Race Report: My first DNF at the Kinetic 1/2 Ironman

Posted by David on Apr 23, 2006 in Injury and Overtraining, Race Reports, Triathlons | 1 comment

Kinetic 1/2 Ironman (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run) at Lake Anna State Park near Fredericksburg, VA.

I knew going into this race that my left calf muscle might give me trouble. A week and a half before, the lower part of the soleus (inner calf muscle) had tightened near where it attaches to the Achilles’ tendon. I finished my run but the muscle did not loosen up. When I ran again a few days later, it tightened again. I took almost a week off from running before the race to give time for healing.

Up until the run, the race was uneventful for me except for the rain on the bike. At the start, I tried to stay with a small group of swimmers that quickly formed near the front. I was at the tail end of this pack for the entire first loop then slowly fell back on the second lap as I tired. Great swim for me – I came out of the water in 27:27 – 2 minutes faster than last year – and in seventh place. My left calf felt tight as I ran into the transition area so I knew then that my race would most likely be short-lived.

The bike began dry but quickly became rainy. I biked consistently but watched another rider pull away. On the second loop, I “towed” two riders behind me. Each time I glanced back, they were right there near my wheel. Drafting….? Not sure. I finished the bike leg in 2:26:37 – 5 seconds slower than last year and in 6th place – very disappointing.

I dashed out of the transition area with one runner just ahead and another just behind. My calf was tight but I pushed anyway. We pulled even near the one mile mark and the overtaken runner asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Great!” I exclaimed.

Wham! My soleus seized and I pulled up sharply and stopped. Race over. I began the “walk of shame” back to the finish line to turn in my timing chip.

In hindsight, the early finish was not unexpected. The swim and bike allowed me to baseline my fitness. My takeaway is that I need to work on sustaining more power on the bike as my split should have been closer to the leader’s 2:10 bike split.

My “A” race for this season remains the Quelle Challenge Ironman-distance in Roth, Germany in July.

Cheers,
David