I woke up feeling relatively good compared to Karel. He felt horrible. He barely slept and felt nauseous, sleep deprived and exhausted. He still made himself eat his pre-race meal but he just felt off.
To be honest, the swimming, biking and running was the fun part of this event. The packing, unpacking and planning ahead was the tough part. When the race started each stage, it felt so good to just move my body and do what I love to do. The packing/unpacking/prepping bottles/nutrition sometimes felt more exhausting in the evening after the event and in the early morning hours before the next days event.
With a little longer of a drive from the hotel to the race venue, we left the hotel around 6:30am and arrived to the Carney Island recreational area in Ocala (the same place where we ran/finished on stage 1) to set up our transition area around 7am. It only took a few minutes to set up our transition area and hand over our run gear bag to the staff before we made our way down to the swim start.
We started on the sandy shore and made our way into the water when the air horn was blown at exactly 7:30am. This time, Karel swam just a little ahead of me but he didn't have his typical take-out speed. I knew it would take me some time to get warmed up and with another long day ahead of us, I expected more lows throughout the swim. With two big loops (each 1 mile with a run out of the water before starting loop 2), it took me about 1/2 mile to start feeling like I could bring up the effort a bit. However, I really only had one gear during the swim today. More so, the water was extremely choppy - it felt like the ocean! So on top of being super tired, there was the added difficulty of having to navigate in very tough conditions. Once I made my way past Karel, I used the kayak support by me to help keep me on course. The course was well marked with buoys as well. The water was around 72 degrees but it felt warm as the swim progressed.
The swim felt really long (especially after 10 loops of swimming for stage 1) but it was nice to settle into a rhythm on the second loop. I started to swim away from Karel but he was never too far behind me. I exited the water in 56 minutes and 19 seconds. Karel finished around a minute behind me in 57:17. But it wasn't too long before Karel entered the transition area (apparently I was taking my time).
My transition time was 4 minutes and Karel's was 2:50. However, we both left the transition area pretty close to one another (Karel right before me). I wasn't sure how my body would do over the next 73 miles so I kept an open mind and reminded myself of all the training sessions that I have completed with a tired body and mind.
As we left the transition area, the temperature was perfect around 70 degress. There was a little fog in the air but nothing dangerous for riding. The roads were well marked (I can't say it enough - this Xtreme tri staff was incredible with all their hard work and attention to detail!) and the start of the bike was a bit easier to manage as we didn't have to ride through a town like we did on stage one. I didn't hit my first stop light (red light) until around 43 minutes in (of course, Karel got it when it was green so that was the last I saw from him). It was fun riding through small towns and enjoying the country roads when they came.
I kept with my typical hydrating strategy on the bike but I started taking in solid food (ex. sport bars) a bit earlier - like in the first 45 minutes. I knew that my body and brain needed the extra energy. The bike portion of stage 2 was pretty much entirely north so we expected some headwind and we got it. This stage had much more real road riding (instead of trails) but the roads were pretty quiet as it was a Saturday. Although we knocked off almost 30 miles of riding from stage 1, 73 miles was still a long way to go with a tired body and mind. We planned our refill/refuel stop with Al at mile 50. He texted me when he arrived and I would give him quick updates when I was less than an hour away. I was really looking forward to this stop because we spent a lot of time riding on the same road - in the wind - and my mind needed a break. Oddly, I was actually feeling better on the bike than I did on stage 1 - stage 1 just felt really off for me as I had all types of niggles in my hips/back. On the flip side, Karel did not feel good on the bike and his quads and back and hips were really bothering him. Not to mention that he was super duper tired. The nausea went away once he started moving in the swim.
After 23 miles of riding on Hwy 301 (never did I think I would ride on that stretch of road!), I was so relieved to finally see Al. My energy level felt pretty good but I got a little extra pick me up seeing Karel there with Al. We both used the public restroom at this park sag stop. The volunteer lady was super supportive and kind. Karel and I both rubbed a few packets of AMP on our legs and wow, did it work! We felt like new people after that stop (but the stop also helped!). Al was once again great - he stocked the cooler with our prepared bottles and ice, had coke for a quick pick me up and had other snacks if needed anything (sport nutrition). He was super prepared as we learned from stage 1.
I also prepared a first aid kit with extra items like Tums and hand sanitizer.
Side note: no ibuprofen was used before, during or after this event. To be honest, the last time I took a NSAID was in early March. We are highly against using NSAIDs and only use them in emergency situations and never to mask pain for training/racing.
As for the execution of day 2 on the bike, it was all about management. Managing the mind, managing the body and staying in the moment. We gave the best effort that we could within each mile. I also made sure to focus on doing things well - staying as aero as possible in the wind, keeping good pedaling mechanics to get the most out of every pedal stroke and staying up on nutrition.
