I failed to mention that going into the race, there was a chance that the event was going to be cancelled (or modified) due to hurricane Eta. Thankfully, the hurricane changed direction but it did leave Crystal River, FL (stage 1) with a bit of debris on the road (and trails). The weather could not have been more perfect during our event (no rain and in the upper 60's-upper 70's for stage 1 and 2). The only issue was that the hurricane brought some wind that stayed with us for all three days - regardless of our riding direction, it was windy.
Although we slept better (still restless), our appetite for food was pretty low. But not eating was not an option. We laughed that it took us almost 90 minutes to finish our pre-race meal (oatmeal and toppings for Karel - hot water from the skillet and a bagel w/ nut butter, yogurt and toppings for me). This is all too common that extreme exercise can negatively impact the appetite so we prioritized energy dense food before/after each stage.
After preparing our bottles and packing our gear bags, Karel and I rode down to the swim start (a minute down the road) - the spin was actually rather nice to move some blood. Al drove the car down to the swim start shortly after he finished packing up the car.
We set up our transition area pretty quickly as it felt a bit like groundhog day. You could feel the energy that everyone was excited that this was the last stage of the event but also a bit sad because it was the last day that we would all get to do what we love to do with our body - swim, bike and run and test our physical and mental limits. At this point, the race staff knew us all and the overall vibe was much more relaxed.
After the national anthem (which we all sang because the loud speaker wasn't working - it was actually a beautiful experience), we made our way to the water for the pre-race athlete briefing and then the swim start.
Karel and I were joking before the start that this stage was the shortest stage and we were brushing it off like NBD (no big deal). But then we thought about it that we were still racing for 82 miles today (2 mile swim, 67 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). Karel's cumulative racing time after 2 days (and covering 216 miles) was 14:49 and mine was 16:11. And now we were about to cover over a half ironman distance. It's funny how perspectives can change. It was also a mindset boost knowing that this was the final day of racing so we didn't have to save anything for the next day. Although, there wasn't much left in us to leave it all out on the course.
2 mile swim
Just before 7:30am, we jumped off a dock and into the dark, murky water of the camp Keystone lake. I was expecting the water to be a bit icky from the looks of it but it actually felt rather fresh. Exactly at 7:30am, the horn blew and we were off to complete our last swim of the Xtreme triathlon. Karel was really tired and he did not go out hard like he did in the past two races. I liked the 3 loop, counter clockwise, triangle-like course as it didn't feel long but it was long enough to settle into a rhythm. The sun was a little bright in the first section but other than that, it was easy to stay on course. I started to inch my way ahead of Karel during the first loop and that lead started to grow in loop 2. I didn't have my normal build effort but instead, I just stayed steady with each loop. My "strong" effort for the day didn't feel too strong so I just focused on my technique - making sure I was catching the water, driving my hips forward and staying taut.
After finishing up loop 3, I made my way toward the dock and exited the water on a ladder. The ramp to the shore was rather uncomfortable on my feet and with the sandspurs on the grass, they allowed us to leave our shoes or sandals by the shore so that we could put them on before we made our way to the transition area. I slipped into my HOKA sandals and made my way to the transition area. And sure enough, here comes Karel sprinting past me.
I thought that I had a bigger lead but Karel started to feel stronger as the swim went on and he inched himself closer to me. I figured there was no point digging deep in the swim as I needed to conserve all the energy I had left for the upcoming bike and run.
We ended up in the transition together. Karel swam 54:33 and I swam 54:20. We exited the transition pretty much at the same time (Karel just ahead of me) and then we rode out of the camp site.
67 mile bike
The first few miles into the first hour was kinda a hot mess for us. We got ourselves a little lost/confused in the first mile, then we weren't sure if we needed to stay on the trail or go on the main road. Our garmin map was giving us different directions than what we read in the guidebook map. Plus, with this stage, there was a trail option and road option so it was a bit confusing for our computer. Karel was feeling completely empty inside and his quads were really sore. He could barely pedal. Since we were somewhat close together as we were trying to figure out where to go, I rode ahead of Karel and he stayed draft legal behind me.
