Crashed, But Not Burned! Shoreman Half-Iron Tri September 10, 2011

I read something recently that if a race isn’t going your way, sometimes you just need to reevaluate things and set different goals.  The Shoreman Half-Iron Tri in Port Republic, NJ was just such a race for me!  First of all, the bike course was extended by almost 2 miles because they had to reroute it due to all the recent flooding.  Knowing this, I was prepared to tack on some time…but not as much time as I ended up tacking on!

Race day morning was nicely rain-free (yay!) and we started out with a refreshing 70-degree 1.2-mile swim in the lovely red cedar waters that frequent the Pine Barrens area.  Things were going well when I hopped on my bike for the 57+ miles, and the course being fairly flat, I was cruising along nicely…until I hit the divot in the road around mile 7.  Before I knew what had happened, I was launched on top of my aerobars, my front wheel turned sideways and I was skidding across the pavement on my hip, side and elbow.  As I lay there in the road with fellow competitors speeding by me calling out, “Are you o.k.?!” I tried to figure out what to do.  A kind man in a pick-up truck stopped for me and was prepared to cart me off the course.  “Gimme a sec,” I said as I got to my feet.  No broken bones.  No warped bike frame.  At that point, I thought about racing for HCM, the people who’ve donated to families dealing with cancer on my behalf, my dad, my friend Sharon who took a nasty spill in a race and kept going, and I put thoughts of quitting out of my mind.  “Let me see if I can still ride,” I said as I got back on my bike.  Everything seemed to be operational, including my body despite the pain, so I continued.

Bleeding from my elbow and side was a problem yes, as was not being able to lean very well on the right elbow pad of my aerobars.  But of further concern was the fact that all my Gatorade and dissolved salt tablets had dumped out of my aerobottle when I fell, so I would have to wait to get water until the bottle exchange (about 10 miles).  Not the best of circumstances, but it could’ve been worse!  I’ve never been SO happy to be done with  a bike leg in my life.  Speaking of legs, however, the problems continued!  Most likely due to the fact that I had no electrolytes on the bike, as I started the run my hamstrings cramped up so much that I had to stop and stretch several times on the first loop of the run.  “This is the worst race ever!”  I was shouting in my head.  But I quickly replaced that thought with, “Keep going…and don’t you DARE walk!”  I listened to the voices in my head and kept going.  Near the first turnaround, Chris and I passed each other coming opposite ways and instead of slapping his hand, I showed him my bloody elbow.  After he freaked out and I reassured him that I was “o.k.,” I continued the long, hot shuffle that was the 13.1 miles.  It was actually a hot, humid day which we hadn’t had in a while, so it made the run all the more…challenging!

Throughout the run, I continued to reevaluate this race.  “Just keep moving.  Just finish it.”  These were my new goals.  The enthusiastic volunteers and the boy scouts handing out water were a great help, even as some of their faces turned to looks of horror when they saw the blood stains on me!  As the finish line approached, I managed a last surge across the line, then was promptly “patched-up” by the race director with his first aid kit.  True to form, Chris and I were a mere 11 seconds apart (he got me this time!) on our total time!  Chris bagged 3^rd in his age group, and despite a day of reevaluation, I was able to finish 2^nd overall female.  I have to say, I learned a lot on this day, mostly about the power of determination and self-talk.  It actually works!  Here’s a breakdown of our results:

Polly:
Overall:  13th out of 215; 2nd overall female
Swim: 34:04; T1: 1:27; Bike: 2:54:23; T2: 1:05; Run: 1:42:14; Total time: 5:13:14

Chris:
Overall: 12th out of 215; 3rd in AG (M35-39)
Swim: 37:37; T1: 1:26; Bike: 2:43:59; T2: 1:16; Run: 1:48:47; Total time: 5:13:03