Pre-Race Day
Up early on Saturday morning and made my way downtown to the river. I checked out the people milling around and they said that the river was not 'open' yet. I was not sure what that meant but a few minutes later a gentleman was calling out that the river had become open. So I meandered back to my car, put on my BlueSeventy wet suit and walked down to the dock. The dock is a floating dock that is brought in for the race. I put my ear plugs in, gross Savannah River water gave me an ear infection last year, and eased my way in. The water was cold but the wet suit helped. I went out about 0.2 miles and turned around to go back in. Most of the swimmers seemed to be going the distance. I did not want to make it the 1.2 miles point to point only to have to walk back, sans shoes, to my car. Fighting the current back to the dock was not enjoyable but I also noted that the current was not as strong as I had remembered.
Out of the water, stripped the wet suit and headed out for a quick run. I wanted to check out the streets we would be running on in the morning and also stretch out the legs from the long car ride that previous evening. Lots of runners out there made me feel inadequate. You know me, Ms. Low Confidence so when I see someone whizzing by me all I can think of is "oh, I am SO out of my league" but everyone I talked to was very supportive and encouraging.
My cycling partner arrived at 1pm and we headed right out for the Marriott Convention Center where the expo was being held. We parked on the side streets which allowed for free 2 hour parking. Try and stay away from the deck near the Convention Center because they charge for parking. The expo was really well organized. We had our ID checked and right into the Athlete Check-in. Went up to the relay table, which was all the way in the back corner...frustrating because we felt like the red headed step child. They put our wrists bands on us, went through the emergency contact packet with us, we signed the waiver, got our bibs and bathing caps, and went into the IronMan store. I LOVE that place. Always check out the sale section. I got an IM water bottle, a Finisher T-Shirt, and a wicked lanyard for $13. Other parts of the expo included the regular stuff like the masseurs, clothing, nutrition, equipment, and expert advice. I would recommend going to the expo later on a Saturday because all the crowds had dissipated by then. We then headed back to the hotel, the Hampton Inn on Gordon St for a nap before dinner.
When deciding what to do for dinner, stay away from downtown Augusta. Everything is jammed packed with Athletes and you'll be waiting forEVER trying to get a table. We already knew this so we found a little place called Villa Europa that was lovely. It specialized in German and Italian food but there is some American fare on there as well. It was not crowded, the servers were amazing, and there was no wait. It was less than 5 miles from the hotel so that was lovely too. Then back to the Hampton Inn for an early night.
Race Day
Alarm off at 5am. The Hampton Inn offers a free breakfast so we headed down there for eggs, sausage, waffles, juice, coffee, home fries, fruit, and pastries. I know a lot of athletes prefer to stay closer to the swim start, but the Hampton Inn is about 6 miles from the swim start and a GREAT place to stay. Anyway, out the door by 6:15am to make the way to the Convention Center. Leave lots of time to get down there because the roads start closing around 6am and it can be difficult to navigate around all the road blocks. Convention Center parking was $7 but boarded the athlete bus right at 7am and headed transition to set up our area and to get body marked.
The relay group is all the way to the right of the picture above. Sometimes, depending on how many athletes are there, we are around the corner of that grey building, but this year we were just at the end of the regular athletes. We got body marked (3339 on each arm, age on the leg - but I substituted the relay designation "R" on my leg for a happy face), set up our area and I boarded the bus for the swim start. There are shuttles that run to the swim start from transition but they cut off around 7:15am. I flagged down a bus and asked nicely if they could take me, thankfully they said yes.
I was at the swim start by 7:45am. I missed the first wave, the anthem and the flag but made it in time for the second wave. People sat on the grass watching the waves launch, listening the announcer hype up the crowd, crack jokes, and play music. It was a lot of fun waiting at the swim start for my wave. Wave 27, the relay wave, was to launch at 9:10am, the last wave of the day. I learned that there were not any professionals racing this event. For the largest IM in North America I was surprised to learn this. The relayers lined up at about 9am and worked our way to the front, on to the dock by 9:05am. In the water by 9:08am. We were not allowed to tread water, we had to sit on the dock or hold on to the dock in some fashion. At exactly 9:10am the horn sounded and we were off.
