Even though I was off my fastest ½ Ironman time by nearly an hour this past Saturday, Cali 70.3 proved to be a humbling experience and certainly has to be one of my proudest athletic moments as I have never dug so deep just to finish a race before. A month ago, I thought my race had ended after being the unfortunate victim of a nasty bike crash that has left my back and neck in constant “spasm” mode. Thanks to the healing work of Active Release Specialist Elizabeth Halouzka and chiropractors Terry Brightwell and Jerry Moylan, I felt like I was in a position where I could at least give the race a shot and that I did despite some extreme nerves relating back to wondering if my body would hold up for such a long race in cold, stormy conditions. Here is my story… The Days leading up to the Race Even though I had essentially been on a 5-week taper after a mere 6 weeks of hard training, I kept my workouts to no more than 40 minutes long during the 7 days leading up to the race while significantly increasing the concentration of carbohydrates in my diet. For any tri-newbies in the crowd, carbo-loading is appropriate and helpful for long course triathlons (1/2 Ironman, Ironman) where depletion of your muscle glycogen stores (aka “hitting the wall”) is a known possibility if nutrition is subpar and/or race intensity is overzealous. Many TCSD athletes actually were following custom carbo-loading menus I had created for them leading up to this race; a sampling of my carbo-loading foods include a fruit smoothies, oatmeal, bananas, berries, energy bars, whole grain bagels, low-fat chocolate milk, bananas, bean and rice burritos, granola, yogurt, and pasta. It is also important to make sure your race equipment is well-prepped which I did by visiting my favorite bike mechanics at B&L….thanks guys! Race Day Morning I always have been a bit paranoid about sleeping through a race so I find myself getting up “on the hour” starting at about midnight on race day. Fortunately, I am very diligent about resting and sleeping in the week leading up to race day so this one restless night is not harmful to my race performance! On my drive up to Oceanside, I nibbled on my pre-race meal which consisted of a peanut butter Pure Fit bar (www.purefit.com), a banana, 20 ounces of Diet Mountain Dew (my morning coffee), and 16 ounces of my custom InfinIT sports drink (www.infinitnutrition.com). For the tri-newbies in the crowd, this pre-race meal helps protect you from experiencing low blood sugars, aka “the bonk”, and also preserves your limited muscle glycogen stores a bit longer. You should aim at consuming 400-900 calories in the 2-3 hours leading up to race start focusing on easily digested carbohydrates with a small amount of protein. The salt in my custom sports drink aids the uptake of fluids into my cells and ultimately helps protect against muscle cramping. I arrived at transition about 90 minutes prior to gun start which allowed me plenty of time to setup as well as chat with fellow competitors (I find this gives me a huge mental lift and I always seem to gain a few valuable pointers from the long-time race veterans). Because the temperatures were insanely cold (at least in California terms) and the air damp, I wore my sub-zero down winter parka that was bought during my Illinois-based college days and stayed dry by huddling under a tent until ~15 minutes prior to my wave. I felt bad for those who didn’t prepare for the cold because they were expending nearly 400 calories/hour just shivering leading up to race start which is the last thing you want to happen before a glycogen depleting event like a ½ Ironman! The Swim Okay, so I admit that beyond the January Club Race, I had not touched ocean water since leaving beautiful Kona in October and besides a practice swim in a pool the Wednesday prior to race day, I hadn’t swam at all post accident so the idea of jumping into 50-degree waters with 100 other eager age group swimmers frightened me a bit more than usual. Nevertheless, I took the dive and immediately got that lovely brain freeze headache only it wasn’t accompanied by the euphoric feeling you get when eating good ice cream but I suppose if you like the flavor of gasoline…..J/K!!! Like most everyone, I was a bit numb coming out of the water 40 minutes later but I spent some time (a good 7 minutes) putting on warm gear, including my back brace (not typical but used for my injured back), a thermal layer, a rain-proof jacket, finger gloves, and booties for my shoes to help heat up my core and extremities. The Bike While I have come to love the bike leg, I was really nervous about the 56 mile ride having only been on 2 rides post accident with both of those rides ending in extreme back/neck pain. However, despite these nerves and a spitting of rain, I couldn’t help but to smile as I rode off in my sexy (sorry, it is) new Specialized S-Works Transition which carried 64 ounces of my customized InfinIT sports drink in a Never Reach hydration system (www.neverreach.com). I started the ride upright but quickly got into my competitive mode and hopped into an aero position only to be haunted with back pain about 20 miles into the ride. This back pain would turn into some very intense and somewhat debilitating spasms at about mile 40. The last 15 miles of the bike leg was definitely the biggest mental and physical challenge I have ever experienced. I literally was riding into a significant headwind with one hand on my aero-pad and the other on my back. I think the race official thought I was crazy as he kept giving me this strange look every time he passed by on his motorcycle. Anyways, after spending well over an hour finishing those last 15 miles and entering T2 in severe agony, I thought my race was over. Pissed off, I made a visit to “John”, sat down by my run gear, stretched before finally (after 6+ minutes) lacing up my Mizuno racing flats and deciding I’d at least try to finish the race. The Run Leg Generally my favorite leg, I entered the run leg with a lot of doubt as my back/neck throbbed to the point that taking a deep breath was painful. I actually started off walking to see how I would respond but I actually felt okay in an upright position so I started to run “comfortably” and progressively felt better throughout the course and unlike many, I actually loved the sand addition as it added another element of challenge to the day!!! I definitely have to thank Elliot from B&L, all my clients and friends who came out to watch, and of course the famous TCSD aid station for your inspiring cheers. While I couldn’t turn my back/neck very well to see you, I could hear you and it definitely encouraged me to not only to keep running but it also lead me to a very welcomed finishline!!! The Finish line What an adrenaline rush!!! This truly was one of my proudest moments so as I stopped to take it all in, my internal smile transformed into a full-on giddy grin. I exchanged some congrats with fellow competitors and made my way over to my gear where my recovery drink, Ensure, was waiting for me. While hunger seems to elude us immediately post race, it is very essential to take in some liquid carbohydrate calories as soon as you can as it helps to enhance your muscle recovery! As many of you have already found out, hunger does return with a vengeance. The good news is that when your body is put through stress (as a ½ Ironman presents), it is very efficient at telling you what you need! After a ½ Ironman, listen to these cravings for up to 7 days post race. Some of my popular cravings and foods to fulfill these cravings include the following: Salt-Baked Lays or cheese pizza, Sugar-Chocolate Milkshake or low fat chocolate milk, Protein-Turkey Burger, Fat-peanut butter. Congrats all and happy refueling ( : Kim Mueller, MS, RD Sports Nutritionist Website: www.kbnutrition.com