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 Swim
Comments: I was both nervous and excited about the swim. ( oh yea, and very cold). I had put in about twice the swim volume for this race, and had a swim coach that yelled at me about high elbows, and a good catch, so I was hoping to leave my terrible swims behind me. The water was warmer than the air, so it didn't feel too bad getting in. The swim course was very eerie looking with the fog rising up off the water. Still not confident about the swim, I placed myself at the back of the pack. I swam with a nice easy stroke, and followed the line. The line was fantastic, like a stripe at the bottom of a pool. The only problem was a lot of people were swimming the line too, so it was pretty congested. I swam until my hand hit the exit ramp. Out of the water in 38:10. Whoo Hoo. Goal #1, check! What would you do differently?: Now that I can hold my stroke together the whole race, I will break the swim into parts and push harder on the final leg.  Transition 1
Comments: I am really slow in transition, so I actually practiced this several time during training. During my first race, my transitions times were around 5min. This time I had my Garmin already powered up, my bike shoes in the pedals, my glasses stuck in the holes on top of my helmet, and my nutrition & gloves in a bag. The only think different was that it was so cold I had to put on a thermal top. When I reached my bike I slid my wet suit off with no problem, crammed the bag of food in my back pocket, put on the thermal top, put on my helmet, and ran out of T1 with my bike in 2:11. Goal #3, check! What would you do differently?: Pick a warmer race, so I don't have to put on extra clothes.:)  Bike
Comments: Worst bike ever. I was about half way up the first hill when I realized that my seat was set to low, also my cadence meter wasn't working. This along with my lack of strength to pedal up the hills, and my lack of skill for fast descents made for a very long ride. I really got a sense of how many people were in the race, because I think all of them passed me. Most passed me doing about 50mph downhill, while I was breaking all the way down. The max elevation on my training rides here in Florida Is about 12 feet, so when I finally crested the top of one of the mountains (rolling hills) and see the steep winding road down with an ambulance at the bottom, I'm going to ride my brakes all the way down. I knew that my bike would be slower, and I was hoping for 1mph or maybe 2mph slower than normal, but the ride being this tough was unexpected. During training I felt that I had really dialed my hydration and nutrition. However, that was riding in 90deg temps, not 55deg, so to add to an already bad pace, I had to stop and pee three times. Needless to say me and my knees were very glad to be done with the bike. My concern at mile 55 was, I'm I going to be able to run. What would you do differently?: Add to my todo list to do a thorough bike check. Do several out of town bike rides to work on hills, and just spend more time on the bike. This has passed swimming as my worst discipline, which is funny because this is the sport I started with as a young'n. Transition 2
Comments: Sweet! I had my feet out of my bike shoes about a half mile before T2. In pasted races I have had trouble with just regular bike dismounts. Once I almost fell over because I couldn't get my shoes unclipped, and another time I about flipped my bike over by stopping to quick with my front brake. For this race I had practiced the rolling dismount several times in training, so I was very pleased when I hopped off my bike and kept running into T2 with no problems. T2 was awesome. I pulled my helmet and thermal shirt off. I already had my socks (with baby power in them) rolled up and in my shoes, so I just rolled my socks up my feet and slid my shoes on. I had my GUs, Sunglasses (I have a different pair for running, I'm wiered that way), Garmin wrist strap, and hat in a zip lock bag, so I just grabbed the bag and ran out of transition. . I put on all my stuff while running. I also had a note on the bag reminding me to take my Garmin, and take off my bike helmet. When practicing this in training; I would run off with my helmet still on. That idea worked great. I was in and out of T2 in 2:15. Goal #3, check. What would you do differently?: Just practice a little more, so I don't have to think as much while doing it.  Run
