Redman Triathlon - Half Redman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
United States
Oklahoma Redman Triathlon
Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = 299/
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 54/85
Event warmup:

Prerace on Friday, met up with some people from Baton Rouge Tri Club for lunch and then to race site for packet pickup and drop off bike. Very uneventful except for our first introduction to the water and red clay that we would become good friends with. Jennifer and I chilled in the hotel. Had a long night of not sleeping and then it was time to get up.

It was supposed to be great weather on race day. High of 75 or so and partly cloudy. Right after getting the transition area setup it started to pour about 30 minutes before race start. Reports came in that a street on the bike course was impassable. You couldn’t even see the buoys on the swim course it was raining so hard. Then they started talking about doing a swim run swim. Could you imagine getting back into a wetsuit after a half marathon? I was probably going to bow out and head back to the warm bed at the hotel if that happened. But after a delay they decided to let the race start but we would have to dismount and run through one section about a hundred yards long where the road was flooded. No biggie I guess. I was trying my best to get back into a race mindset. Instead I kept coming up with excuses I could use to explain why my time sucked so bad. Nice to be having those thoughts before the race even starts.
Swim
  • 35m 11s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 40s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim was good. I got clobbered more in this swim than I have in any other swim I have done. I caught four or five hard hits to head. Pretty weird considering it was a wave start. I even swam off the buoys about 50 yards to try and stay away from the melee. I finished in 35 something which is good for me but was where I thought I could be based on a swim I did that week in the pool. This was a 4 minute pr over New Orleans.

Transition 1
  • 02m 10s
Bike
  • 2h 58m 22s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.84 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike was wet. The course was rolling hills and the roads were fairly bad. One section of road you only had enough room for one bike some of the times because of road erosion on the side next to the curb. Before I go any further, the volunteers were incredible. They were out in the rain sweeping water and mud off the streets. Incredible job. I followed my heart rate on the bike solely. I never looked at my speed. On the way out I was being passed by an enormous amount of people. I also had to pee really bad. By the turnaround riding aero was becoming very uncomfortable. I was still aero but I was coasting more than I was pedaling. So at the next aid station they had a port a john that I stopped and used. This is also where I saw Boggs pushing his bike to a race vehicle. I said a quick prayer that it was just a flat and not a wreck. After the pit stop I felt like I was flying. I felt really good on the way in. I was having trouble keeping my heart rate down because I felt good. I was wanting to stand on the gas but I knew I had a run coming up. The last two or three miles, I lowered my heart rate down about 8 bpm so I could get ready for the run. So I am happy with the bike. I lost right at 3 minutes from stopping by my cycling computer but I more than made that up by being comfortable I have no doubt. So bike was 2:58. That is a 2 minute PR from New Orleans.

Transition 2
  • 02m 45s
Run
  • 1h 58m 24s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

The run. The run course was two loops. There were several places on the loop that was under water. We were running on a multiuse path around the lake. It was still raining off and on which on the run is great. Our feet stayed wet the whole time but I didn’t get any blisters so no harm no foul. I felt great on the run. I kept my heart rate about 7 bpm under my target hr to be conservative on the first lap. I was tired but mentally I felt really good. I took a gel every two miles on the run like I had planned. The first loop zoomed by and I ran it in a 56 something. About half way through the first lap I needed to pee again. I guess since I rely on liquid nutrition on the bike and it never got hot, I never sweated out any of the fluid I was taking in. At the turn around I saw Jennifer and I busted into the biggest grin. I felt really good but I knew that could go away quickly. At the beginning of the second loop I found a port a john and stopped and waited for what seemed like forever and no one ever came out. I finally just started running again. I found one two miles later and took care of business. So two stops on the second loop. At mile 7, I remember thinking that I had only 5 miles left to run. Then at mile 8, I thought that I only have 5 miles left. Wow, my math skills while tired stink. My hamstrings started feeling like they were going to cramp. They never cramped just that twinge feeling you can get. I started drinking some Gatorade at the opposite aid stations from my gels which I was washing down with water. I tried to encourage everyone I passed. I got accused of being a good liar several times when I would tell them that they were looking good. I actually picked up the pace to go down the finish chute but slowed down for the guy in front of me at the end to not mess up his finish picture. I finished the second loop in 1:01 something. So the run total was 1:58. That is a 25 minute pr from New Orleans. I really couldn’t believe how good I felt. I was tired but I felt great. I walked long enough through each aid station to get my liquid down and didn’t walk at any other time. That was my main goal coming in.

Post race
Event comments:

My race time goal was to try and break 6 hours. I went 6:11 in New Orleans. After the bike and swim went good, I thought I had an outside shot at my secret goal of 5:45. I never even looked at the race clock when I finished. Jennifer had timed me on her watch and showed it to me later. I had no idea I had surpassed all my dreams. I had finished in 5:36. I figured I was around high 5:40s.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-05-27 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:11 | 2112 yards | 01m 40s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/85
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 02:10
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:58:22 | 56 miles | 18.84 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/85
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Wind:
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:45
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:58:24 | 13.1 miles | 09m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/85
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]