Ironman Kansas 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Lined myself up front, all the way to the right; which seemed like the straightest and quickest shot to the next buoy. The horn went off and then so did I. Clean and fast start with minimal contact, and I was out front with some other fellas. Then the waves hit. My first thought was that a boat patrolling the course had come by between our waves and created a lot of wake for us to navigate through. This wasn't short choppy stuff, it was more akin to what you might experience out in an ocean. When the waves didn't end it was apparent that it was just windy out on the water with the waves coming at us left to right on the way out.

I had two guys, one to my left and one to my right, that I tried to pace off of, but the one to my right began to put a gap on me, and I lost the one to the left once we started to catch up to the swim waves ahead of us. Passing people wasn't too much of a struggle as it was in comparison to last year, but I did get a little frustrated when I had to angle around a few groups that might be swimming four across. Actually, my frustration just came from swimming in the wave pool and not getting into a good rhythm. After the first turn we were swimming directly into the waves, which was an adventure, and on the way home the waves came at us from the right, the side I prefer to breathe on.

I never swallowed water and I just tried to go with the flow (literally and figuratively). I focused on keeping a good technique and to just follow the buoy line. At one point I found myself singing Tik Tok by Kesha after hearing it while waiting to swim (actually, I believe the kids call her "Ke$ha" because it's cooler, too bad I don't have an "S" in my name). I was trying to stay in a good mood, but I wanted to be done with this swim. It felt slow(er) and this kinda dragged me down. I wanted a faster time, but instead I was slower by over two minutes from last year. Though I imagine everyone was slower than what they would've been today.

Nothing. I fought and raced as best I could in the water.

My T1 spot was easily located just off of the swim exit, so no problem locating my bike. My heart rate was way up and I was kind of fumbling around with getting my wetsuit off and into the bag that would be transported up to the camp grounds. I had a long run with the bike through the aisles of people, of which I had to slow up a few times to get by people standing in the middle of the aisle. 57th fastest time in AG.

Nothing. One day I'll teach myself to slip into my shoes while on the bike instead of at T1.

Once I was clipped in and up the first hill climb I was in full Debbie Downer mode. I wasn't feeling super, physically, and thoughts of my swim time were bumming me out. However, soon after I started to cross the dam and I found that my attitude was much improved. I felt much better physically now that my heart rate had settled down. All engines were now a go. My song choice had shifted. I caught myself repeating "nobody said it was easy" from Coldplay's "The Scientist." Um, true, but a little whiny for a race song.

A pretty great ride overall. Overcast sky, smooth roads, and easy passing (both on my part and those looking to get around me). There was a bit of a head wind on the latter half of the ride, which wasn't horrible or unusual for Kansas, but it kept my speed down. I really tried to attack this course, based on my skill, where I could. I had been out here to ride this course twice before in the last month and a half, so the hills were no longer an issue for me. Last year I felt I held back too much on this course, so I wanted to bike it this year and have no regrets.

The only "highlight" came around mile 42 when some dude in my age group decided that while flying downhill he would pass everyone on the right. Unfortunately, this would happen to be at the same time I was passing a couple of people myself, on the left. After completing my pass I moved back over to the right hand side of the road only to see this guy in an aero helmet coming by me on my right. Since I was closing in on the shoulder he didn't have much room to go anywhere. I only got a "what the h...." out before he was forced to divert off into some local's yard at 35+ mph to avoid taking me and himself out. Really stupid on his part. Luckily it had no affect on me and he was able to recover safely. I carried on the rest of the way back into the park and had a smooth bike dismount. I'm still always "surprised" on how long it takes to get from the park entrance to T2.

For nutrition I took in a concentrated bottle of Infinite, some very water-downed Gatorade, two gel flasks (four gels packets), and Thermolytes. I also took a 5-hour energy around mile 40. All of this worked great today, although the 5-hour seemed "off" for me today after I took it.

Nada.
I really focused on my bike training this year in hopes of improving this time. I was under a minute slower than last year's time which was kinda disheartening, but maybe I can attribute that to the wind. . . .

Hopefully this improved bike fitness will show up later on the course.

Solid T2 time and performance for me. My spot was at the very end of the rack near the T2 exit, so while it was a bit of a jaunt, I knew exactly where I was going. Nearly forgot to take off my helmet. Only realized it was still on when I went to grab my visor and run out. No time lost though. 31st fastest in AG.

Meh, nothing. I'm satisfied with this.

Yes, the run. I was very much looking forward to getting off the bike because things all over were starting to tighten up. I was a little worried that I wouldn't feel good on the run, but instead I was very happy and pleasantly surprised on how awesome I felt once I was running. To start, I ran a 7:15 min mile, and that felt effortless but I knew I couldn't maintain that pace, particularly once I hit mile 2. Here, out of no where, the inside of my left knee began to hurt. This is new. Where was this coming from? The pain wasn't unbearable and I figured I would just play it by ear. If I had to stop because of it, fine, but for now I could deal with it. Oh, and I also really had to pee, but I didn't feel like stopping to go.

So here we are: run, run, run, and run some more. Pace is solid and consistent. Checking myself over i felt that I could keep this effort level up for the rest of the race. I was actually having a great time out there. The volunteers at the aid stations were great, fun, upbeat, and encouraging. I almost always took short walks at the aid stations to allow for a salt tablet with a liquid chaser, or to take in a gel, or to pour some ice and water over me. Just preventive maintenance to avoid any cramping.

Around mile 9 general fatigue started to take hold, particularly after I forced myself to run up the hill for the second time (soooo tempted to walk this). My pace was just now starting to slow down and I could feel that I was teetering on the edge of severe leg cramps. Plus I still had a full bladder to contend with. Around mile 10.5 I ran into a campground bathroom to pee, hopefully killing two birds with one stone: relieving myself and resting to ward off any would be leg cramps. This break didn't last long though and I was quickly on my way. Just before mile 12 I took my first walk break. It was brief but I was a little disappointed in myself showing a bit of mental weakness with the finish line being so close. I picked up my run pace and began repeating clichéd sayings in my head to keep me going ("pain is temporary, pride/glory is forever"). Eventually I made it to the finishers chute, decked out in Kansas and Wizard of OZ garb. The announcer at the finish line made a comment about my last name but I couldn't make out what he said so I just smiled at him. In fact, I was probably sporting a cheezy grin the whole way down to the finish line.

Not fall into the temptation to take that walk break. Really unnecessary in retrospect.

Crossed the finish line and received my finishers medal from Chrissie Wellington. Slowly walked around before eventually finding the food tent. Not a lot of food choices that appealed to me at the time: bananas, orange slices, chips, and sandwiches. I gobbled up a bunch of oranges and grabbed a Dt Coke and Sprite.


Not always completing the training I was scheduled to do. But given I have a baby girl in the house now and with the training hours being at odd times I'll give myself a pass. My run training was a little down, some of it due in part to my foot injury early in the year and having to stay off of it for a month.


Well organized. Outstanding volunteers. I liked the decision at the swim start to change the time gap in between waves from 4 to 3 minutes. If thunderstorms had become a factor later in the day this may have proved to be a good move - at least a proactive one.