Pigman Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Palo, Iowa
United States
JMS Racing Services
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 04m 36s
Overall Rank = 60/482
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 12/46
Pre-race routine:

I was in the last wave which went off at 8:10, so I woke up around 4:15 to eat a bagel, banana and some coffee and then went back to bed. The three of us headed out of the motel in Cedar Rapids around 5:30 in order to be at the state park when the transition opened at 6.
Event warmup:

The elite wave went off at 7:30 so I had some time to kill. Went into the water at about 7:40 to warm up by doing some 50 yd segments.
Swim
  • 46h 44m
  • 2112 yards
  • 2h 12m 46s / 100 yards
Comments:

Since this is my first summer at tris I have not had much time to devote to swim training so I simply went in hoping to minimize my losses on the swim portion. This swim was my longest swim ever. I did a decent job of navigating buoys on the first leg of the triangle. However, on the second leg I somehow started following 4-5 swimmers that I thought were heading towards a buoy. Unfortunately I realized after about 4 minutes that they were off course so I had to re-adjust my line. Anyway, I finished the swim, but I have a ton of work to do before Ironman Wisconsin in 2006.
What would you do differently?:

Navigate better and train a lot more before 2006
Transition 1
  • 04m 25s
Comments:

Had to pee pretty bad so that slowed up this T time, which negated any benefit of not having to fool around with taking off a wetsuit. Should have stopped in the water to pee before exiting swim but I didn't want to stop. Live and learn.
What would you do differently?:

Pee in the water!
Bike
  • 2h 38m 42s
  • 56 miles
  • 21.17 mile/hr
Comments:

This represented the longest bike distance I've ever done, so again it was a learning experience. I raced a 50 mile bike race a couple of weeks ago, so I had pretty good confidence that I would finish OK going into this portion of the tri. I had plenty of people in earlier waves to use as targets so I passed a ton of people.
What would you do differently?:

Just get more miles on my legs for 2006
Transition 2
  • 02m 5s
Comments:

Things seemed to go smoothly. Didn't get too rushed.
What would you do differently?:

nothing
Run
  • 1h 32m 42s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 05s  min/mile
Comments:

Being a marathon runner just recently trying out triathlons, I was looking forward to the run. My legs felt very good from the beginning. I couldn't believe how many people were walking within the first mile. My first mile was around 6:48 but it felt like I was going much slower. Then I eased into the 7:05-7:10 range and then slowed a little on the hill at 11 mi. Last 2 miles felt decent. Could not believe how many people I passed. Got a lot of encouragement from slower runners that yelled "great pace!"
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Post race
Warm down:

Kept moving for about 5 minutes.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

This was only my second triathlon ever, after having done an Int'l distance in July. I didn't even decide to start doing tris until mid-summer so I had minimal swimming mileage under my belt. I had done a fair amount of biking as part of training for x-c ski racing so I was satisfied with my bike performance but I think I have the potential to significantly improve my bike and swim abilities.

Event comments:

I would highly recommend this race. Swim and transitions were held in a state park that was clean and had a lot of room. Parking was adequate. Volunteers were great. Great food (spaghetti, pizza, fruit, yogurt, bread, fluids, etc.). This is part of the Midwest Multi-sport Series -which after each event Gear West gives away a QR tri bike, QR wetsuit, tri bag with running shoes, bike shoes, helmet, other stuff inside the bag. So, everyone sticks around for the door prizes at the end. I missed the bike giveway by one digit. I will return for this race in 2006 and will likely do the sprint distance earlier in the summer at the same venue which is also part of this race series. High marks all around on this race!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Last updated: 2005-08-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
46:44:00 | 2112 yards | 2h 12m 46s / 100yards
Age Group: 36/46
Overall: 302/482
Performance: Below average
Suit: Sugoi tri shorts, Zoot top
Course: The water temps dictated no wetsuits if you wanted to have your results count. Simple triangle course.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:25
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:38:42 | 56 miles | 21.17 mile/hr
Age Group: 16/46
Overall: 80/482
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:05
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:32:42 | 13.1 miles | 07m 05s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/46
Overall: 21/482
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back course on decent road with one hill just before the turnaround and a signigicant hill on the return at the 11 mi mark.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5