Ironman Hawaii/Honu 70.3

Chris Hauth Race Report

June 2nd, 2012

Coming into Honu 2012 I was uncertain as to where my fitness would be.  I have had a spring of inconsistent training – but some of this might have been planned.  As I mentioned in a previous update/RR, Kona 2011 left me flat – not from the race, but I entered the race flat emotionally and physically.  Emotionally there were some personal weight I was carrying, and physically as I carried of training & peaking too early into October.  I made a commitment back in the fall to do less training and try to focus more on my personal matters.  But as I run a coaching business, I also knew that I have a solid safety net of training in my everyday life:  whether indoor cycling classes 1-2x a week, the weekly swim practice at 5:45am, and the mandatory running with my dogs on the trails of Mt. Tam.  While this is not nearly the volume I load in the late winter/early spring, those 8-10hrs per week of training kept me in decent enough shape to do my training camps:  starting with Tucson in February, then Utah in March, a Coast Ride in April… you can see the bigger picture:  sprinkle the occasional big volume week in with minimum training hours.  All the while using the training shell of 8-10hrs per week as high quality when I can and the body permits.  This means if the run with the dog does not permit quality, oh well.  If an indoor cycling class is cancelled due to lack of numbers, oh well.  Or if life/family didn’t allow for the 5:45am swim, oh well again.

I knew I was ‘in shape’ – but I was not confident.  Although the last 4-6 weeks all my training runs and the Coast Ride gave me the right indicators, swimming was the only discipline I was confident in.  Weekly swimming volume of 12-13k will have an impact for me – combined with re-introducing stretch cordz – I was confident that Honu would be a good swim.  But the cycling: I haven’t ridden much more than 90 minutes indoors, let alone only 3x over 2 hrs outside since the Coast Ride in April.  Mix in that my running might be good, but nothing consistently over 10 miles (which I insisted was always tempo, speed play or progression).   So – there the state of affairs coming into Honu…physically.

My personal affairs are not resolved, and therefore this was the bigger question for me come race day:  would I be able to compartmentalize and focus on the task at hand to race well.  Honu carries a lot of meaning for me:  my first 70.3 overall win, an epic race vs. Macca in 2006, and some very deep emotional scars from an athlete of mine being in a life threatening, and to this day, life altering medical situation at that race.  So – this race, the Island and how life somehow converges timing and placement to open the door to new challenges, all factored into the starting line on Saturday morning.

Of course there is a lot of posturing and deflection when one is not as confident.  Coming into my first race of 2012, after getting thoroughly whooped in October, combined with lack familiar fitness, add a dash of missing self confidence, the spoken race plan was: “we’ll see – I am just going to relax, have fun, let the day take me to however I am feeling”….

The gun went off for the Pros that started 3 minutes earlier (another Lance effect?) – and as I was floating in the water waiting to start, I made up my mind to swim all out – not just to the first buoy, but through the turn and surely back the long straightaway into an expected windy chop.  Don’t you dare get comfortable – swim – and keep kicking and pulling.  The gun goes off with no heads up – leaving about 25% of the field surprised – and I had clear sailing off the front and tight on the inside.  A Kayaker had just told me the current would pull us out on the return leg, so this means I will swim high until the first buoy.  Within 5-7 minutes, I am in the womens pro field, kicking hard, pulling hard, and working my way through.  Turn the first buoy and head further out to sea – right onto the feet of some slower pro guys.  We turn the second buoy, and bingo: into the sun, full wind chop – no visibility.  I decide to swim with the pro guy next to me (I could read his kit said Smith) and let him lead me: why?  He had a SUPaddler with him..and he was going to show me my line.  Bummer is my strategy didn’t work as well as planned:  he started pulling away (the SUPaddler) and he was wearing red…same color as the buoys..all of them.  So I am fighting to see him, or a buoy and they all look the same.  Finally round the far buoy on the course, and punch it.  No chop, you can see the bottom (therefore line up your swim line perfectly) and I accelerate to the rocks – I know Justin Smith remains on my feet – I round the bouy that turns you in, kick it into the beach, get out…only to find a race marshall stopping me: “You skipped a buoy, you need to get back in and go swim around it”…What?  Umm no, I had a paddler with me AND you are letting the Pro (Justin) through…Seriously?  Luckily the race director, Diana Bertsch is right there “Diana – seriously?  What are you doing?  Chris, we have everyone missing buoys, did you swim around the far buoy?… Diana, I have done this race for 7 years, I know the course, I had a paddler with me…and you KNOW I can swim…!  OK, go – but we’ll check your time….”  Wow…now I am upset!  I have been in this situation before, but I knew 100% I hit the far buoy, 100% that Justin did too.  I had also stopped enough, looked around, and never lost view of the Paddler nor the red buoy.  So, instead of getting out and heading to my bike, here I get stopped, accused of cutting the course and sorta embarrassed…I run up to my bike shaking my head – what was THAT all about…why would she accuse me of that??!!  I find out later that behind me there was mayhem – buoys had floated off, swimmers couldn’t see the course, and paddlers didn’t lead them/corral them – instead just watched swimmers make the wrong turns.  What a bummer.

