Troika Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

All right, I had two goals of differing likelihood. Plan A was what I would hope for if everything were perfect--I got the perfect swim draft, perfect navigation, perfect transitions, etc. Plan B was what I should be able to accomplish no matter what. The most realistic result was something in between. So here's how it broke down for the swim:

Plan A = 30 minutes (just extrapolating my sprint speed all the way up to 1.2 miles--no problem at all)

Plan B = 35 minutes (just a few seconds faster than what I did last year, when I had a busted shoulder)

Try as I might, I couldn't get to the swim start in time for a warmup, and I didn't get much arm stretching done. In fact, when the race director was announcing "60 seconds to the start," I was putting on the top half of my wetsuit. I barely got it on in time. It turned out that the lack of warmup wasn't too big of a deal, because the swim start wasn't violent and I got a chance to get my rhythm. The big problem was that I didn't have time to lick and wash my goggles, so they got fogged up shortly after the start. I was blind as a bat for the whole swim. I could see swimmers underwater when they were very close, but I really couldn't see anything above water. As a result, my navigation--which is usually my strength--was pretty poor. I'm not sure whether I stayed on course or not, but I was definitely zig-zagging quite a bit. In fact, someone punched me in the eye about halfway through, and I think it's because I zagged toward him at the wrong moment. My goggle filled with water as a result...but I just went with it.

To make up for my blindness, I tried to draft as much as possible. This worked out pretty well, as I was behind feet for at least 3/4 of the race. Not always directly behind them, but close enough to get a draft and follow the bubbles. My drafting wasn't perfect because of the goggle thing, but I was happy with it.

Because I was focused on drafting, I didn't push into the red zone during the swim. I went at a steady reasonably fast place and tried avoid kicking hard, as I would want my legs later in the day. The last 200 meters or so seemed really hard. That shoreline just didn't seem to get any closer, and our little draft line broke up as everyone sprinted to the finish. I had to actually use my eyes to find the finish, so I didn't enjoy that so much.

The swim experience was less than ideal, but my time was pretty good and I was happy with it.

Get ready for the race more quickly. If I could see I think I would have gone a lot faster. I would also push the middle portion of the race, once I got my rhythm going.

My goal here was 2 minutes. I was pretty close, but the transition was still slow and had a few mistakes. After the swim running to my bike was pretty tough. I got out of my suit okay, but I got dizzy and lost my dexterity when putting on my bike shoes. It happens now and then during T1.

I perhaps unnecessarily lengthened T1 by putting on fresh sunscreen. It was an aerosol bottle and I just quickly sprayed my legs and arms, but I think the stuff I put on before the race was still there. Better safe than sorry, I guess.

No sunscreen. Also, using tri shoes instead of regular bike shoes would speed it up, but I haven't used my tri shoes for any long rides yet.

Plan A = 2:40, 21.0 mph, 195 W
Plan B = 2:45, 20.3 mph, 185 W

(power values are just made up)

Nutrition plan:
1 GU per hour.
200 liquid Calories (cytomax) per hour.
16-20 oz. fluid per hour.
Half a banana at some point.
This works out to ~300 Calories/hour and ~800 total.

The bike course is point-to-point with some interesting features--some flats, some rollers, a couple horrible climbs, and one super terrifying turn at the end. I'm not very good relative to other bikers on flat ground, but I climb and descend well. So, my overall strategy was to survive the flat parts and reel people in on hills (I actually had a very detailed strategy but I'll spare you the details). Last year I got real dehydrated for this race, so I wanted to especially focus on nutrition as well.

I executed all parts of the strategy very well. The bikers mostly sorted themselves out in the first 15 miles, before the big hills started. From that point on I steadily moved up in the field, albeit slowly, and a few of us were just leapfrogging each other for the last 20 miles. It was fun though, because I was attacking instead of just riding at a constant pace--just like a real cyclist! On uphills I got out of the saddle to cruise by my competitors, and on the downhills I said "53x11" and was gone. When the course hit flat spots the other bikers caught and passed me again.

With 6 miles to go we hit some steep hills, and according to my cyclocomputer I was rocking 21.5 mph--much higher than what I thought would be possible (although I would later find out my computer has a ~1% error in it). So, at this point I decided to shift my focus to the run. I backed off the pace a bit, especially on uphills, so that my legs could rest. I lightened up on how much I was drinking and let the other bikers get away from me. I decided I would see them again on the run, and beating me at the bike would at least make them feel good since we were fighting for so long.

At mile 55 there was an amazingly dangerous turn. The road went downhill and curved to the left, and there was a concrete barricade on one side (with someone's P3C leaned against it for some reason). I went into this turn very fast and nearly slammed right into the P3C at 25+ mph. I grabbed the brakes just in time to barely escape, and having successfully escaped I decided that the curve the most exciting and fun part of the race.

