We Race Together: Alabama Toughman 70.3 - And My Renewed Faith in Ability & Positivity

No more negativity until after IMCHOO.

I don't usually do much of a race re-cap. Mostly, I keep up with race details in my Dailymile log so that I can track distances in one place. My blog posts are usually an outlet of complaining, and for that I am sorry.

Every time I exercise.

Negativity can be contagious and I shouldn't be putting it out there. I've been in an oddly negative place lately (since May).

Back in April/May I bought some different shoes that didn't quite work out and after we had trained really hard for the Gulf Coast Triathlon, the swim was cancelled and my bike and run was miserable. Although I finished Gulf Coast, that botched performance messed with me mentally and it's taken 3 months to rebound.

Saturday was a gigantic leap out of that mindset. Today, I feel a more inspired and positive.

Alabama Toughman 70.3 was an add-on race for our schedule. We had set some distance goals for August that included these distances separately, but we didn't plan on doing another 70.3 this close to IMCHOO. Teresa saw a post about Toughman on Facebook, and we decided, "Why the hell not?" It was within our personal will-travel-to-distance, we needed a good practice for IMCHOO, and the entry price was reasonable.

We've continued our IMCHOO training. With a concentration on biking, we did a century ride a week before AL Toughman. My running has been suffering with a foot injury. My swims have been consistent. I felt good as Toughman approached. I didn't know particulars about the race so I decided to do a little digging and found that the elevation of climb on the bike route was reported as 3072 ft. I stopped digging. I didn't want to know anything else until race day.

As you read further, if you read further, you are going to see that we did a lot of things wrong in the days before AL Toughman. This was the brief event plan for us:

1. Leave Pensacola, FL at 9:00 a.m. Friday.
2. Leisurely drive to Pell City, AL to check into the hotel at 3:00 p.m.
3. Leisurely go to packet pickup and drop off the bikes.
4. Meet some friends for an early dinner.
5. Hotel by 7:30 for final preps and bed.
6. Saturday - 4:30 a.m. - wake up and get ready to kick ass.

Almost eaten by a spider; pulled over to exterminate;
looked left and saw Chattanooga.

This is what actually happened:

1. Leave Pensacola, FL at 9:00 a.m. Friday.
2. Get my Triathlon Bike fitted in Orange Beach, AL.
3. Stop by Under Armour to buy new running shoes in Foley, AL.
4. Head toward I-65 to drive to Pell City, AL at 1:30 p.m. from Foley, AL.
5. Make packet pickup and bike drop off at 6:00 p.m.
6. Meet friends for dinner at 6:30 p.m. Indulge in a tequila shot and a beer. Wait 3 + hours for food.
7. Check into hotel at 10:00 p.m.
8. Final preps and bed by 11:00 p.m.
9. Saturday - 4:30 a.m. - wake up and get ready.

5.5 hour drive becomes 9 hours.

Even with the delays, detours, and surprises, I was extremely excited to participate in the race. This was our 5th at this 70.3 distance. I have had good races and bad races. I knew what to expect from my body. I also knew we were going to be working up hills a lot along the race route.

As we were driving to Pell City, AL, we notice a drastic change in the hills as soon as we were North of Montgomery. I tried to ignore them.

Oh, Boy. Mountains.

I'll admit that I didn't sleep well, but the morning of the race I jumped out of bed as soon as the alarm sounded. We both did our pre-race stuff and grabbed the gear bags to head to breakfast. Yogurt and a banana later we were in the car cruising to Lakeside Park. The only other cars on the road were obviously headed either to the race or out fishing. The weather was perfect. I didn't get any morning chill. Dew covered everything. Transition was well-lit. My rack was easily to find and I had plenty of room. I set my stuff up and Teresa took care of all her stuff. Photos were taken. We visited with other athletes.

I never know where to look on that damn camera.

TGC peeps.

We heard typical grumbles from other participants about the route and heat, etc. Everything went smoothly for us all morning. I had some stomach grumbles (see tequila reference) so there was a bathroom stop on the way to swim start.

Swim

The water was warmer than I expected. It wasn't bath-water-warm, but it wasn't very refreshing either. It was a fresh water lake with no current or noticeable marine life. This was my 1st time swimming any distance with a Tri top. I felt sluggish and couldn't get into a zone. I started in the middle, instead of my usually outside placement and got frustrated with the congestion. I know better. I kept going. It was easy to sight the buoys but I did have some zig-zag. The swim took me about 8 minutes longer than expected, and I had some chaffing under my right arm. The jog to transition was easy. I didn't feel winded or anything. I was a little disappointed in my swim time.

