Mooseman Triathlon Festival - Half Iron Distance - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Bristol, New Hampshire
United States
Endorfun Sports
Precipitation
Total Time = 5h 04m 4s
Overall Rank = 104/840
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 9/57
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 5 and ate a Cliff bar and started hydrating with water. Figured I was giving myself plenty of time to get situated at the race, but that was not the case. The long walk from the parking area and the line to get into the race/body marking was really long so I actually had to rush out of the transition area because they were closing it for the race. I took a GU Roctane just prior to heading to the beach.
Event warmup:

Did a little bit of active stretching (not as much as planned) and did a quick swim. Didn't have time for anything else unfortunately.
Swim
  • 32m 51s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 34s / 100 yards
Comments:

The rain started just before the swim. Definitely not my best swim. However, the course seemed extremely long. The water actually got pretty choppy the deeper we got out and I was pretty surprised about that. I had a hard time getting into it during the swim and I think I could have focused on giving a stronger pull on my strokes. However, I did go a little easier than normal knowing the bike course I had ahead of me.
What would you do differently?:

The course was a little deceiving. The buoys shifted out wider as it went out and back, which I didn't realize before hand. If I had known, I would have started out more to the right.
Transition 1
  • 01m 29s
Comments:

I had a good spot in transition so I was pretty happy about that. I got my wetsuit off very quickly and was really happy to do so. However, I'm not sure if my breath hit my sunglasses when I was putting them on, but as soon as I put them on, they were completely fogged. As a result I took them off and ran with them in my hand for a while. The transition was very muddy and I actually had a hard time keeping my bike upright. I actually bumped into a volunteer by accident with it. Oops! Besides that, things went well. I had my gloves setup on my aero bars and I was able to get them on smoothly on the bike so that was good.
What would you do differently?:

Not have foggy sunglasses. Besides that, things went pretty well.
Bike
  • 2h 49m 8s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.87 mile/hr
Comments:

Avg Power: 247

Pretty happy with my bike split. My goal was to average 20 mph and I came in just under that. I'm really glad I went and did the course the weekend before because I would not have done nearly as well on it if I hadn't. I pushed on the hills pretty good, but did my best not to over do it. The hill section on the first loop was really tough (saw a lot of people walking it on my second loop through), but I battled through it. I actually felt it was easier on the second time around, which is a very good sign on my pacing. I was shooting for 275 watts average, but since there was a speed limit on the big downhill session (yes, you read that right), I did a nice brake on the long downhill section, which dropped my power output and cadence.
My nutrition went pretty well. I took a GU about minutes into the bike and was drinking about 4-6 ounces of GU 2 O every 15 minutes. I had half a Cliff bar at the 1 hour mark of the ride and the other half at the 2 hour mark. I took 3 other GUs during the ride, one of which just about 2 miles from the end of the ride.
Considering all the hills, I'm pretty happy with this. Oh yeah, let's not forget that it was raining the entire time and sometimes it felt like needles hitting you. That couldn't have helped too much although I was able to avoid most of the puddles.
What would you do differently?:

Work on my climbing. I'm happy with the job I did on the hills, but I still think there is room for improvement. I think I'm finally ready to say that the bike is my favorite of the 3 disciplines.
Transition 2
  • 00m 56s
Comments:

Had a good T2. I did put a plastic bag of my shoes, socks, and hat in anticipation of all the rain so I think that helped. My feet were a little muddy from running the transition area, but I got my socks and shoes on quite quickly.
What would you do differently?:

Not too most, I guess hope for dryer conditions. Oh yeah, I did knock a bottle off when dismounting so I would like to try to avoid that in the future if possible.
Run
  • 1h 39m 40s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 37s  min/mile
Comments:

My run didn't go as well as I had hoped. I was shooting for about a 7:10 pace so I was about 30 seconds off, which is disappointing. I did implement the run/walk method and I'm REALLY glad I did. I did 9:40 of running with 20 seconds of power walking. I started out pretty well and did the first 2 to 3 segments (the 10 min blocks) at my goal pace. However, my left shin was really hurting right from the start, which I'm surprised about because I've never had pain there before. Nonetheless, I was able to shake it after about 25 minutes or so. I did start to cramp during the 3rd segment. I was able to battle through that cramp, but did have to walk one of the hills due to my quads threatening to spasm, especially my right one. I figured I would be better served to not try to push through that cause it could really ruin me. I slowed down by pace after that for a while, but I got a bad cramp on the second loop. I did some extra walking to get it out, but just couldn't get rid of it. However, I pushed hard at the end and the cramp didn't get any worse. I felt my nutrition was pretty good on the run as well. I switched between Gatorade and water at each water stop (every mile). I took 1 GU at a little before the half way point of the run. Looking back on it, I wish I had tried to push through it or picked it up a little earlier, but not much I can do about it now. That is over a 5 min faster run split than I did on my last HIM so I'd say that's some pretty good improvement. Nonetheless, I need to improve my run.
What would you do differently?:

I think my goal pace may have been a little too aggressive after such a tough bike course and probably resulted in the cramping. I think I also could have pushed a little harder on the second loop, but the cramping scarred me too much. I'm going to continue to focus on my run and get faster! However, I'm definitely becoming a big believer in the run walk method.
Post race
Warm down:

Didn't do too much to warm down. I felt soo much better than I did when I finished my last HIM. I'm not sure if that means I didn't go hard enough, but I think it shows how much I fitness is continuing to improve. Did do some stretching and waited in the massage line after getting something to eat for about 15 minutes, but it wasn't moving very fast and my fam wanted to get going so I passed on it.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Gigantic hills definitely slowed my down on the bike and cramping on the run.

Event comments:

First off, I was really happy we got the race in. It did rain the entire race, but I was nervous they were going to have to cancel it due to the weather, especially after they canceled the swim in the Olympic distance race the day before. My goal was to come in under 5 hours, which I did not do, but considering the conditions, I'm pretty happy as it was a really tough course. I'm disappointed with my swim and run times, but it's all good as I'm still getting faster. I really liked this race and had an awesome weekend even with the rough weather.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-11-30 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:32:51 | 2112 yards | 01m 34s / 100yards
Age Group: 11/57
Overall: 198/840
Performance: Below average
Avg HR: 156 Max HR: 192 Not sure how exact this HR info is because I definitely didn't feel like I was going this hard and my HR monitor doesn't work very well in the water.
Suit: Blue Seventy Helix
Course: It was a big U shape from one corner of the beach to the other
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 57F / 14C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:29
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:49:08 | 56 miles | 19.87 mile/hr
Age Group: 9/57
Overall: 117/840
Performance: Good
Avg HR: 162 Max HR: 188
Wind: Some
Course: Essentially it was a 3 loop bike course. Did the first loop twice that had the real hard hill section and then did a shorter loop. Course elevated just under 3,000 feet.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence: 77
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:56
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:39:40 | 13.1 miles | 07m 37s  min/mile
Age Group: 14/57
Overall: 166/840
Performance: Below average
Avg HR: 168 Max HR: 192
Course: 2 out and back loops with a few hills
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
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] 4