White Lake Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

great swim; water temp was perfect. Opted to skip the intermediate buoys and head straight line for the triangular points. Had the whole lake to myself - tons of people were way to my right. Occasionally someone would pass me and I would draft for a few strokes, then they would pull away. Steady state for first 1/3, slightly increased pace the second 1/3 and then pulled strong the final 1/3.

nothing - it was a good swim - PR for me.

walked/jogged to transition; was relieved to see my brother in transition (racked directly across from me - he was worried about his swim and it went great for him). wetsuit off super easy, into gear, big swig of gatorade and jogged out with the bike.



jog faster from the swim into transition;

Overall ranked 86 out of 174 for T1 (gender only)

took the first 10 minutes riding, getting my heart rate down from the swim and drinking my malto mix (prepared enough for a 4 hour ride: 2 cal/lb/hr). Had 2 bottles of malto mix (1000 calories total) plus bottle of water behind the seat and one more water bottle on the frame. No water available at 18 mile - good thing I had my own. It seemed harder this year than last year, never felt a tail wind, only cross winds and a very strong head wind the last half. Just focused on watts and keeping my cadence comfortable. Moved hand position frequently and stretched my torso from time to time. It was great to be in the middle of so many cyclists. I'm usually in the last wave and completely alone on the bike course, so being surrounding by cyclists was pretty awesome (although most were passing me). The out and back portion is great to see who's in front and who's behind, plus it's a great break from the headwind. Never even saw the orange mile markers on the road - except for mile 35 - - my brother tells me they were all there - every 5 miles -- I guess I was too focused on watts. It was pretty tough with the headwind and I kept adjusting the gears down so that I could find a cadence that kept the power where I wanted it and my heart rate in check. I was soooo glad when I saw the cell phone tower and knew I only had 5 more miles to go. I consumed ALL of my nutrition and almost all my water, plus ate a gel at mile 50. Although my back was starting to get sore, it wasn't near as bad as it has been in the past - I think I finally have the nutrition down and it seems to be making a huge difference in how I feel towards the end of the bike.

Nothing. I had trained hard to get my power up and did the best I could. I was shooting for 3:30 and had 3:31, so I'm happy - -this is another PR for me.

Target Power 115 watts; Target Heart Rate 148
Actual Power 104 watts; Actual Heart Rate 144

no issues here, pretty straight forward - I always practice my transitions so it went smooth. switched shoes, put garmin strap in my mouth while I trade bike helmut for visor and grab my fuel belt out of the mini cooler (yeah that icy cold belt feels great), slide the race belt number to the front and jog on out, turning the garmin on as I run. Finally got it right this time and the garmin worked for the entire run (instead of searching for the HR monitor the whole time I'm swimming and biking and only getting half of the run before dying).

nada.

overall ranked 76 out of 172 for T2.

This is where things get real interesting. I know to take it easy the first 3 miles and get my nutrition in. I had enough malto mix for a 2.5 hour run (1.5 cal/lb/hr - 390 calories). I'm drinking my gatorade/malto mix and realize I have to walk twice before I hit the first mile because my heart rate is too high. I also notice that I am not sweating. Just before I hit mile 1, I get the chills and realize this is not good, I must be dehydrated, need to get the fluids in big time and quick. I also notice that all the elite runners are coming in and they don't look so good. I get to the first water station and take 2 salt tablets, grab an ice cold towel for my neck, throw a cup of ice water on my chest and one on my head and jog on to mile 2. I continue to drink my nutrition noticing that I'm already on the 2nd of 3 bottles and I haven't hit mile 2 - no worries, I NEED the nutrition NOW. By mile 3, I am back on target, heart rate is good, body temp is down and I'm on cruise control. At mile 4 I take 2 more salt tablets - refill my water bottles and keep on going. One of the benefits of being slower on the bike and having an out and back run course, is that I am just heading out on the run while everyone else is coming in - so I get to see what condition everyone is in and can adjust my run accordingly. I see that people are completely exhausted and most of them are walking, so I know I have to go easy and hydrate heavily. I am passing people right and left. This is incredible - people are toasted! The heat is awful and I feel it radiating up from the pavement. I am SO GLAD I trained for the heat (I live in Baltimore and always wore extra layers of clothes and running tights to replicate hot conditions). I am also SO GLAD I have my own race belt. I continuously sip my gatorade/malto mix and water - refilling the water at the water stops - putting ice in my bottle and down my sports bra (aaahhhh). My brother and I cross paths around my mile 6 (his mile 7). I'm passing people who had passed me on the bike. I see a group ahead walking and just keep moving to try and catch them. I notice the age groups numbers on their calves as I approach - 30's and 40's. I take another salt tablet at mile 8 and try to decide when to pick up the pace at mile 10 or mile 11 - eat a gel at mile 10 and by 11 I start to pick it up a little. At mile 12, I decide its time to just go for it - I start passing groups of people walking - now I'm seeing age groupers in the 20's - I'm feeling pretty good (yes, that's a 52 on my calf). I sprint the last 100 yards - woo hoo!!! WHAT A RACE!

nothing - - - - under the extreme heat conditions - - it was a GREAT DAY for me.

Target Heart Rate: 148
Average Heart Rate: 148

My average pace went from 12 minute miles, to 11 minute miles to 10 minute miles; my last mile averaged 9:27, with the last .10 mile at 7:20 - -pretty cool.

and there was NOTHING left in the tank :)

I was only 36 seconds slower than last year.

took a few minutes to get my breath back at the finish line - met up with my brother and his wife - grabbed a pepsi and headed to the lake to cool off.

Watched the race results and realized that I was 2 minutes faster than my brother - - that was a shocker - - -it will probably never happen again - - so I'm going to savor the moment :)

Being the good sport that he is - he congratulated me on my race!!!


bike - - need to keep working on power - -


This is a super race for a first timer - and this was my second time participating in this race - - got to swim this year (it was cancelled last year) and absolutely LOVED it. The race is very well organized, lots of great volunteers. Only glitch was the lack of water at mile 18 on the bike, but otherwise water stations on bike and run were great. Especially all the ice on the run - can not tell you how much this is appreciated. Saw the ice truck several times during the run refilling the stations. The heat on the run was brutal and my sister in law saw many people head out and turn back before they even went a mile.