Rev3 Race Report
After nearly 8 months of training in Afghanistan and a rough month upon arrival back to the states, I made it out to Middlebury CT for the REV3 Half Ironman Triathlon. My first impressions about the area were that there wasn’t any place to eat! There was absolutely nothing in the area aside from a few corner stores and gas stations. If you know me well enough you’ll know that I’m always eating and this had me a bit concerned. Luckily, the Hampton Inn we stayed at (always a great stay) served free breakfast and coffee and I had a great pre-race meal at a local restaurant called Spartans.
On race day, I got to the site about 5:30 to prepare my transition so I could spend more time getting mentally prepared and less time stressed over everything else. The Rev3 setup was fantastic. They had a great transition area to work within, including a personalized spot with your own nameplate.
My wave started at 7:05, which was right after the pro start. There were a ton of spectators and the pre-race announcer had me hyped up. Was a very cool thing to watch the pro’s take off and then have to follow them shortly thereafter.
I got into the water and got into a decent rhythm, but I struggled with some sighting issues, which probably cost me 5-10 minutes. I also had a leak in my goggles about every 10 minutes which I had to try to fix on the go. Lastly, I was having some nausea issues, probably because I opted to not wear my ear plugs. Between the nausea, the sighting issues, and the goggle leak, I lost a bit of time and came in at around 45 minutes. Not a great time, but about what I was expecting for not swimming in open water since last year.
I peeled off the wetsuit and had to stop a bit in T1 to cool down and regain my legs. The nausea was nasty and I’m surprised I didn’t hurl in the water, but I managed to get a grip and get into the bike gear. What a killer! I’ve got to admit, I just wasn’t ready for the bike leg. I never had a chance to get in the saddle until I returned home to the states and I realize now that a gym bike just doesn’t cut it. I had a few rides in May, but nothing too long. This was my first mistake, although in hindsight there wasn’t really anything I could do about it. There were hills after hills that led you to a downhill so you could tackle even more hills. I knew at about mile 20 that all time goals would have to go out the window and I’d have to concentrate on just finishing.
This doesn’t mean I was happy with “just finishing,” but considering where I’d been and the lack of time for training, I wanted to get some kind of momentum going into Kure Beach at the end of this month. I finally came in at about 3:47:00, which again was a horrible time but was at least another leg completed.
In T2 I didn’t really have any problems getting off the bike and into the running shoes, but I was hungry as hell and was out of real food. At that point, gels just weren’t doing it for me, but I took a few along. Luckily, they had a lot of food (bananas, oranges, pretzels, gels) on the running course. I started running into issues with my quads siezing up on me, so I walked the hills and ran the rest. I stopped at every aid station (a first for me) to get water and oranges, but the hills were starting to put a hurting on my legs. By this time, both my quads and calves were seizing up every few hundred meters, so I was running out of options to finish this race any faster. Still, I knew I couldn’t quit and I tasted that finishers medal and shirt…I wasn’t going to go home without them.
Finally, about 2:40:00 after I started the run, I reached the finish line where a patient (thanks guys!) family was waiting and cheering me on just like I was the winner of the race. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my wife and kids cheer me on when I reach the end. My final time was 7:22:48, which again isn’t anywhere near the goal I had, but considering it was my longest run, bike, and swim in the past 10-12 months, I felt pretty good about it.
Now that I know what the REV3 and HIM’s are all about, I’m ready to take it to the next level. I’m in the process of obtaining a coach’s services and getting ready for the NCTS and Augusta later this year. I’ll also be ready for the REV3 next year, you better believe I’ll be back 
Comments
One Response to “Rev3 Race Report”
Leave a Reply
[...] I must admit that although I was much less nervous for this race than I was the REV3, never having done a double sprint before had me a bit concerned about how to pace myself. I knew I [...]