Although the last 23 miles felt a bit long, it was nice knowing that I only had a little over an hour left of riding for day 2. The last few miles into Keystone park were on a paved trail. I was most looking forward to the run on stage 2 because our lodging for the night was in the same location as the stage 2 race finish - what a relief to not have to drive anywhere.
Once I rolled into the transition area, it was nice to see the Xtreme tri staff and hear their positive words of encouragement. It was also great to see Al. I finished the bike in 3:43 (actual riding time was 3:34) and Karel finished the bike in 3:38.49 (actual riding time was 3:31.58). Seeing that Karel and I were only within around 5 minutes of each other, I was really looking forward to seeing Karel somewhere on the 3 loop run course. My transition was 4:48 and Karel's transition was 4:32. Karel actually had a little longer transition because he gave his running watch to Al after the swim because it didn't fully charge overnight. Al forgot to give it to him so Al had to run back to the car to get it and Karel had no problem waiting in the transition area until he got back. For each stage, I changed out of my cycling jersey and into a run top (just to be more comfortable with a fresh kit).
18.6 mile run
The run course was 3 loops. Technically it was an out and back course but because of permitting issues on the trail, they had to shorten a section on the trail and include a little bit of running inside Camp Keystone. I really enjoyed the scenery around the camp and welcomed the "bumps" of incline within the camp grounds. The 4 miles of running on the flat trail (out and back 2 miles) is not my style of running so it took a lot of mental strength to stay focused during all three loops. I much prefer rolling hills, twists and turns when I run. I am not a rhythmic type of running (unlike Karel who likes to settle into a rhythm). Al told me that Karel was feeling really good to start the run which made me super happy. I also felt ok (much better than on stage one). Learning from stage 1, I started my walk breaks early and kept them consistent. After leaving the camp grounds and making my way a mile down the road (gentle hill), I got myself confused because I didn't see any arrows telling me to get on the trail. I knew we were to run on the trail but I just psyched myself out and confused myself so I ran back to the last set of arrows just to make sure. Of course, during this time I realized I was going the right way and accidentally added another mile to my run from this mistake. But I didn't let it get to me. I just moved on and tried to convince myself that my legs didn't even feel it.
Al set the cooler for us to refill our flasks near the finish line which was nearing the end of each loop before the run around the camp grounds (the 1-mile "hilly" section that I loved). The race staff was great with their cheers and it was awesome to see more athletes out on the run course. The out and back on the trail was nice because you got to see other athletes and give them a cheer. Everyone was so supportive. It was getting a little hot on the run course so it was nice that Al had ice for us in the cooler.
The 2nd loop was mentally the most difficult because I was getting tired but I just stayed focused on one mile at a time. At this point, my feet were starting to get really tired and my entire body was just tired. My legs were sore but it all felt familiar to me (like in an Ironman). I kept going back to my past 16 Ironman races and how I was able to survive the pain in the legs and keep getting one foot in front of the other. I reminded myself that I was healthy and that I trained for this hurt.
Karel finished just as I was finishing my 2nd loop so I once again got to see/hear him finish which was awesome. This also timed out perfectly so that Al could run a little with me for the 3rd loop. My mind was focused on getting to the turn around of the 3rd loop as I felt like that was my "finish" and everything else would be easy as I would be making my way to the finish line. Of course, the last 3.5 miles were not easy but I kept myself going with positive self talk, mantras and gratitude for my body. I tried to focus on running as easy as I could and continued with my run/walk strategy - making sure I didn't take advantage of the walk breaks and stayed strict with them to keep myself going.
I finished the 18.6 mile run (well 19.6 miles due to my mistake) in 2:59.04 (9:04 min/mile). Even with my walk breaks I was able to run nearly every mile around 8:45 pace - on very very tired legs.
Karel finished the run 2:14.50 (7:15 min/mile).
After driving one minute to our "hotel room" at the camp site, Karel and I unpacked and prepared our stuff for the next stage. We refueled with a recovery drink, snacked and then enjoyed a vegetable pizza (Al picked it up for us at a local place around 10 miles away). Thank you Al! Not having a fridge or microwave was a little tough for us but we managed. We tried to eat as much as we could but it was getting a bit difficult with us being so tired and exhausted. Karel kept a yogurt recovery smoothie drink (store bought from Publix) at his bedside for when he woke up in the middle of the night. Al went out to cheer for everyone and I did a little light mobility and foam rolling. Karel used the normatec boots and around 7:30pm, we were turning off the lights to try to go to bed. With our bodies aching and being super fatigued from just over 16.5 hours of racing for me and just under 15 hours for Karel in 48 hours (and over , we stayed grateful for this opportunity and went to bed looking forward to the "shortest" and last stage of our epic xtreme triathlon.