The swim takes you down 1.2 miles, with the current, along the water's edge. On your left are the bouys, kayakers, and canoers helping you stay straight. Before I knew it I was passed the second bridge and the bouys were starting to turn from yellow to orange. However, it was about here that the fatigued set in. I got stuck in my head and couldn't break out of it. The sea grass was bad that day and kept getting caught in my hands. I tried to stay as far left as possible because that is where the current is the fastest. I had to breast stroke too many times for my liking but I attribute that to mental fatigue, not physical fatigue. I knew I could have done this swim better. I caught up to the wave ahead of me, and even the wave ahead of that (as we were bright pink caps and I saw some yellows and reds that I passed). Finally the buoys started to change to red and I knew the end was in sight. I swam for as long as I could (because running through water is slower than swimming through it) got up, had a nice man help unzip my wet suit and started to navigate the boat ramp. It is a steep ramp that we get up and then circumnavigate the transition area before entering it. I passed the wet suit strippers as we rounded the transition area but waved them off. My foot hit the timing mat and I felt relief. I was finished my swim. I found my partner, transferred the timing chip to her and she was off on the 56 mile bike.
Swim - 30:10. Ranked 24/64 in division Overall rank 1206/2645 athletes.
I didn't do the bike portion of the race so I can only go over what my partner said. She ran with the bike and ran through transition to the 'mount area'. She strapped in and started the 56 miles. She said that the first part and the last part were flat, the rest of the tour through N. Georgia and S. Carolina was hilly. She certainly felt those elevation gains. She did say that the traffic was well away from the riders, the course was clearly marked. She said that the course has 3 aid stations. However, one aid station is on a hill which makes for transfers difficult. Overall the course was an enjoyable mix of highway roads and off country roads.
Bike - 3:52:38. Ranked 48/64 in division Overall rank 2367/2645 athletes
My partner came in and racked her bike, transferred the chip on to me and said "go kill this run". I exited the same way I had come in to transition from the swim and out on to the roads. The run is 13.1 miles around downtown Augusta. It feels flat even though it lists a 180+ elevation gain. I felt the first mile really fly by, but then I felt the fatigue. I am an early morning runner, I think I needed to do more afternoon training to get my body used to that time of day. Miles 2 - 4 were really tough for me. Both mentally and physically. However, around mile 4 I hooked up with another relayer that was running my pace. So we ran together for a long while. We would talk to other runners, share stories, laugh and I started to enjoy my race again. I was not happy with my pace as I know I can do much faster but at least I was having fun again. Mile 6 came and went and we saw the signs that said to go left for the 2nd loop or right for the finish. I had never done a 2 loop course before but it was nice to start that second loop and see mile 1 pass by me and know I was well beyond that. Lots of spectators cheered us through the streets, called out our team names, and some ran with us for a bit to encourage us along. At mile 11 my running partner dropped off and I kept going. I saw my teammate at mile 12 and she pushed me along to the finish. It felt SO good to come down that chute and hear my team name called knowing I pushed us across the finish line. As I passed my partner down the chute I could only tell her "we aren't last" which was our goal.
Run - 2:57:12. Ranked 54/64 in division. Overall rank 2328/2645
I stayed in the chute for a minute and got our hats and our medals. I walked around, the athlete area where the food tents were and found the morning clothes bag. It is not easy to find for newbies, it is behind a big wall that is not well marked. I said 'goodbye' to my teammate as she was leaving for Atlanta but I was staying the night in Augusta. The last thing I wanted to do was to drive home for 3 hours after a half marathon/1.2 mile swim. Staying the night was the best decision I made. Overall a great day.
Tips for the Augusta Half Ironman
- Try and stay a out of downtown as much as possible. This goes for eating and staying. Everything is packed with athletes downtown.
- Find a hotel that offers AM breakfast. It is SO helpful to know you don't have to worry about that the morning of the race.
- Don't miss the athlete bus to transition, it is a LONG walk.
- The river is cold, wear a wet suit. Although doable without one, easier and more pleasurable with one.
- Train for hills on the bike. Silk Sheets in the Atlanta area I hear is perfect.
- False flats on the run, it looks flat but as you can see by the run profile there are some hills.
- Abide by the rules, a relayer was penalized for having a mirror on his bike during the ride.
- Talk to people - at the swim start, on the run, in transition. It makes the day so much more fun.
- Hit the expo later in the afternoon on Saturday, all the crowds will be gone by then.
- Stay the night after the race. It is much more exhausting than I anticipated.
- Enjoy the day, you are doing something amazing. Be proud, be thankful, be brave.
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