Because of the cyclocomputer error my time wasn't as close to 2:40 as I thought it would be, but it was still a great ride for me. I didn't actually think I was capable of averaging over 20 mph, so this was great.

I bet I could have pushed harder. I also should have drunk a little more. I desperately wanted to avoid stopping for a "natural break", but after all that time in the saddle I was so numb I wasn't sure whether I had to go or not. In the last 10 miles I had to keep checking my shorts to see if I accidentally peed my pants without knowing it. Luckily I didn't. And aren't you glad I included that information?

My goal was 1 minute here.

I tried a flying dismount with bicycle shoes for the first time, since I enjoy trying new things on race day. I barely got my feet out of the shoes in time.

This race is sweet because they catch the bike for you. So, I hopped of the bike, threw my helmet at them, popped on my shoes and was off. I believe I even got out of T2 before at least one of the bikers that I let go ahead of me earlier.

Nothing.

Plan A = 1:31:42, 7:00/mile
Plan B = 1:35:00, 7:15/mile (a tiny bit faster than last year)

Mile 1 = 6:55
Mile 2 = 6:32
Mile 3 = 6:45
Mile 4 = 6:43
Mile 5 = 7:09
Mile 6 = 7:16
Mile 7 = 5:56
Mile 8 = 7:10
Mile 9 = 7:33
Mile 10 = 6:52
Mile 11 = 7:03
Mile 12 = 7:34
Mile 13 = 7:57
0.1 at the end = 0:48

Last year I got very dehydrated and blew up on the run, so I wanted to be very careful this time. Made sure I started drinking at mile 2, and I had a couple GU packets with me. The first 4 miles felt really comfortable. In fact, I didn't think I was pushing hard enough, even though my times were sub-7:00. I drank HEED so that my belly almost had all it could carry without cramping, and I poured a lot of water on my head at every aid station. I thought this was going to be a great run, completely without incident, and for the most part it was.

Amazingly, things went south really fast at the end. At mile 11 my brain started to get a little bit foggy, but it wasn't too bad. I felt better for mile 12, but I guess I was still slowing down. Then at mile 13 I really crashed--I was dizzy and disoriented and my muscles didn't really work. I was in survival mode, just trying to preserve my finishing place. I almost succeeded, but got kicked down at the end by someone who came out of nowhere. I was cruising at sub-7:00 pace before mile 13, and my fastest mile, mile 7, was 5:56. Mile 13 was 7:57 and just killed my overall pace.

I was disappointed that my finish time was 4:50:03. 4:49:59 would have looked a lot better! But still, it was a fast run and a great race for me. Last year I blew up at mile 8 and this year it happened at mile 13, so that's an improvement. And I chopped over 14 minutes off of my overall time, so it was a good race.

Here were my overall goal times:
Plan A = 4:44:42
Plan B = 4:58:00
Plan A swim/Plan B bike/Plan A run = 4:49:42

The third option is what I expected to actually happen, and although my swim was weaker and my bike was stronger, I came really close to that time.

I guess I still have room to improve my run nutrition. It's amazing how problems can pop up so suddenly, even if you feel great for most of the race. I think my problem came from the mile 8 aid station. I didn't drink HEED there--instead I dumped water on my head--and I think that HEED might have helped me delay the breakdown a little longer.

I really wish I had gone 4 seconds faster so I could get under 4:50. I can think of at least half a dozen places in the race where I should have been 4 seconds faster.

I grabbed some water and HEED, and tried to walk around. I couldn't walk much as my head was still really cloudy. I wound up crawling up on a picnic table and almost fell asleep, so I decided to go to the medical tent.

After eating lunch under the watch of the doctors, I felt better, and I eventually stretched out my muscles. They were very tight since I didn't really cool them down.

I stopped at Medical Lake on my way home to take a poor man's shower in the lake. Then I made the long drive home, with several stops for much-needed naps.


Swim: goggle problems
Bike: I just don't know my limits yet
Run: I only had 12 miles in my legs and I needed 13.


The race directors and volunteers at this race do a really great job, and Great Harvest Bread Company puts together an awesome meal at the finish line. The bike is really fun, but the run is very hot. You have to make sure you drink a lot or you will pay for it. I was upset last year because I saw a lot of cheaters (drafting, blocking, pacing), but this year it seems like they really got that under control.

If you want to set a PR for T2, you can't beat Troika.

There's just one negative about this race:
The scary turn at mile 55 is pretty dangerous and has surprised me every year. I know a few people crashed there, so they should put a warning sign up as you approach the turn.