Comments: I was really worried about the run coming in at the end of the bike. I didn’t know if my knees or legs would hold up after that bike. However, my plan was to start out at a 2hr pace and keep it as long as possible. After the first mile I was at an 8:30 pace and feeling good, I made sure to slow down to a 9min pace and hold it steady. This is where the temperature finally started feeling good. My feet thawed out after three miles, and I could finaly feel my toes. After that the cool air and low humidity helped my run considerably. After a mile or two I was starting to get a bit worried. we were told that the second half of the loop was the hilly part. I was thinking ˜how much hillier could it get?" At about mile 3.5 I found out, it was a big long hill that you would have been very glad to get past, except at the bottom you had to turn around and run right back up it. Thankfully I plowed right through it, and didn't lose any time on my pace. I made sure to hold my concentration enough to eat a GU every three miles and drink every two miles. This worked well, and I never felt like I was losing energy due to lack of fuel. It was around mile 8 that I started hurting, but I had a bike leg to redeem myself for, so I kept pushing the pace. It was nice not having to stop at every water station to pour ice down your shirt, and stick cold sponges in your hat. The great conditions on the run just about made up for the cold swim and the freezing bike. Whatever it was, I was able to keep up my pace to the end to finish in 1:58. Goal #2, check! What would you do differently?: I was very pleased. I could have concentrated more and sucked it up and pushed harder for the last mile. Post race
Warm down: Sat on a cot and tried not to through-up. After I packed up my gear and dropped my bike off at the LBS to ship back to FL, I walked around for 30min wondering how I was going to get back to the hotel. The shuttle bus that brought me to the start in the morning was nowhere to be seen. Transportation back might have been a good thing to have planned better. (note to self, add to list.) I wound up calling a cab, and the cost was more than a reserved parking spot would have been. What limited your ability to perform faster: Bike performance. Need to develop more strength for hills, and better endurance on bike. Event comments: I guess I was expecting it to be ‘more’ being an Ironman 70.3 race, but it was great on its own. Bad: If you are from Florida it is COLD & HILLY. Good: Everything else. Great support. Great volunteers. Great scenery. Last updated: 2009-08-06 12:00 AM
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United States
WTC (World Triathlon Corporation) (Ironman 70.3)
55F / 13C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 606/875
Age Group = 40-45
Age Group Rank = 86/102
This might be a little detailed for a race report, but this is also for me to read and remember what to do and what not to do.
I Arrived in Seattle from Florida on Friday afternoon. I picked up my rental car, hooked up my GPS, and headed to the race hotel. Thanks to my GPS the trip was uneventful, just the way I like it. I had a very detailed schedule typed out for the weekend, so I would know exactly what to do and when to do it. I did the race brief, picked up the race packet, and went to olive garden for dinner. All very uneventful, just the way I like it. My wife didn't join me on this trip. I wanted this to be a quick trip out, race, and quick trip back. The decision was a mistake. The whole weekend would have been more relaxing and enjoyable if she would have been there. I need to remember this for next time.
I was a little disappointed in the size of the expo. I have raced Gulf Coast HIM in Panama City Beach FL, and the expo. was much much larger. I think I was expecting more, being an official Ironman 70.3 race. Not a big deal though, and they had some cool shirts and caps.
Saturday, I woke up at 3:30am, the same time I expected to wake for the race. I eat the same breakfast (a little less) that I would have before the race. At about 6:00 I drove out to the race site, scouted around, and took a quick swim to test the water. I was really worried about the water temp, but it wasn't terrible. Cold, but not terrible. After that I went back to the hotel and took a long nap.
Saturday afternoon, I drove back out to the race site, and picked up my back from the LBS. I took my bike on a quick ride out of town to test these "rolling hills" I had read so much about. For good or bad, on this short ride, I didn't get a taste of the real hills. I also didn't pay enough attention to my bike setup, and didn't notice that my seat was set way to low. This would bite me in the butt on the bike leg. I checked to see that the swim buoys were out, so I took another quick swim to verify that I could see this underwater cable I had read about. I LOVE THAT CABLE.
Saturday evening, I packed up all my gear. I found a good system for me. I separated all my gear in zip lock bags for a nice organized bag. Are you seeing that I am pretty anal. It works for me. :)
Sunday morning I woke up at 3:30, had two Ensures and two breakfast bars for breakfast. I did a last minute check of my packed gear, and went to the bathroom. I hate it when I can’t go to the bathroom before a race, so I was very pleased.
I took the shuttle bus to the race site, so I wouldn't have to worry about parking. I unpacked my gear and set up my transition area in the dark. That was a surprise, I never though there wouldn't be lights in the transition.
Goals:
Swim: < 40min
Run: <2:00
Transitions: <3min
Bike: 18mph
Time: < 6 hours
In that order. I was very worried about the hills on the bike, so if I saw my bike time slipping, I was going to take it easy on the bike, forget my goal time, and pound it on the run.
My warm up was sitting on the curb and shaking. It was very cold.