Tawas Triathlon Festival - HIM - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Tawas, Michigan
United States
3Disciplines
72F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 09m 12s
Overall Rank = 12/157
Age Group = M 25-29
Age Group Rank = 2/14
Pre-race routine:

Headed to Tawas Friday afternoon and got to the cottage we rented on Lake Huron about 5:00. The cottage was beautiful. I went to PPU and got my gear bag, chip, and body marked. I took the car to take a look at the run course...not very impressive. It was flat in residential areas but was also on gravel roads and not too scenic. We grabbed some dinner (standard chicken and rice) and got home around 8:15. I was in bed around 9:30 and set 3 alarms to make sure I got up. I woke up about 4:30 and could not get back to sleep after that. I finally got out of bed at 5:20 and jumped in the shower. I had a bagel w/ peanut butter, banana, cup of coffee. Packed up the car and took off about 6:15.
Event warmup:

Got my transition area setup..pumped the tires...at half of a clif bar. I had a GU about 25 minutes before my wave start.
Swim
  • 37m 3s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 45s / 100 yards
Comments:

I started in the 2nd row back for a beach start. This was an all male wave (approx. 130 people) The gun went off and we ran into the water and dolphin dived a couple times before getting to the turn buoy at 50 meters pretty quickly - made the turn and immediately got into a nice rythem. I was concentrating on keeping my stroke long and not burning up too much energy on the swim. It was a long way to that turn buoy but I felt really good the entire swim. I was passing alot of people throughout and finally got on the feet of somebody after the turn buoy to head back. I ended up inside the buoy line and had to jump over at one of the buoys to get by on the correct side which cost me some time. I was then in a big group of people and took on some water. I only had a few hundred yards left and made the last turn into the beach. I was happy with the swim minus a few blunders.

The swim time includes a 300 meter run up to the tranisiton area across US-23 into the parking lot. I was out of the water in about 35:30 which was about where I wanted to be.
What would you do differently?:

Navigate better...I got complacent watching another swimmer and trusting their sighting and got burned...not a huge time loss..but something I can correct.
Transition 1
  • 02m 5s
Comments:

This was a pretty bad transition...I got my suit caught up on the timing chip and took a bit to get it off. I got into my shoes..grabbed the sunglasses and helmet and took off.
What would you do differently?:

Get out of my suit quicker..I am usually one of the best OA at transitions and not so much today.
Bike
  • 2h 39m 48s
  • 56 miles
  • 21.03 mile/hr
Comments:

My HR was a bit high after the long run to transition and tried to slow my pace down a bunch to try and get it under control..apparently I did not do a very good job. My legs just did not feel the same as they did at SOR in July. I was kind of struggling to maintain a nice tempo pace. The first 10 miles of the ride is a gradual elevation gain and I pushed this section pretty hard thinking I could rest for a bit after that on the downhill portions. Take a right on River Road and it was nice roadways and pretty flat where I was flying and then a long downhill section where you can get aero and bomb down. Hit the first turnaround at the 40K mark and was in 18th place after being in 30th after the swim. That nice downhill section turned into a long climb and passed another competitor here. It took a little while to get the HR back in a good spot after that climb and then got a break with some flats for about 5 miles. Take another right turn for a long curvy descent to another turnaround and I had moved up to 16th. This climb was a bit nastier as I had to put it in the granny gear giving it all she had for some steep sections back up...that hurt a bit! The final 20K back was in to a slight headwind but mostly flats. I knew in the last ten miles of this ride that I was not going to have the same run as SOR and that this was going to hurt a bit. I had the same nutrition plan as my last HIM (625 calories Infinit) and taking in water at each aid station. I probably drank 2 aero bottles of water but this was just not enough. I came in to T2 knowing there was pain ahead.
What would you do differently?:

Pace this ride better...improve bike muscular endurance...order a new 2010 Felt B12...not in that order however.


Transition 2
  • 00m 42s
Comments:

Had a pretty good transition here other than my bike fell off the rack and had to re-rack it again. socks on, shoes on, visor on, gu bottle in the shirt, and grabbed my race belt before taking off.
What would you do differently?:

Get my bike on the rack the first time.
Run
  • 1h 49m 36s
  • 13.86 miles
  • 07m 55s  min/mile
Comments:

Let the pain begin....I started out at 7:30s and felt like I was barely moving. My HR was really high and just did not feel very good. I had bad thoughts running through my head and was a bit mad that I did not pace the bike better. I thought that if I just stuck with it I would feel better and put together a good half marathon. I kept chugging along taking in GU at each aid station with some water. I had a competitor about 800 feet ahead of me and just concentrated on trying to catch him. I did not catch him until the 5 mile mark but it felt good to know that I may still have something in me. As I made the turnaround I saw Rachael and the inlaws and I let them know this felt like a death march(After the race they said I looked good at that point...I told them I was in a lot of pain). As I made the turn I realized there had not been an aid station in a really long time. I ended up going about 2.5 miles without an aid station or any fluid and that was not good for business. I had moved up to 12th by the 8 mile mark and 10th by the 10 mile mark. I could not believe that I was passing people but I just kept moving forward and it seemed lots of people were hurting. I think that bike course took alot out of alot of people. I ended up walking the last 2 or 3 aid station to take in a full glass of water and because I was totally exhausted. I got passed by 2 people in the last 3 miles and ended up finishing 12th OA. The last long straightaway to the finish line was nice and I was glad to be done. It came up later by more than one person that the run course measured 13.86-13.92 miles in length and not 13.1...wow! I was hoping to run 7:20s on this run but just did not happen today.
What would you do differently?:

Pace my race better and drink more water on the bike.
Post race
Warm down:

I was completely exhausted after getting over the finish line. I probably drank 6 glasses of HEED and 3 water bottles in a half hour after I crossed and was very sore and tight everywhere. I walked around and stretched. Got back to the cottage and took a dip in Lake Huron to cool off. A shower and a nap also helped.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I really think that I can go 4:45 on this course (the one that measures 13.1 on the run) which was my original goal. Hopefully I can come back again one day and prove it but on this day the course kicked my butt! I learned alot from this race and it will only help me in the future. I was happy that I was able to push through the pain but not happy that I did not get my result.

Event comments:

I loved the City of Tawas and the area in general..it was fantastic. Minus the aid station problem at the turnaround and the run course being boring and 0.75 miles long it was a good race in a great area.




Last updated: 2009-06-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:37:03 | 2112 yards | 01m 45s / 100yards
Age Group: 3/14
Overall: 30/157
Performance: Good
Suit: Blue Seventy Helix Sleeveless
Course: Lake Huron - Out 50 meters to turn buoy and then a rectangular out and back keeping buoys on your left. Crystal clear water.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:05
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Bad Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:39:48 | 56 miles | 21.03 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/14
Overall: 22/157
Performance: Average
Wind: Some
Course: The course heads out on Monument Drive with a slight incline to the 10 mile mark to a right on River Road which descends down to the 25 mile mark..big climb back out to a short out and back section with another fast descent and big climb back out and then slightly downhill to the TA although we had a slight headwind back in.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:42
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Bad
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:49:36 | 13.86 miles | 07m 55s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/14
Overall: 17/157
Performance: Bad
Course: Through the neighborhoods of East Tawas on paved and gravel roadways with a .75 mile straightaway to the finish line...2 loop course. The course was pretty boring and left something to be desired.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4