SC Half Race Report

Jeff Caplan
South Carolina Half Race Report
1.2 Mile Swim, 56 Mile Bike, 13.1 Mile Run
September 28^th, 2008

I raced the South Carolina Half for the first time in 2007, and it became a “must-do” on this year’s schedule for a few reasons:

1)      The course is really a lot of fun.  The race is held in Greenwood State Park and it is a beautiful venue. 

2)      It is a perfect lead-in for anyone doing Ironman Florida because it is 5 weeks out. 

3)      Setup Events runs the race and it is extremely well-organized.  On top of that, this year’s goodie bags included both a dry fit long sleeve shirt and a hat amid other fun things. 

The race was on a Sunday, so I went up Saturday afternoon.  Although the race location is listed as Greenwood, it is really in place called Ninety Six, SC – Greenwood is simply the closest town.  If you are headed to either Ninety Six or Greenwood from Atlanta, it’s best to allow about 3 hours or so to get there.  After hitting the packet pick up at the race site, I hunkered down at my hotel (Clarion on the Square) for some serious college football viewing.  They deserve a shout out for outstanding customer service.  When I asked if I could store my breakfast in their fridge, they offered to just cart a mini-fridge to my room.  Awesome!

I purposefully woke up early on Sunday to get to the race site.  There is a decent walk from the parking areas to where the transition area is set up, so I wanted to allow some extra time.  I was glad I did, as I got one of the last spots in the ‘close’ lot.  The weather seemed fine, with temps in the 50s.  This was about 10-15 degrees warmer than 2007.  The transition area was a little nutty and provided the only observed organizational flaw – we did not weigh in during check in the day before, but you had to jump on a scale on race day.  The lines for this were longer than the lines for the porta-johns (that’s a first).

We walked out to the swim start area (about a 5 minute walk on a wood chip path) and received the final race instructions.  You basically swim ¾ of a rectangle and wind up back in transition.  It is a wave start for the 600-700 people racing, and the lake is extremely wide.  However it is a single file walk down a set of stone stairs into the water.  When they call your group, it’s best to get moving and get into the water.  The race was wetsuit legal (as it was in 2007), but the water felt extremely comfortable.  With a swim course that wide, it was simply a question of finding a line and going for it. 

I got out of the swim about 75 seconds faster than 2007, went through transition pretty quickly, and then hit the bike.  Both the bike and run courses are very similar to the types of terrain you see in the Tri-The-Parks series of races around Georgia.  There was not a lot of climbs, but just a good steady roll.  Every 15 miles there was water, and I think the 30 mile stop also had Gatorade.  There were a few spots on the course that had a strong breeze, but I would not call it a windy ride.  Bike training had been going well as of late, and I did the bike about 7 minutes faster than 2007.  For those who speak watts, my average power in the first half was 200 watts and 203 in the second half.  Raising my watts in the second half was a major goal to ensure that I could take in good nutrition during the first half.  I fueled on the bike with Infinit, a variation on their Ironman blend. 

Once I got off the bike, I laced them up and hit the run course.  After the bike effort I was not sure how strong my run would be.  The run is really like a Tri-The-Parks race, with a number of ups and downs – nothing super steep, just fairly constant.  The one less hilly part of the race has zero shade, so there is no real recovery.  The aid stations that are located every two miles are loaded and not too far off what you see at a full IM.  At the end of the race, it was in the 80s with no clouds in site.  Despite that, it is a course on which you can race well.  One of the nice aspects is that a good chunk of Mile 12 is downhill, although there is a short uphill right at the finish.

It wound up being a good day for me, with a 3+ min half IM personal best (5:16 flat).  After the race they have a great food spread (free to competitors, available for purchase for spectators).  While refueling I hung out with Marc Thompson from the All3Sports team who had a strong race.  There were a lot of other folks from the Atlanta area to chat with as well, and it seemed like most folks had good days. 

The SC Half filled well-before the race date this year (including a waiting list) and my guess is that is will continue to do so next year even with competition from the new 70.3 Augusta race.  If you are looking for a proven race with a good course, great volunteers, and a beautiful location, then this deserves to be on your list. 

2008 Kona Race Report

Kona 2008 Race Recap - 18 Years and Counting

It was a fantastic day in the lava fields as Madam Pele threw everything at us from head winds, to cross winds, to full blown sunshine.  It would have been nice if she had remembered how cyclists like a tail wind after all the head winds, but on October 11th   2008 that was not to be.

Race Morning:
All was calm in Kona at 5:00 a.m.  The weather, race week, had been overcast, foggy, and calm winds so I thought we were in for more of the same…but I was a bit wrong on that one. In fact I was a little disappointed , since I believed a windy day would benefit me since I had so much experience of riding the howling trade winds with the 20 to 30 MPH cross gusts. A hard day helps the cyclists and hurts the stronger runners, since hard conditions take the “sting” out of the runners. Be careful for what you wish for!!!

