Boise 70.3

"Trevor, what is your address?" I signed my address (with my hands). "Trevor, are you starting to feel better?" I looked at Michael, the paramedic treating me in the ambulance and nodded yes. I was starting to feel better, basically, I was able to breath a little bit. The neubilizer treatment of Duoneb had helped. Moments earlier I hadn't been able to breath too well. And when I say well, I mean it was tough to talk. Flashback to 15 minutes earlier right after I crossed the finish line at Boise 70.3, around 40 minutes later than I had anticipated. I looked at my Dad and said, "I will never do that again!" We both knew I was talking about racing while sick, not racing half Ironman. Hell I love this stuff. Back to the sick part...I contracted another sinus infection Monday of this past week. My Doc put me on antibiotics on Tuesday. My final dose was race morning. For those of you that don't follow my blog or know me too well, I'm a chronic asthmatic. I'm on daily inhaled steroids, albuterol, nasal spray, and everything else I can get my hands on!! So every time I get sick, could be the common cold or as severe as a sinus infection, my airway becomes inflamed.

Enough about post race, let's talk about the race. Here is how it developed age group position listed in parenthesis:

Pre Race:
I woke up feeling pretty good. I had managed to sleep 10 hours. Which actually kind of worried me. I was thinking, is my body telling me it isn't over this sinus infection and needs more rest? Well, I knew the answer to that. I was still sick. Oh well. Boise is a 2pm start which is unique for our sport. I dropped my run bag off at T2 in downtown and then we (Meg and my parents) headed out to Lucky Peak Reservoir. FYI, if you are doing this race and drive out to the reservoir, be prepared for a 10-15 minute hike uphill from the parking area to the reservoir on dirt road that you will want to carry your bike up.

Swim: 27:54 (4th)
My goal in the swim was to relax and not push hard. I was under strict orders to take it out easy for the swim and first part of the bike to not stress my airway. Boise does wave starts so we had to sit on the sweltering ashpalt as we waited for the pro waves to start. Then women 50-59 and men 40-49 or vice versa, can't remember. All I remember is I was sweating like a pig in my wetsuit and couldn't wait to hit the 60 degree water. BTW, the water was colder than 60. Not by much, but it wasn't quite 60. Anyways, I warmed up for a few minutes and was ready to go. My friend Evan immediately took off. We used to swim together in high school and I knew he was in better swim shape than I was. To follow him would have been suicide as he split a 25!! Nice job Evan. I finished the swim feeling strong and in control of my race. I ran up, got my wet suit stripped, and hopped on my bike.

Bike: 2:49 (Top 20, doesn't list it yet on results)
I was running a disc for this race which proved to be a terrible idea. We had woken up to no wind so I went with my disc. By the time we started the race the wind was blowing hard. Right after leaving transition there is a pretty significant downhill portion before turning left and climbing. I was getting blown all over with my disc heading down that descent. It was rather frightening. I sat up and let two people go past me. We made the turn left and started to climb. I quickly passed those two people and was told by a spectator that I was the 8th amateur to come by at that point. I was feeling ok, but was starting to get concerned about this wind.

The next 15 miles were a mix of rolling hills with one decent climb and descent as we headed out to 10 mile creek for our turnaround. The wind was, honest to god, sustained at 25 to 30mph. It was nuts. It was a cross or head for almost the entire way to the turn around. I had to ride a fairly significant portion of the first half in my drops instead of the aero position just to control my bike. I was honestly concerned about flipping my bike. Apparently I wasn't crazy, my folks actually saw someone flip on his disc. It was freaking brutal out there. The real problem for me?? I went into this race thinking I was going to split a 2:25 on the bike. With all this extra stress just controlling my damn bike I was wasting energy and I was aggravating my airway. I couldn't keep my heart rate down because even the flats and descents I was struggling to keep my bike steady.

The turnaround came and I knew I was still in decent position. Problem was I had exhausted too much energy fighting the wind. I really struggled on the way home. After you make it back to the reservoir you ride on a jogging path for a little while to get onto camp creek road to head back to Boise. Once I turned onto camp creek road I was riding into a straight headwind. Again, sustained at probably 20mph. It was demoralizing. As I pedaled into town I could tell my airway was shot. I was really struggling. Not from an energy standpoint, but from an asthma and motivational standpoint. I knew I wasn't going to be able to race the run because of the state of my airway.

Run: 1:57:21 (18th)
The run was miserable. In all honesty, I spent a few minutes on the bike towards the end of the ride debating whether to continue. I knew it was going to be a death march. But then I thought, well, give it a try and if it is terrible and the airway won't allow me to run, then I will just drop out. The run is a two loop affair around the Boise river just a few blocks from Downtown Boise. It was a great run course. Spectators throughout which is always helpful!! On the first lap, the women's leader, Julie Dibens, came up next to me. She was on her second lap. I could tell she was really struggling. Shortly after catching up to me she started walking. I shouted some words of encouragement at her. Not sure if they made any difference, but she did go on to win :)

I was unable to run. I had to basically jog. I found if I elevated my heart rate above about 155, I couldn't sustain it from an asthma standpoint. I was starting to get concerned, but thought back to my half marathon in Eugene and realized if I just settled into a pace that wasn't too taxing, my airway would allow me to continue. Ultimately, this is what I did. I saw Meg and my parents at the half way mark and just gave them a sarcastic type smile and a shrug of the shoulders. The second lap was a little better. I started to sustain a pace of about 8:15 or so and pass some people. I made the final turn towards the finish chute and checked behind me. As I entered the long finish chute in downtown Boise there was nobody behind me. I looked up at the clock and realized I was about 40 minutes below my expectation of a sub 4:40.

Overall: 151st overall (out of 1400 or so) and 18th in my age group.
I will be the first to admit, I was rather disappointed with my race performance. I came here to make top 5 in my age group, not top 20. I was ready and fit enough to go sub 4:40 on Saturday, but I just couldn't do it with the asthma, sinus infection and outside elements (wind, etc). I will take away a lot from this race and live to fit another day! My main race this season is yet to come...Ironman Canada in August. My doc and I have a solid plan to try and avoid illness for this race. I want to thank all of those that continue to support me in this crazy sport, mostly my fiance and family. You guys are the best!! Below are some pictures from the race. Enjoy, and as always, thanks for reading,

-T

Dad and I before the start at Lucky Peak

Meg and I before the start

Heading down to the lake with my wave

Warming up

And we are off!

One of my favorite pros, Chris Lieto getting out of the water.

4th out of the water!!

Damn, that bike is hot!!

Lieto and Crowie heading out on the run. Lieto would pull out a few miles later with an abductor issue.

First lap, hurting at this point!

Man that sucked. We started 13 min late, so finish time was 5:21. Way off of goal.

Lasted long enough to take a picture with Evan, then off to the ambulance.