Jay Lakamp Texas Race Report: May 18, 2013

Race Day Stats:

Total Time / AG Place / Overall Place: 16:28:39 / 47th / 1939

• Swim Time / AG / OA: 1:36:26 / 36 / 1695
• T1 Time / AG / OA: 9:16 /
• Bike Time / AG / OA: 6:58:50 / 41 / 1685
• T2 Time / AG / OA: 15:10 /
• Run Time / AG / OA: 7:28:57 / 47 / 1939

Race Day Goals:

Finish and use the race as a verification race for KONA.

Goal 1

• Did you achieve it? YES
• What helped or prevented you from achieving it? Determination

Goal 2: Swim a 1:30

• Did you achieve it? NO
• What helped or prevented you from achieving it? Cramps. The 900m channel swim was like a continuous “swim start”.

Goal 3: Bike a 6:30 or less.

• Did you achieve it? NO
• What helped or prevented you from achieving it? Heat and humidity, no water at start…..dehydration and lack of calories in.

Goal 4: Run sub 5:30.

• Did you achieve it? NO
• Dehydration, cramping, and nausea.

The Swim — Race Day Evaluation

Target Swim Time: 1:30 | Actual Swim Time: 1:38:26

Weather / Conditions / Notes:

Humid and overcast with some chop coming back from the turn around. Water Temp. 77.6 XTERRA Farmer John suit due to not worried about KQ.

Challenge 1:

The Swim Start

• Response 1: A friend that had done Texas twice before called me and told me to start on the right hand side of the course…less bodies to swim through.
• Evaluation 1: For the most part I was able to stay out of the scrum until entering the channel.

Challenge 2:

Toes started cramping 15 ft from shore for an unknown reason. Calves started to twinge cramping on the return trip. At different times toes &/or calves cramped while going down the channel.

• Response 2: Took a gram of magnesium hours before the start. I was able to stand twice for a few seconds when in the shallow parts of channel to stretch my calves out.
• Evaluation 2: I must need to take in more fluids and double my mag. before the race to decrease chances of cramping. Try to relax more through the swells and with people grabbing me. I did have enough fluids in to at least have urgency to pee.

Challenge 3:

Poor Visibility in Water/ and had people running into me.

• Response 3: Found self having to site more often than use to. Make sure about direction I was heading and to find alternate route once bumped into someone.
• Evaluation 3: Slowed pace down and focused on smoothing out my stroke and keeping my line by more frequently sighting. I also used elbows/arms body to keep my line for protection and it worked to keep me calm.

The Bike — Race Day Evaluation

Target Bike Time: 6:30 or less | Actual Bike Time: 6:58:50

Weather / Conditions / Notes:

Hazy from a fire in Mexico, hot and humid.

Challenge 1:

No water on my aerobars container after bike knocked to the ground several times by others my wife informed me.

• Response 1: “Oh well, I get some water by the first aid station”.
• Evaluation 1: I just took it easy for the first 10-15 miles and then try to double up on the water at the aid station. Due to the heat and humidity I dropped my average watts by 20-30 to be safe and still averaged for the first 40 miles at just under 19mph.

Challenge 2:

Peed once after swim and ¾ way through bike and the rear wheel out of alignment after someone tipped bike over again when I got off to pee. I was able to re-align the back wheel to keep from scraping the frame.

• Response 2: Tried to drink more water and take in nutrition with occ salt tabs.
• Evaluation 2: Nutrition with the first bottle mix I had tasted terrible due to using half of it the day before to get Na+ in before race day. Salt Stick on the bike was a total failure. Not drinking enough water thinking I was drinking enough was oh so wrong. I knew not peeing was a problem. Did watch HR and it didn’t climb and I thought I was keeping cool enough with dousing self with water, arm coolers and in aero helmet. Stick with my water bottles with the 2.5X concentration tasted OK. Coke on the bike like Kona would have been nice.

Challenge 3:

Lack of speed in the last 40 miles with and without headwinds.

• Response 3: It’s all about hydration.
• Evaluation 3: Focused on staying aero most of the time and used Coach P’s course info and looked forward to mile 80+.Tried to stay in my box which worked most of the time and looked forward to getting off of the bike for the run. I didn’t know how bad of shape I was in at the time fluid wise. I should know better.

45-70 miles 17.75mph ave watts 136 HR137.
Last 42 miles 15.44 mph ave watts 116 HR 135.

The Run — Race Day Evaluation

Target Run Time: sub 5:30 due to the heat | Actual Run Time: 7:28:57

Weather / Conditions / Notes:

Sunny, very hot and very humid 95degrees, 65% Humidity, 12-17mph winds from the SSE.

Challenge 1:

Getting to and through T2.

• Response 1: I had a volunteer that had no idea where to rack my bike which still wanted to tip over. My bike must not like Texas. We ended up walking my bike the ~75 yards to the rack and getting my bike to ~stay on the rack. I had a problem getting to my T2 gear and yelled out to volunteers for help and got it. No place to sit in a very hot and humid tent and had to stop volunteer from putting all my gear back into my bag that I was going to use. Very over heated and all of my water drank before getting to T2 on the bike and little to be had in T2.
• Evaluation 1: Work on the hydration bit much more when it’s very hot and humid outside. Most of my T2 time was getting and putting my bike in the rack, sunscreen, and finding water before crossing the timing mat.

Challenge 2:

Leg cramps and nausea just coming out of the tent and no energy.

• Response 2: I usually have a poor start when in the heat and this time with nausea.
• Evaluation 2: Need to get the nutrition thing down BIG TIME.

Challenge 3:

Overheating and sunburn.

• Response 3: I used ice in the hat, down the front and back, and down the bibs. I doused myself whenever I could and tried to keep the shoes dry.
• Evaluation 3: I was able to keep cooled down but couldn’t shake the nausea thing. Attempted at different times pickles, few potato chips, chicken broth, power bar perform, biestmilch, etc. and nothing worked. It was too late and had to just make the 21:50 mile 17 and then midnight cut off.

Next Time — Overall Lessons Learned

• Use more magnesium pre-race to keep from diluting lytes out with pre-race hydration.
• Keep your line and protect self on the swim and keep in the box when others are out of theirs.
• Keep the bike from tipping over on the rack and spilling out all of your water between the aerobars.
• Continue with new socks in T1 and T2 with body glide for the feet in each of the bags.
• Sunscreen sprays for shoulders and knees….even with on course coverage they cooked.
• Push the fluids + nutrition on the bike. Try solid food if necessary.
• Shuffling along is better than walking even if you have to run for a minute and then walk for a minute to get going.
• Always keep your head up on the run and all too frequently I keep looking down and leaning forward…due to fatigue.
• Work on bricks this summer to simulate heat even if we don’t have the humidity as in TX.
• Continue to thank the volunteers for saving you ass and especially the ones that openly pray for you while on the course!