Eagleman 61.2

After many false starts to the season I was finally going to be toeing the starting line and realize my pro debut. What better place to do it then at Eagleman, a race that historically features some very talented members of the IM/HIM circuit for some fast racing around the smooth, flat roads of the eastern shore of Maryland.

I was traveling out to the race with fellow TGC member and former DC resident and Clydesdale superstar (tho he was racing AG here) Mike Guzek.

The trip and the story behind the trip begins on Thursday. Boulder awoke to temps in the 40’s and snows in the high country. Whenever there was some cloud breaks it looked as if the snowline was only at about 8500 feet. Hunh? Wha-? It’s June!!! A bit crazy and cool and weird all at the same time. A lack of prep on my part (Bro’s B-day and Mom in town added up to quite a bit of commitment) saw me packing late into the night. Friday morning came early and off to the bus stop I shot. Met Mike on the bus and saw Crowie on board as well as he was headed to Alcatraz for the weekend. Travel to DC was uneventful and quickly we were shooting thru Maryland on our way to the Eastern Shore and our awesome homestay with Pat and Jenny in Dorchester County. Mike and I got a run in late on Friday just to shake the legs out and I felt quite good but even with running at close to 9pm we came back as wet as if we had decided to go for a swim. Not unlike Colorado, the eastern seaboard has had a cooler spring, only to have mother nature decide to unleash the heat and humidity of summer in one fell swoop starting on Friday.

Saturday was chill with just hanging out at the house before heading into town (we finally got it right on the third try ;) and getting our ride in. OMG!!!! It was soooooooooooo HOT!!!!!!!!!!!! A minute into our ride I was sweating buckets and my jersey was strapped to me. We perused the course out a few miles and rode for about an hour. Arrived back, grabbed some lunch and just lounged at the Subway… ANYTHING with air conditioning PLEASE!!! Went to the pro meeting which really wasn’t that different from an AG meeting (I doubt I ever attended a pre race briefing as an amateur). There was a little bit of discussion with regards to which rule book we would be pulling from, be it WTC’s or USAT’s. It ended up being a blend of both plus Robert’s own call. Sitting with TJ and Bryan there was some discussion as to why_ there is not consistency between races with regards to the rules. Some races are this, others that, an interesting introduction to pro racing to say the least. So here was the summary… no race belts on the bike, no stagger rule, 10m draft box, 25 second passing rule, wetsuits allowed(damn). Left to rack the bikes… bailed on the swim (I just wanted OUT of the heat)… picked up some breaky supplies and then made the journey home. Every drive out to the homestay was very peaceful and scenic as the drive consisted of farms and quiet properties and tiny communities and forests. We got to see some of the best of the eastern shore. A pasta dinner and final pack up for the day ahead were all that were left before bed. At this point I began to worry about my incessant coughing, sneezing and drainage. This had been going since our arrival and I debated as to whether it was allergies or sickness. At times I felt so bad I was unsure of racing the next day. Not the best things to be floating through your head when on the eve of your pro debut. I ended up getting some Sudafed (the real powerful stuff) from Katie a fellow homestayer and girl friend of super-fish John Kenny. As we all hit the sack on Saturday we could see lightning off in the distance that seemed reminiscent of scenes from War of the Worlds (the newest one). The storms rolled over the house not much later and we were treated to the soft sound of the rain and the burst of lightning and rumbles of thunder. With our mild afternoon storms in CO we rarely get this. It’s kind of a treat as it reminds me of growing up in TX with massive late night storms.

Sunday pre-race was relaxing and also fun. Having 6 people in the house racing made for a lively breakfast routine and we finally got out the door and headed for the race site. Uh… can you say muggy? So much for those sweats that I packed. Got to transition and racked next to JZ and Rhodesy. Immediately Bryan informs me… “mate… yuer gonna be happy… they switched the rules last night… no wetsuits.” What? No way. I couldn’t believe it. Why? “what I tell ya about consistent rules?” Ha. No kidding. JZ confirmed and I heard later that the WTC changed the wetsuit rule the night before for the pros down to 72. Sweet… uh… but my Velocity .02 is back in the car (brought it just in case this sort of thing would happen). After securing my area (um… not really) I ran off for the car. A nice mile out and back. Grabbed the suit and sprinted back. If the Sudafed or caffeine or the nervousness of the situation hadn’t gotten me ready for the gun yet my 2 mile sprint just did the trick. Back at transition I simply threw all my stuff for the ride into my helmet and ran off for the swim start… I got there with about a minute to spare and was SOAKED in my own sweat. Getting the Velocity on was no simple task. I barreled into the water and made my way to the start line. There was no way that water temp should have been wetsuit legal… it was soooooo warm. Okay… so now we’re there… onto THE RACE!!!!

