bye, who was pointing me out to Zachary saying "Go Mommy!" Knowing the effort that Mom, and sister in laws Sue and Theresa took to come to Clearwater to support John and I, there was NO way, I was dropping out of the race at that point, even if it meant I had to walk the second half. I saw them again on my way back out onto the second lap, and this time, Zachary saw me, gave me a great smile and clapped in encouragement. That was all I needed to keep running, because the sooner I finished another 6 miles, the sooner I'd see the family at the finish line. While I did not break any speed records, I kept running and even fought the urge to walk any aid stations. I was no longer racing, but just focused on finishing. At mile 9, with just over 4 to go, I knew I could get through it and just set my mind to keep my body moving forward. While my legs were done, and I was hot, and I needed some food that wasn't wrapped in plastic, I knew I could do 4 more miles.

The last time up the bridge used my arms as much as my legs, and I don't even remember the way back down. One mile to go - FINALLY. I thought back to my race at Timberman, where I won my age group to qualify for this race, and couldn't believe the difference in my pace and how I felt in the last mile of Timberman (which was a much harder course) vs. Clearwater. At Timberman, my last mile in was an all out sprint. In Clearwater, no matter what I did, I could not increase my pace. It was like the dream you have when you try to get away from the Boogeyman chasing you and you are running in quicksand. But the good news was, I knew I could run a mile, and so I did. And I finished. My run time was 1 hour and 39 minutes, which was a couple minutes slower than my 2007 run time.

I did not quit, and I didn't even come in last. While I wasn't able to break 5 hours, I only missed it by less than a minute, and beat my 2007 time by almost 4 minutes. It was a great weekend, with beautiful weather, priceless family time with John, Zachary, Mom, Sue and Theresa, and a nice way to end the best racing season I have ever had. I am going to take a much needed break for awhile, let my body and mind recover from racing, then shift my focus to getting ready for Kona in 2011.

PS - I may have cursed myself in reading the athlete guide the night before the race. I was reading about post season recovery, and teasing John that one of the recommended off season activities that I would be taking advantage of is "a leisurely ride or run with a slower spouse". Well, evidently that served as a little extra motivation for him. He had an AMAZING race, super fast bike split, and in fact beat me by almost one whole minute. So I will now be paying for my teasing for the next several months and am now the slower spouse to accompany him in the off season.....

Chris Kachinsky