Location: Lake Havasu City, AZ
Race Type: Triathlon
Distance: 1900 meter swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run
Participants: 252
Overall Place: DNF
Age Group Place: DNF
I had a good taper the 10 days before the race with a few shorter runs, rides, and swims. Kristen and I headed out on Friday in time to make the pre-race briefing and drop of the bike in the transition area. This was my first HITS event and my first half ironman distance. I was excited and felt that I was ready both physically and nutritionally for the race. The weather looked great for Saturday with no clouds and temperatures starting in the low 60's and reaching mid to high 70's by the end of the race.
We arrived in Lake Havasu City and drove directly to the race site right next to the original London Bridge. Registration was quick and I was informed that there would be ~325 participants in the half. This was great as last year there were only ~60. There were a number of vendors and the transition area setup was fantastic. I'd heard that HITS does a great job with the transition area but it was still something great to see. I had been assigned a spot with a bench and box that my front tire would go into and with plenty of room to store my gear. The only downside was that I was right in front of the bathrooms but I was also right next to the bike exit.
The race director/owner started the pre-race briefing shortly after we arrived. He was funny, patient, and informative. After the briefing I racked my bike and headed to the hotel. Later, Kristen and I ate dinner by the bridge and then I was able to catch about 7 hours of sleep.
The morning of the race was chilly but not bad with the wetsuit on. The race director gave another briefing and a few minutes later the horn sounded. I stayed near the back and walked in with most of the other men in the half and full distances. The women were to start three minutes later. The water temperature was 66 degrees and the clarity was great! This was my first race where I could see the bottom of the lake in areas and could also see other participants through the water. This helped immensely for drafting.
There were two large 10x10 buoys in the water that made up two corners of the triangle swim with smaller buoys on the beach and between the larger ones. I had no problem sighting the large buoys and was feeling good until mid-way between the 1st and 2nd turn when I realized that I had not been paying much attention and had drifted off track quite a ways. I picked up speed and caught up with the other participants when rounding the 2nd buoy. The swim to the end was uneventful other than a sandbar that was present about 200 yards out that allowed me to walk a little ways. I finished up the swim mid-pack in ~43 minutes.
I felt great coming out of the water and jogged to my transition area past the strippers. Transition was quick and I was off to the bike course.
The bike course consisted of a 28 mile loop that was to be repeated 2x for the half and 4x for the full. About 14 miles in there were a few hills with steep grades of ~8-10% and even steeper drops on the backside. When climbing the 1st hill I realized that I had a flat in the back. I changed it out and removed a small thorn in my tire. I ran up the hill and passed a few people on their bikes. I then hopped on the bike and launched down the back side. It was such a fast drop that it felt like a roller coaster ride and made me a bit nervous. Seven miles later I had another flat in the back. I swapped out my last tube but couldn't find the cause. At this point I was starting to worry and had given up on making my time goal of 5:30 but was still in relatively good spirits. I was also out of tubes...
The rest of the 28 mile loop was uneventful and I passed a number of people. If it wasn't for the flats I would have been on target for a 20 mph bike average. After finishing the 1st loop and 4 miles on the island of the 2nd I had another flat on the London bridge; also in the back. I had to walk a half mile back to the start where a volunteer procured another tube. He helped me pump it up and I was off again. I was really nervous now. I still hadn't found what caused the last two flats and I felt that I wouldn't make it through the next 24 miles. Well, I didn't. My fourth flat came around mile 48 immediately after passing a woman who was walking. I waited for her to catch up so that I'd have someone to commiserate with. She had a blown front tube and a hole in her tire sidewall. I had given up at this point after having lost ~1 hour with all the flats. I offered to swap front rims with her, she accepted, and was gone. A short while later I took a ride from someone in a buggy back to the bridge. On the way I noticed that two women were down on the road from an accident. One of them looked like the person I'd given my rim to.
After getting back to the transition I packed up and waited for the woman to come in. After ~45 minutes I gave up and spoke with the race director. He had heard that a woman and her mother had gone to the hospital but didn't have details. Luckily, another HITS employee walked by and heard our discussion. He informed me that he just brought back two bikes. The person I'd given my rim to had not been hurt but her mother had. They had gone to the hospital together. The HITS employee brought me to her bike and I swapped my rim back.
I have never had a flat during a race and never had four during any ride that I've taken. It was just not my day. Having said that I was really impressed with the staff, professionalism, and quality of the event. I would definitely do this one again; after all, I need to redeem myself!!!
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