Well, being pissed off did one thing: it snapped my head out of any funk, and cleared into pure focus:  If you are going to accuse me of cheating, I am going to win this race by more than enough of a margin to make any swim time irrelevant.  Easier said than done, but I was at least not going to let up..I ride my bike harder than planned.  I was looking to ride conservative originally, and then try to lay down a solid run time.  But now I was off, irritated, and throwing caution somewhat to the wind.  Ride feels good…windy, challenging at times with some crazy cross winds..but overall few lulls.  Of course – a few lulls – wanting to back off – but luckily I was able to practice what I preach:  stay in the moment, focus on the process, not the result – keep turning ’em over and wait a few minutes to come out of this mental valley…BIKE: avg watts: 296, cad. 91 – Food: 1x ClifBar, 2x Roctane, 1/2 Chomp serving, 2x bottles of Scratch, 1x bottle of water.  700 cals.

I got passed on the bike by an awesome AGer.  He looked super powerful and really smooth on the bike.  I saw him coming, but knew he was working.  I got off the bike knowing I was about 3 minutes down.  Into tent – calf sleeves take 30 sec longer – and off I go,  I feel pretty good running right away.  I know I had a good bike, and I was not feeling any heavy legs in the last few miles of the bike.  I set out on the run with no HR monitor, no watch, my plan was to just run.  SImple.  A watch will not tell me to run faster, if so, then I was running the incorrect strategy anyways.  Just run – fast, good form focus – drive with the knees – keep the arms engaged but loose…and when you get tired, fall more and more into your stride.  I quickly catch up to Lindsey Corbin, we exchange a few brief pleasantries, and I am off: hunting.  I am looking for my rabbit.  I finally find him at mile 2.5 – one of the many fingers on this course.  I back off a bit: I will control my effort, I know there is a lot of real estate and running the back six is important on this course.  And – I can see the trees blowing sideways ahead.  I pass through 3.5, he knows I am coming – and a decide to relax into a brutal headwind:  I lose my hat, I can’t hear myself think with the wind blowing in my face.  I feel guilt dropping water cups as they blow out into no mans land immediately.  Aid stations are a mess – so much wind is blowing over the cups that were pre-poured…ugh.  Relax into the headwind, drill it with a tailwind…

By mile 6 I take over the lead, by mile 9 I am looking forward to the pit – not because I am enjoying – but because it is the last hard section.  Headwind down, tailwind out…phew:  other way around would have been awful.  Push it home and cross the line with a fire in my belly.  Luckily Greg Welch had the microphone off, and he was able to quickly distract my conversation to the bike and run.  The race director is waiting for me at the finish line:  uh oh – here we go again.  Instead, a very sweet, and genuine conversation, apology explaining the confusion, and that we (us AGers) all looked the same under the cap and goggles.  We clear the air, I now feel sorta bad that I was so irritated the entire day – how could she know who was coming out of the water?  She was just doing her job and being fair.  Well, maybe no need to say “Chris, we’ll check your time..”

Run was 3x Roctane, plenty of water, some Perform and just an overall light stomach.

8th Overall / 1st Amateur.  23:36 – 2:23 – 1:23 = 4:16