Ironman Racine 70.3 - Triathlon


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Racine, Wisconsin
United States
Ironman
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 40m 18s
Overall Rank = 645/2275
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 99/247
Pre-race routine:

Traditional Spaghetti and Meatballs the night before. Managed to get abotu 5 hours sleep (most ever pre-race for me)
Event warmup:

Had to wait around for and hour and eight minutes between Pro start and my wave, so plenty of time to loosen up. Nothing major, stayed on land and did some dynamic stretching.
Swim
  • 44m 13s
  • 1900 meters
  • 02m 20s / 100 meters
Comments:

TOUGH! Around 6ft swells. Good swimmers were getting out and saying it was a tough one, so for a novice like me, it was brutal. Was surprised to find my time was pretty much average for me, I thought I would have been 10 mins slower under those conditions. I guess I have been practicing plenty of open water swims and sighting really well, so that helped me maintain some composure and trust in my training.
What would you do differently?:

Start further forward as I had practiced my running start especially and then had 100 people in front of me walking in slowly.
Transition 1
  • 05m 15s
Comments:

300 yard run through the sand means even the pros were taking 3 mins. The swim made me feel that i'd been on the wrong side of Jack Bauer, and I don't think I could have told you my name in T1. Managed to get my wetsuit off with help of the strippers, slap some sun cream on, double check i had all my nutrition, and clip clop to the bike out.
Bike
  • 3h 06m 54s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.05 mile/hr
Comments:

No flying starts for this amateur, but I did get past 5 others at the mount line by simply having the bike in the right gear to start on the uphill route. Got out of town and it was beautiful farmland scenery and nice conditions all round. A bit bumpy here and there, and my Chicago-born biking legs couldn't sustain the 19mph I wanted for more than 30 miles of rolling Wisconsin hills. I was willing to slow a little and lose 10 mins here so that I didn't blow up and spend all day on the run. Needed to pee for about 45 of the 56 miles. Spent more time in aero position than i thought i would - my back and hip muscles had not got enough practice on Chicago paths for that. Lots of room for improvement.
Transition 2
  • 02m 18s
Comments:

Pros can shave a minute off here. I clip-clopped in my non-tri shoes through to the furthest point possible in the bike racking (luck of the draw?). Hat, Belt, lucky Zoot shoes, and i'm off.
Run
  • 1h 41m 58s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 46s  min/mile
Comments:

My ace card, and yet I felt like I was hardly moving. Used the first porta-loo I could find (phew!) and got sun-creamed up by some volunteers. Tried to maintain even pace around 7:30/mile, and almost succeeded. I know I can get faster here, perhaps even without peeing myself and getting sunburn.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around. Foam roller, stretched. Plenty of food and water.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of time and intensity on bike. Novice swimmer.

Event comments:

An amazingly fun debut at this distance! Proved to myself that I am a middle of the pack swimmer and kinda average triathlete now, I guess? Realised that I need lots more work on my bike power. Also got over my latest gear-tech-jealousy feelings by showing that you don't need expensive stuff to compete and enjoy the day; my $10 stopwatch and knowing my body is greater than a $400 garmin and not knowing how to use it; there were many aero-helmets that cost more than my bike frame, let alone wheels and frames that are about the annual income of a poor (and not even that talented) musician, yet none of that stopped me really enjoying my ride. At 3 miles into the run I said to myself that I have no urge to enter a full ironman-distance event for the rest of my 30s; I'll re-address this in my mid-life crisis. Lastly, apparently I had a smile all the way around the run course, and it is still lingering now

THANKS - to my Missus, Mum, Dad, Sis, Adam and Rose, Steve at Comrade Cycles, whomever makes the yummy stuffs at Clif Bar, the race volunteers, the complete strangers who yelled out the names off my bib/shirt, and everyone else with your messages of support and encouragement.


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Last updated: 2013-07-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:44:13 | 1900 meters | 02m 20s / 100meters
Age Group: 160/247
Overall: 1088/2275
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Point to point.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 64F / 18C Current: High
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 05:15
Performance:
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
03:06:54 | 56 miles | 18.05 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/247
Overall: 0/2275
Performance:
Wind: Some
Course: Rolling hills
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:18
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:41:58 | 13.1 miles | 07m 46s  min/mile
Age Group: 25/247
Overall: 0/2275
Performance:
Course: Two loop course. Mostly flat, one significant hill at the start of both laps.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4