I chose to line up on the left side of the start line, away from the boys and hanging with the girls (possibly hoping that this would better my chances with women in general? Ha! :) We were given a 5 second countdown and off we shot. I didn’t want anyone holding my feet and given my good swimming as of late (can’t wait till that line stays the same but swimming gets replaced with running) I decided to start at a hotter pace. After about 100m I could tell that the ‘boys’ had there own pod off to my right and that I had one hanger on. I juked ~2 meters to the left and lost my drafter and continued to lay on the gas. What was immediately odd was that I was not experiencing that ‘invincible’ feeling that I normally get when I come down from altitude. I am used to laying off the gas for just a slight bit taking a big breath and feeling as though someone had just hit the reset button. I wasn’t getting this. The lead out jet ski was very easy to follow and made the navigation duties quite easy. After the first turn I could see that John was about 50m back and that the main back was even further off. I put my head down and settled in for the rest of the swim. Made my way up the boat ramp and stood up and started fumbling with my breakaway zipper… as I started running thru T1 it quickly became apparent that the breakaway zipper wasn’t going to be breaking away anytime soon and my only option was to… *gulp*… tear the suit off. I ripped the suit off ditched it… loaded up all my miscellaneous knick knacks and hoped on board my P3C rocket ship. I slipped into my shoes and shot out thru town (some tight turns in there) and finally out onto the country roads. I began to wonder how long it would be before I would see the rest of top cyclists. Before the race I gathered that depending on my swim that it would be around mile 10 to 15. I tried to settle into my “perceived” desired wattage only to find that it was a bit too difficult and backed off and decided to roll on perceived exertion and then glance down to see what the watts suggested… this came out to about 20 watts below what I expected and I can only attribute it to the excessive heat and humidity… so much for the drop down effect. The bike course is very scenic and I was enjoying the views as I rolled along thru the small communities of the county. The race gets its name from the Blackwater refuge where Bald Eagles reside. We pass thru this around mile 35 on the bike. It was around this time that I started occasionally looking back to try to see where everyone was. I really felt like I had no business still being out front given the talent that was in the field (note to self… on hotter days… GO EASIER!!!) I was picking up a bottle at each of the 5 aid stations and downing them all. I was also popping my Succeed S!Caps throughout. The course has so many turns and a little twists that the furthest you can see either forward or back is not much more than a ¼ to ½ a mile. The course was open to traffic but only on the most rare occasion was I passed by a vehicle. I was also seeking out as much smooth surface as I could find to let my already zero friction wheelbuilder wheels go even faster. Let’s just say I spent a lot of time riding the white line on Sunday. Seven miles from town you link back up with folks still leaving town. There weren’t many people still on their way out so traffic was low. As I was approaching a major “T” intersection with about 4 miles to go I saw the lead car pull to the right and take off… I also noticed that the cop whose-job-it-was-to-be-directing-traffic was on his cell phone aimlessly looking off into the distance (where no road lead). I also could not see to the left at all due to a thick stand of trees and a property. Just as I came flying into the intersection and taking my right turn a blue F-350 with trailer roared thru with me. Luckily he saw me and slammed on his brakes. I did likewise and felt my rear tire lock up and skip a bit. I missed the front nose of the truck by about 1 foot and immediately started screaming at the still very absent minded cop whose back was still turned away and who was still on his cell phone. I shall not repeat what I said to him here… though I did end my sentence with “please”. :) You’d think that the lead vehicle with siren blaring that had preceded me through this same intersection by only 10 seconds would have given him notice. Grrrrrr. The remainder of the bike was chill. I had emptied my lot of S!Caps, Powergel and water so that was it. Time for the run… and man was I already hot.

Coming into T2 I couldn’t see the dismount line so nearly overshot it. Hopped off just in time, racked my rocket ship, slipped into my shoes, grabbed salt, gps and powergel and took off. Immediately I could feel the heat but set my tempo trainer at .32 and let ‘er rip. Only a mile in and Paul caught me. In another ¾ of a mile Chris caught me. By mile 3 Richie had me and by mile 3.5 I was walking. I even took my hat off to try and fan myself. Rhodesy went by and I cheered him on. That punk doesn’t even have problems in Malaysia! I got to the aid station at mile 4 and just sat down. Got ice bags on me and tried to drink. I wasn’t even sweating at this point. As soon as I had plopped into the chair all I wanted to do was take a nap. The EMTs on site said that they would not let me sleep as sleep so soon after an exhaustive, hot event was a sign of worse things to come. Chilled out there (literally) before catching a ride back to the start/finish(?) area.

Hung out with the other competitors and had fun chatting. My headache was still raging and despite the consumption of 8 cans of pepsi and several bottles of water a port-a-let stop was still far from being needed. Mike and I agreed that packing the bikes now was not what we really wanted so we simply crammed the car full of everything and our nasty selves shot off for DC. Even in the city it was smoking. 97 and humid. Although compared to the coast DC felt like a desert. A nice dinner with some friends and then an early retire. Flight home on Monday went a little awry, but damn it felt good to be back home. Cooler temps and dry rocky mountain air. :)

This definitely was not the result that I was hoping for. But to be honest with myself I should have noted a few things. I rode too hard for the conditions. It was very hot and very humid, both of which I have yet to experience this year as we’ve had a cold spring. I was sweating buckets on the bike. Something I don’t even do in Kona (only in Texas). I should have held up and waited for the group. Even at 10m there is some small draft to be had. Not running consistently for 2.5 months is not recommended. :) And thus begins the learning process. First race down… many to come. I have some serious work to do.