I forced myself to eat early in the ride even though I didn't want to chew or stomach any solid food. Drinking was easy as it was already over 80 degrees and sunny when we started the bike.
Once we made our way to main road (a nice race volunteer told us that we were on the right part of the course - mental fatigue sure does make you doubt yourself!), Karel started to get his legs back and rode away from me. I felt like I didn't have it in me to push any harder so I just focused on my own effort.
Technically, this bike was not a lot shorter than stage 2 bike so it still felt a bit long. Plus, we had long segments of road (like 10+ miles at a time without a turn in sight) as we made our way from the middle of the state to the Atlantic ocean in Palm Coast, Fl. It was also really windy, often with the wind at our face. For this bike, I just focused on keeping myself relaxed as I was sore in my upper body. It would have been easy to just sit up and stretch out all the time but that would have costed more energy (and time) as the wind was in my face. This bike ride was all about doing things well and staying focused with my body posture and pedal stroke.
I met Al at our 41 mile sag stop and he told me that Karel was only about ten minutes ahead of me. I thought I had been riding really slow (I felt like I was on the struggle bus) but hearing that I wasn't that far away from Karel was a good motivation boost. I spent around 6 minutes at the sag stop as I wanted to reapply sun screen as it was getting really hot out. I also cooled myself with some water reapplied AMP cream for a little boost in the legs. After I left Al, I "only" had about 25 miles left to go.
The bike portion on stage 3 was a little more exciting as we were making our way to the Atlantic ocean. We used to live not too far from Palm Coast (in Jacksonville, FL) so it was cool to ride on some familiar roads that we used to drive on. I continued to enjoy the scenery and to express gratitude to my body for allowing me to do this incredible adventure without sickness, health issues or injury. There was one relay team from Gainesville that was a huge energy boost every time I saw them. They would give me the biggest cheer from their car or when they stopped to change relay positions on the bike.
I had to spend over 2 minutes at one big intersection because the light never changed for me (twice) but after I got rolling again.
The 14 miles after leaving Al were tough - physically and mentally. It was a long straight segment of road and it was really windy. Staying aero and staying focused on my pedal stroke was mentally challenging but I just focused on one mile at a time. As I started to smell the salt water and feel the sea breeze, I was excited to make the left turn onto A1A as I was welcoming a nice fast tailwind.
Nope.
Wind again.
The next 7 miles were long but I just focused on clicking away one mile at a time. I had no idea how my body would allow me to run for a half marathon so I tried to enjoy my time on the bike (even though I was ready to not ride my bike anymore).
When I arrived to the transition area, I was so relieved to make it there safely and to hear that Karel was only less than ten minutes ahead of me. I finished the bike in 3:31 (3:20 riding time) and Karel finished in 3:20 (3:13 riding time).
13.1 mile run
I was in no hurry to exit the transition area. With the finish line being in a different location than the bike to run transition, I was a little sad not to have Al there but I was looking forward to seeing him at our cooler stop around mile 6-7. I took my time in the transition area - changing my top, applying sunscreen and putting on my run gear. I made the mistake of moving off the sand and onto the grass - not realizing that I stepped into a pile of sand spurs (ouch!). So I had to spend a few minutes picking out each sand spur from my sock. Also, since Al wasn't there, I decided to run with my phone in my naked belt as I didn't want to leave it in the transition bag (sitting out in the hot sun). Karel did the same.
When I started the run, I felt like my feet could barely get off the ground. I was sore all over and my body was really tired. But I just focused on one mile at a time (stay in the mile you are in) and I tried to imagine myself on different sections of road back at home (some of the places where I enjoy running). It was very warm out so I was happy that I decided to put my cooling towel in my transition bag (it was wet and in the container it came in so it stayed wet). Karel also wore his cooling towel. As we did in every stage, we also had our Naked running band with 2 flasks each filled with sport nutrition.