I had set my phone to wake me up at 3:45 a.m. for breakfast.  That was a new plan for me.  I had spent about 90 minutes early in the week with Steve Born from Hammer Nutrition going over my race day calories and pre-race breakfast.  I learned eating 3 hours before the race is optimal for capping off my liver glycogen stores.  Two hours before the race is my normal time to eat, as I love sleeping but thought I would try his plan.  It worked perfect for my race day.  (More on that in a bit)  I finished my breakfast by 4:00 and then rested until 4:30.  We left for the Pier and body marking at 5:15. Body marking was a breeze unlike previous years where it took as long as 30 minutes to get marked.  Incredible volunteers happily marked out bodies with our age on the calf and race number in big block letters on my arm…which you are still able to see 24 hours later ☺

The Swim

Although this is my 18th Ironman, I always worry about  the start of the swim. It is ALWAYS a fist fight, and never seems to clear out. It was a beautiful morning for a swim with 1800 of your closest friends and I mean close.  I was always tapping someone’s feet, or swinging arms, or rubbing shoulders. This was the first time I was not swum over and come up gasping for air.  I must be learning to fight my way through the mix a bit better than previous swims in the bay.  I came out in 1:06:17 for 2nd in my age group.  I am always happy when my feet touch the ground.

The Bike

My wish came true. To everyone’s surprise, by mile 20 of the bike we began to face stiff winds and hot temperatures…a return to the conditions that make Kona so famous and brutalize so many athletes..  My plan was to keep my power output below 200 at all times.  I was mostly successful riding and paying attention to the watts.  I had the fastest bike in my age group at 5:36:26 and felt strong the entire ride.  I used 2 bottles of Perpetum and Hammer Gels to make it though the bike.  Mile 65 feeling hungry, I ate a Hammer bar and within 5 miles promptly threw it back up.  I guess when Steve told me no solids, I should have listened but really food just sounded good at the time.  I am glad I didn’t opt for a PBJ in my special needs bag.  Oh, did I mention the cross winds?  While riding down from Hawi you are able to experience great speeds.  I got up to 39mph but along with that speed comes the cross winds.  I was able to watch the cyclist in front of me go from riding upright to being blown 5 feet to the left and riding at a 45 degree angle and I just knew I was next!  I kept repeating my mantra: RELAX”.  All counter intuitive when you are riding at a 45 degree angle to the ground and veering into the wind. I felt comfortable actually and loved the challenge of the day!

The Run

No matter how strong and well prepared I am, the Run is ALWAYS a “death march”. PURE SURVIVAL. The run is my least favorite of the three events as I am just trying to protect my lead and hang on to the finish.  This year, I was injury free which is a bonus when getting to the start of any ironman and I had a plan to run fast…well fast for me..  Running out of T2 you run up a short hill and on to Kuakini surrounded by hundreds of people and then down  Hualali road to Alii Drive and more people cheering you along.  When I came to the Mile 1 sign and checked my watch I had run a 7:47 pace…way to fast and I knew I needed to back off or I would blow up before I made it out to the Queen K highway. Mile 5 of the run at the Alii turnaround, is the first opportunity I get to see where I am vis a vis my competitors. At the turn around I push my lap timer and start counting. I check my watch every few minutes, seeing my margin increase, until finally at 7 minutes (double it to 14 minutes) I see the my next age group competitor, then the next competitor at 14 minutes (double to 28 minutes) . But instead of relaxing I start doing the math. If they run 30 seconds per mile faster, #2 could catch me, so I keep telling myself,”keep it going. Stay focused. Don’t let up”.

I had my 2nd fastest run of my 18 races in Kona.  I was able to stay focused and mentally strong and keep running.  The cloud cover about mile 13 helped bring the temperatures down as they told us it was about 100 in the Energy Lab, the last turn around point and 7 miles to the finish.

The Finish

Finishing on Alii Drive still gives me goose bumps and tears as I run the last 200 yards to the cheering crowd of thousands of people. Smiling and waving my arms in the air, I finished the race in my second fastest time of 10:38:46.  Good for first in my age group and the chance to keep the Age Group Champion title for one more year.  The 30th anniversary ironman is over and I am looking forward to 2009 Ironman World Championships.

A quick thank you to the people who made this day so special.

Gary Shields, the best massage therapist in Kona hands down.  For all the work he did on my body to get me ready to race, with your work and encouragement I knew my legs were ready to withstand the challenges of the day…Thanks Gary.

Steve Born and Hammer Nutrition without your help I could not of met and exceed my marathon time, let alone my bike split.  The 90 minutes we spent going over my plan was money in the bank.  You understood what I needed and Perpetuem, Endurolytes, Energy Surge, as well as Recoverite leading up to the race and during the race were key to my victory.  I would not have been able to ride strong, and run that pace without all of people from Hammer Nutrition being behind me.  You are all so amazing and you understand what we crazy athletes do for fun!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

All3Sports…you guys are TERRIFIC!

Darren Broome (from CO who for the past 8 years does the final check of my bike!) and all the people at HP Bike Works in Kona..  I know my bike is ready to ride on race day!

Talking to Tom, while running, is truly an amazing part of my day.  Katie, he is always there for me. ☺

Finally Kevin…your encouragement and support, were the cornerstones of my day.

Aloha,

Laura

Laura Sophiea wins her AG at Kona!

Congratulations to all3sports’ own Laura Sophiea! Laura won her Age Group at Kona for the fourth consecutive year, a dominance that is fairly unheard of in our sports these days! Laura finished with a time of 10:38:46, her 2nd fastest personal time at Kona; a good 11 minutes faster than here closest competition.

To read Laura’s thoughts on the day, check out her Race Report.

Thanks Laura, you are an amazing athlete and a great role model!