Bike

My transition to the bike took 5:21. For reference, I'm usually in there for 10 minutes. You may call 5 minutes long, and it is, but it is a hell of an improvement for me. The way I figure it, if my happy ass is going to be on a bicycle for 56 miles, it is going to be comfortable. I put on some bike shorts, socks, gloves, a bandana, sunglasses, and sunscreen. I grab some water. pain medicine, chamois cream, and nutrition and pushed off. I noticed early on that I had some chaffing from the swim, but it didn't really effect the bike portion. I noticed too that I forgot my bike computer. This ended up being a good thing. I didn't have slow numbers to concentrate on. I stayed positive on the ride. I spun up the hills, and pushed down them.

Coolest thing on the bike route:
1967 Charger - For Sale

I deem thee, "2 Inch Lip Flat Tire Bridge"

I stayed ahead of Teresa until mile 32 and was able to keep her in sight for the remainder of the route. My nutrition was lacking and I wasn't hydrated enough, but I did drink consistently so that is improvement. The bike fitting was more of a help than a hindrance. I'm still on the fence about the Adamo Century seat, but my butt seemed pretty comfortable the majority of the distance; especially the last 14 miles. I conquered the hills and made it back to transition. I was happy with my bike time.

Run

Teresa wants ALL my transition photos
so she can make a 3-hour flip book.

I ignored negative people.

My transition to the run took 5:22. How's that for consistency? Again, I'm usually in T2 for 10 minutes. The running joke from Teresa is that I like to kick back and read a magazine. My goal for the run is the same as the bike, comfort. I switch to my running shoes; pull off my bike shorts; Grab some water, wet my bandana and rinse the allergens off my face and out of my eyes, and snap on my run number. Teresa made it in from the bike course a couple of minutes before me. I think she was putting on her first brace when I racked my bike. I watched her leave a few minutes before I started the 1/2 marathon. My chaffing was enough of an issue that I hit the med tent. It was out of the way but ultimately worth it for the comfort. At this point, Teresa is about 20 minutes ahead of me based on time (she started in a later wave and caught up with me on the bike) and maybe 1/2 mile ahead physically. I wanted to catch her on the run route, but I didn't think I would be able to make up the 20 minutes to beat her time. I made a point to take a water, a powerade, and ice at each water stop. I stayed hydrated and comfortable the entire run. Just as importantly, I stayed positive the entire run. I talked to everyone I passed or paced with. I thanked all of the AWESOME volunteers. I waved at motorists. I smiled. I waved to friends and made new ones. I ignored the sun. I ignored the heat. I ignored negative people.

I was encouraging to others. I kept moving forward. I visualized finishing this race. I visualized finishing IMCHOO. I was proud of my performance on the bike. I was happy. I was excited about IMCHOO. The hills took a lot out of me, but I knew I could finish once I hit the turn-around.

At 6.5 miles, I was over the hump.

I was slow. My right foot started hurting around mile 9 of 13. I was able to take some medicine and push through. At 10 miles I started to push to close the gap with Teresa. She stayed 1/4 to 1/2 mile in front of me the entire route. I was happy with my run, albeit slower than normal.

I finished in 7:32:38. This wasn't my best time (nor is it my worst), but I felt really positive the entire day. I got out of my head and had a good day of swimming, biking, and running. We heard that the climb on the bike was between 2500 and 3000 feet, and the climb on the run was 900 feet.

On left: Happy because a brownie sundae is in his future.
On right: Happy because she beat guy On Left.

Teresa did it in 7:08:04 and qualified for the Toughman Championship in NY.

I surrounded myself with great people and it made all the difference. Gary, Gabby, Tina, Suzanne, Teresa - Thank you! Your attitudes, stories, and inspiration before the race kept me positive and hopeful all weekend. Doug, Kristen, #279 Audrey, #79 Joel, other IMCHOO participants, other AL Toughman participants, Race staff, and Volunteers - Thank you! Your positivity during the race kept me going strong.

Final Thoughts:

After this experience, I would sign up for a Team-Magic event in a heartbeat.
These long races are 95% mental. When we look back at the races we've completed, I enjoyed the one's that I stayed positive during, regardless of conditions or performance. I didn't allow myself to become enraged because of a cancelled swim, bad biking day, or a miserable run.
I may be slow, but I will get it done. I have the ability to do this!