Delaware Diamondman Triathlon - Half Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

first time I ate a gel before a swim (planning for Iron Man next month, will need the extra calories) started up front and to the left - right next to the buoys. No issues - - steady, one, two breath. Good sighting every 6th stroke. Lower back started to ache from sighting, so since I was swimming a very straight line, just sighted every 8 or 10 strokes. Crowding at the buoy's, so dropped back to every 6 strokes at the turns. At one point on the way back, kept getting sideswiped by another swimmer. Held my place and 'just kept swimming'. My dad was tracking my time from shore and when I got out of the water, he shouted :43 - so I was pleased. Hard to lean over and put on sneakers - dizziness - but managed, and then jogged back to transition. No issue with eatting the gel - - so guess it worked.

find someone to draft?

practice makes perfect - - -no issues - went exactly as practiced.

nada

This was a real test for me, as I am preparing for the Great Floridian Iron Man in October and my training pace has not been what I had hoped it would be.

wow! it was a short course. Still, I'm liking the pace and amazed at the power. I needed to make sure I hit a minimum of 105 watts. In order to do that I have to target 118 watts (and I swear there is no 118 on my power tap, because I NEVER saw it). I saw lots of 102, 109 an occasional 99, some 122 ad 127's, but always tried to bring it back down to the 116-120 range. It was actually hard, NOT to do 130's in the beginning. I guess I was pumped and adrenaline was taking over - had to keep it in check. Plus the first 30 minutes or so, I'm working out the kinks and getting comfortable with the gears, the wind, the terrain, etc. I loved have a double loop course. You get to test it out the first loop and by the second loop you know where the winds are stronger, where the sharp turns are, and to where to focus on keeping the power steady on the downhills and the flats. I had to focus hard on the uphills to keep the power DOWN and then to push hard to keep the power UP on the flats and the downhills. It's hard to keep a steady power.

I knew things were looking good, when I (yes, me!) started passing folks on the bike. What a feeling :). Hah! A few riders passed me (on the uphill where I was holding the power down to 116-120 range) and then THEY slowed on the downhills, I just kept the power steady and passed them back - usually after one or two times, I left them in the dust. It was hard to keep the power down on the hills. It felt really too easy to let it get to 130's or 140's - so I had to remember to look down on the uphills and back it off.

My back was a little achy from the swim, so I made sure to stretch my torso frequently. Actually stayed in the drops quite a bit and in the aeros from time to time. When I could feel the wind, I dropped. I could see it made a difference in the power - although breathing is more difficult.

Lower back was definitely getting more sore as the time on the bike increased. I was doing yoga on the bike ("cat", "cow") and really did well remembering to relax my upper body (arms, face, jaw, hands, shoulders) and breathe :).

I also checked my mileage at 1 hour and at 2 hours (17 and 35), so knew my time was pretty good. I was thinking I might finish around 3:15 - - cool - and then all the sudden I see the police cars and the transition area - - I figured I had miscalculated (completely understandable for math challenged me) and must have really gone over the 118 watts towards the end (I was feeling pretty good, passing everyone).

Prepared two 24 oz bottles of malto (each bottle 575 calories, total of 1150 calories). Consumed 817 calories, plus 3 gels (100 calories each) for a total of 1117 calories (@3 hrs and 117 lbs = 3.18 cal/lb/hr). Took 2 generic tylenol with caffeine (can't remember exactly when).

I took one gel every hour on the hour - - with the first one as soon as I got on the bike.The frozen water bottles on the back were perfect - they stayed cool for the whole ride. I did pick up a water bottle on the second loop and toss my empty insulated water bottle.

nada.

good transition - just as practiced. did not use lace locks on shoes this time - - wondered if the looser shoe laces were contributing to my toes blistering or toe pain from gripping. Took a few extra seconds to tie the shoe laces.

nothing.

...so in order to get my time on the bike, I understood I may be giving a little up on the run. The goal for the run was to practice my Ironman pace for the first half. So, I had to practically walk to get my heart rate down.

Plan was to target my heart rate at 135 for the first 6.5 miles, and to walk all the aid stations, after that WHATEVER I FEEL LIKE!

It was pretty hard getting the heart rate down to 135 after the bike and then keeping it down, it felt like I was running "hella slow". I walked for 1 minute at all the aid stations the first half (they were place about every 1.5-2 miles). Refilled water bottle and empty malto bottles. Great cross country course - -loved it - - although there were several mud boggs. The last half, I just skipped the walk at the aid stations (had plenty of water) and at mile 10.5/11 hit the porta pot. I was miserable from mile 4 on - wishing I had stopped when I saw it, but thinking surely there would be another (note to self, go when the opportunity presents itself, don't wait - this was awful).

Prepared three 8 oz bottles of malto (350 cal of maltoand 150 cal of gatorade, total of 500 calories). Consumed 400 calories, plus 1 gel for a total of 500 calories (1.70/lb/hr). Also took 2 generic tylenol with caffeine on the run - I think it was about 30 minutes into the run. I had already taken 2 on the bike and was trying to time it 4 hours apart - - unfortunately, this was a problem after the race and later in the day - and when I re-read the bottle I realized I had taken too much, too soon (should have been 2 every 6 hours and I probably took 4 in about 3.5-4 hours). Felt absolutely awful, stomach was a mess.

go to the porta pot early and not try to hold it.......

since I sprinted the last 200 yards (and passed two more runners), I had to walk once I crossed the finish line. The volunteer was chasing me to get the timing chip, but I knew I had to walk - I would pass out if I stopped short. So, checked out the results and was sooooo happy to see my time. My best half iron to date was 6:53 and this was 6:25!! woo hoo! I used my dad's iphone to log in my splits and then noticed a number 2 by my name. I asked someone what that meant and was super excited to find out I placed 2nd in my age group. Wow! I wanted to scream and shout and jump up and down - -but contained it a little bit. I made it in before the awards started too. Yeah for me!!!


nothing - - it was a good race.


I did this race last year and vowed never to do it again. Primarily because there was not enough water on the run, volunteers had left their stations early, there were no markers at the end showing you where to go (the last loop of the campground) and when I reached the finish line, they had already finished the awards (and I made it across the finish line in time for the awards had they been done at the published time), there was no food and the transition area was completely down.

This year was a huge improvement. I loved the two loop course for both the bike and the ride. I had family in town and they were able to see me over the course of the race 5 or 6 times. It was great. Also, the run course was shaded and had TONS of volunteers and plenty of water and gatorade.

The one shortfall is the food at the end of the race. There were only a couple sandwiches left (I did take one) and a few bags of chips. Nothing else. No drinks other than water. As soon as the award ceremony was over, we headed out to eat.

I hope the race director keeps the bike and run courses - -they need to find a way to extend the bike course by 4 miles and shorten the run course by a mile - -but absolutely LOVED the modified courses.

Also helps that it was the perfect day for a race. Upper 50's to low 60's in the morning and probably low 70's for the run. Gorgeous!!