This is a race report for the 2012 Eppie’s Great Race. I also have a logistics report. Warning, this is pretty long winded. Full gallery here
Started the run a little fast. I managed to slow down some, but still a little faster than I wanted. I slowed down a little each mile until I was at my planned 10:00 pace. I drank water at two of the stops - generally not something I would do in a 10k, but it was already in the mid-70’s heading towards a 100+ day, and it was going to be a long race.
Running segment (346/715)
| Mile | Pace |
|---|---|
| 1 | 8:52 |
| 2 | 9:05 |
| 3 | 9:21 |
| 4 | 10:01 |
| 5 | 9:53 |
| 6 | 11:35 (includes transition) |
Arrived at the bikes, and probably managed to do the slowest transition possible as I changed shoes, put my running shoes in my fanny pack, and took a leisurely drink. Headed out to the bike path path and started off.
Ouch! Intentionally went slow the first half mile, then decided to speed up a bit. People were passing me, but I managed to pass a few as well. It was much less crowded then I expected and the bike path was great. Things were going fine until… cramp. Cramp in my right calf. I could barely pedal. I think I passed 2 or 3 people after this point, where as probably 25-50 people must have passed me. I eventually got the cramp in my right leg under control, just in time for my left calf to cramp up. Tried all sorts things, but eventually settled on a low gear and regular pedal cadence. Even a moderately high gear and I’d cramp up again. Anyway, made it to the end of my bike run, and handed off my bike to a volunteer. Changed back to my running shoes, put my bike shoes in my fanny pack and ran (ok, hobbled) over the bridge to the kayaks.
Bike segment (553/715)
| Mile | Speed | Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 17.6 mph | 88 |
| 8 | 16.6 mph | 89 |
| 9 | 16 mph | 84 |
| 10 | 14.7 mph | 79 |
| 11 | 15.2 mph | 56 |
| 12 | 14.2 mph | 77 |
| 13 | 15.7 mph | 86 |
| 14 | 13.7 mph | 86 |
| 15 | 14.3 mph | 82 |
| 16 | 14.6 mph | 90 |
| 17 | 14.7 mph | 82 |
| 18 | 6.7 mph (includes transition) | 87 |
Found my kayak, took a swig of water and dragged the kayak to the water. I figured my lack of exertion on the bike (couldn’t go fast because of the cramp) would give me a boost for the kayak. Not. I think this was my biggest surprise, how dead my arms were after the run and my (relatively) slow bike segment
[
](https://lmblevins.smugmug.com/Family/Eppierace2012/n-4WXcv/i-qkK3frs/A" target="_blank)
Pretty uneventful the rest of the race, but at some point I looked at my watch and saw I was getting close to my three hour goal. So I stepped the paddling up a bit, managed to cramp my arm, but kept on going.
Kayak segment (488/715)
| Mile | Speed |
|---|---|
| 19 | 6 mph |
| 20 | 6.9 mph |
| 21 | 6.2 mph |
| 22 | 6.2 mph |
| 23 | 6.4 mph (10 mph top speed - San Juan Rapids) |
| 24 | 6.6 mph |
Next race stage:
So that was it. Finished in 2:49:55, which was under my three hour goal. I was at 461/715 in the iron person’s division (people who did all three segments themselves without a team), and 768/1075 including teams. What I would differently next time:
- More training in general, but especially for the run-bike combo.
- Slow down even more in the run - If I had been three minutes slower in the run, I think I could have minimized the cramps and pick up an easy 10 minutes in the bike.
- More upper body work - I was surprised how dead my arms were for the kayak after the run/bike.
- Double my hydration - I ran out of my electrolyte drink in both the bike and kayak.
- Do a better job keeping my lines in the river - I was pretty sloppy
But overall, I was happy for my first attempt. Thanks again to Lola who crew’ed for me, there’s no way I could have done this without her.