That Hurt a Little

I survived the Kansas Half Ironman, but it was not what I had hoped. Going into the race, I felt very prepared. At first, I was nervous about taking several days off after my fall on Pikes Peak, but then realized I had been almost over training and could use the rest. I thought with a time of 4:42 last year, that this year I would have a much better race since I had been actually training for it. My hopes of breaking 4:20 failed miserably. The swim went great in the new Exterra Wetsuit; the Vendetta is a fantastic wetsuit. Getting onto the bike, I felt fine until mile 35ish when the nausea crept in. During the rest of the bike ride, I felt exhausted and like I was on the verge of throwing up. As I started the run, I thought things were turning around. I averaged 6 minutes flat for 7 miles; then, I began dry heaving about 4 times per mile. Anytime I tried to drink water or Gatorade I would throw it up about 100m down the course. From then on, I fell to over 9 minute miles and sucked on ice chips between dry heaves and poured water on me to try and keep cool. When the finish line finally approached, I was limping because of my knee and barely staying up with the cramps and dry heaves. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I collapsed in pain and was carried off. The Navy Medical officers who were working the med tent were concerned that I was shivering so much that it was the start of a heat stroke. They immediately hooked me up to an IV and tried to warm me up. After the first IV drained into my arm, I became warm and they then had to try and keep me cool. After over two hours in the med tent, I finally started feeling good again. The drive home was far from fun, but I made it home and had never been so happy.
Two races down- the first one involved mechanical error, the second one was my error. I am not fond of making excuses for bad races, so I will put it plain and simple. I had a bad day; I truly hope my season turns around at my next race in Loveland. Thanks for all the support.