The first few miles were lonely as I made my way south. I kept with my run walk strategy of running a mile and then taking a 20-30 sec walk break. This actually helped me loosen some fatigue and after a few miles I started to find my rhythm. I was actually shocked that I was holding around 8:20-8:35 min/miles for most of the run - albeit I needed the walk breaks to help me out but they were well worth it as I was able to get back into good run form pretty quickly after each walk break. Of course, the walk breaks felt so good so it was a mental battle to make sure those walk breaks during go too long.
Karel felt pretty good on the run but he said that his quads were really sore and tired. We both focused on trying to make running feel as "easy" as possible. Controlling our form was key in helping us keep one foot in front of the other.
Around mile 4.5, I started the "off road" trail section and I loved running on the boardwalk bridges and under the tall trees. I wanted that section to last longer but it was only 2 miles so I really took advantage of it as I felt really good on the trails. It even started to sprinkle a little bit which was so nice!
After exiting the forest/trail, Al was there with the cooler and I was so happy to see him. He actually ran with me for about a mile which was so needed. I finally saw Karel and he looked so good and I gave him a big smile. The next 6 miles were really tough. It was windy and the miles felt really long. I told myself that my "finish line" was at the turn around 8.4 miles. Once I got there, I checked it off and then had my next "finish line" at mile 10.5. I was so happy to finally get to the cooler and to see Al there waiting for me. He told me that our friend/athlete/assistant coach Joe was going to meet Karel at the finish line (Joe lives in Jacksonville and came to watch us finish and to drive Al back to his car at Joe's house where he left it).
First off, climbing the sand dune to get to the beach forced me to a walk as I could barely get my feet through the sand. And then once we got to the ocean (which was beautiful and gave me a huge sigh of relief that I was so close to finishing this extreme event), the sand was so soft that I couldn't even run. With almost a mile left, I couldn't tell if I should laugh or cry.
Al was made sure to keep me in a good mood so he was having fun zig zagging up and down the sand to find a packed place to run. He even told me "look - those are Karel's Nike shoes - run there!" I laughed and told Al I would rather just follow the paw prints in the sand.
Crossing the finish line as 2nd overall (around 40 minutes behind Karel) was just the icing on the cake. This race was all about you vs. you. Mind, body and soul. I walked to the finish line just to savor the last few steps and lifted the finisher tape above me with great relief.
Within a few minutes after taking pictures and wobbling my way to Joe's truck, I enjoyed a few slices of pizza that Joe brought and we all chatted about this epic adventure. Karel and I were so happy that we completed the event in good health (and without any major niggles or issues). With this gratitude came joy that we didn't have to do anything on Monday!
I finished the 13.1 mile run in 2:03.02 and Karel finished the run in 1:35.
Total time for stage 3 was 6:38 for me and 5:58 for Karel.
Total for all three stages (292 miles = 6 miles swimming, 242 miles biking, 50 miles running):
Karel: 20 hours and 47 minutes.
Marni: 23 hours and 16 minutes.
Swimming average pace per 100:
Stage 1 (Marni/Karel): 1:24/1:17 (Karel's garmin thought he swam 3900 yards but we finished around the same time)
Stage 2 (Marni/Karel): 1:33/1:34
Stage 3 (Marni/Karel): 1:27/1:29
Biking average speed:
Stage 1 (Marni/Karel): 20.6 mph/21.9 mph
Stage 2 (Marni/Karel): 20.4 mph/20.6 mph
Stage 3 (Marni/Karel): 20.1 mph/20.7 mph
Running average pace min/mile
Stage 1 (Marni/Karel): 8:50 (8:21 removing walk/stop breaks*)/6:56 min/mile
Stage 2 (Marni/Karel): 9:01 (8:28 removing walk/stop breaks)/7:07 min/mile
Stage 3 (Marni/Karel): 9:21 (8:47 removing walk/stop breaks)/7:18 min/mile
*I wanted to show how my walk breaks help me run steady and that they don't cause massive slowdowns in my running. It's a strategy that I firmly believe in to help with consistent running.
After the race we drove to T2 to get our bikes and then made our way to our Airbnb a few miles down the road for a well-needed shower, real food and lots of salty snacks.
