Mighty Hamptons: What to do When a 10K Feels More Like a 20k

With several sprint tris under my belt this summer, it was time for me to attempt my first Olympic distance at Mighty Hamptons, an event that seemed like a perfectly good idea when i registered for it four or five months earlier. i realized the week before the event that i hadn't been doing much distance running and it had been weeks since i had run more than 4 or 5 miles in one shot. Now, with the race right around the corner and with some sporadic training leading up to it, i wasnt feeling entirely confident that this was a distance i could conquer comfortably. I was right...

Nate and i drove out to the Hamptons the day before the race and drove the bike course which was rolling hills for the first half and then pretty flat the second half. Mostly it just seemed really really long. The morning of the race started with a faint drizzle that turned into a downpour by the time we arrived at transition. It finally let up AFTER i had bothered putting my bike out in the transition area and got my running shoes soaked. Anyway, i realized 7 minutes before my wave start while i was in line for the bathroom that i had forgotten to put on my race chip. YMC rushed to the transition area to get me my chip and i made it to the water just in time for my wave to start. I felt pretty good on the swim and began passing the blue caps in the prior wave relatively early in the swim. I made it to the turnaround and found myself crashing into more and more clusters of blue caps, i got elbowed in the face a few times and carved my way through a few thickly clustered guys. it started raining again during the swim which i found quite fun. Finally made it to the last red buoys and emerged from the water.

Next stage, bike. I was thrilled that the bike course wasn't all uphill like Harriman had been a few weeks earlier. The roads were slick and i was mostly concentrating on staying upright and testing my brakes out as much as possible the first 5 miles or so of course. After i realized that i wasnt going to wipe out every time i hit the brakes and that i had some decent traction with the road, i felt less tense for the rest of the ride. There were a few tough hills but they were over pretty quickly and the ride was pretty fun. There were a some sharp turns for which i slowed to granny pace and i thanked most of the volunteers as i passed them during that time. The bike still felt long but i was glad to have driven it the day before and i was familiar with many of the roads so it made it pretty bearable. Rolled into transition and clomped out in my running gear.

The Run. It was an out and back course and as i made my way up a slight incline along the main road, i started noticing the heat, the humidity, and, about 5 minutes later, my heavy panting and gasping. Definitely not the best conditions for a run and my lack of training was evident in how i felt. At least the last mile on the way back would be downhill. I finally got into a rhythm about 10 minutes in and was just trying to muscle forward. Panting, Gasping. Gasping, Panting. Not. Feeling. Good. When. Is. This. Torture. Going. To. Be. Over??? Despite my creaky slow pace I actually passed a few dudes which i always find crazy. Just when i was sure that mile 3 was right around the corner i passed a water station alerting me that it was mile 2. Yikes. My legs felt like cement blocks and my feet felt like i was running on paint cans. I finally made it to the turnaround after what seemed like an eternity. I realized i was getting some blisters on both heels, and somewhere between mile 4 and 5 on an incline i saw a girl who had stopped running and was walking. WHAT A GREAT IDEA!! maybe i should do that. i couldnt bring myself to do it though, so i kept going and made it to that final mile which actually was not downhill at all. HOw was that possible???!! UGH! The transition area near the finish seemed so far away, but i remembered from last year that the finish was before the transition area. THANK GOD! I came into the home stretch and saw YMC on the side of the road. He was yelling something about my collarbone. I think when i made it around the final turn into the parking lot he yelled that someone was coming up on me, but i was in no mood to sprint. No one passed me into the finish and i couldnt wait to stop the insanity. I went to the beach and cooled off in the water. My shoes were bloody and my arse was hurting. I was really thrilled to be done! I'd hoped to come in 2:50 or better and i finished in 2:45, which put me at 5th place in my age group. Alyse came in 6th place a few minutes later and she had beaten her time from last year by 2 minutes. Sonia did the race for fun and actually enjoyed the run which i found hard to imagine! And Naterator, of course, came in 5th overall and 1st in his age group and beat his time from last year by 2 minutes.

As much as it seemed like an idiotic and masochistic nightmare in the morning during the rain, it was great to have done it anyway. Special shout out to YMC who has hopefully permanently replaced me as a support monkey during the event. Good Monkey!