Ironman Kansas 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Lawrence, Kansas
United States
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 28m 39s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Got to Lawrence on Saturday afternoon and walked several miles in flip flops and sweated nearly 2 pounds of water just checking in for the race. Ate dinner with Megan and a nice Italian restaurant and then headed to the hotel to relax and get a good night's sleep.
I was up by 4AM on Sunday, ate some breakfast, packed up, and was in the car ready to head to the lake by 4:45...Traffic was really backed up by the lake and it took forever. After parking and catching the bus I probably got to T2 around 5:45 (much later than I had wanted). I then I to make the long walk to T1 and air up my tires etc.
Event warmup:

Nothing much but some walking here and there to set up the transition areas, putting on the wetsuit, and trying to relax.
Swim
  • 43m 17s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 03s / 100 yards
Comments:

Well what can I say...this went about as well as I could expect for my swimming ability (or lack thereof) and since this was my first OWS of 2010 and my first time wearing my wetsuit...once the race got started it probably took me 500 yards until I was able to settle down and relax and stop hyperventilating out there. After getting caught up in a big pack and getting kicked and my legs grabbed I had a hard time relaxing, Once things got thinned out I was able to relax and swim like I do when I'm at the Y, For the most part the swim felt pretty good. As I was exiting the water attempting to remove my wetsuit on the run, I managed to yank the string from my zipper and couldn't reach the zipper to take it down and had to ask somebody to help me out (otherwise I'd had to bike in my wetsuit!).
What would you do differently?:

Practice open water swims PRIOR to race day.
Transition 1
  • 03m 8s
Comments:

Once I got out of the water I grabbed the string attached to my wetsuit zipper to pull it down, but instead it decided to break off. I couldn't pull the zipper down by myself and had to find somebody to help me. This I think really put a kink into my T1 time.
Bike
  • 2h 49m 40s
  • 56 miles
  • 19.80 mile/hr
Comments:

Despite the hills of Lawrence I managed to do much better than I expected on the bike (I even got it up to 40 mph on one of the downhills!...a max speed for me!). I actually felt really good on the up hills and managed to pass quite a few people (which then passed me on the downhill)...maybe I used too much energy cranking up the hill because I started feeling some fatigue around mile 40 something and thought that was a bad sign since I still had the run coming up. I think I hammered the ride way too hard because by the time I got to T2 I felt zapped of energy and had nothing left to give for the run.
What would you do differently?:

Ride more. Maybe relax more on the bike and try to save my legs for the run.
Transition 2
  • 03m 34s
Comments:

I pretty much felt defeated while riding into T2 and wasn't ready to endure the run since I had already hit the "wall." I took my time taking off my shoes and putting on my socks and racing flats. I realized as I was putting on my shoes that I left my body glide and sunscreen in T1. My neck and back were already getting roasted by the sun and I needed to reapply sunscreen, but couldn't.
Run
  • 1h 49m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 19s  min/mile
Comments:

The run (which I was looking forward to most prior to the race) turned out to be the most disappointing and hardest for me. By the time I got off the bike I had hit the wall. Usually in a marathon I hit it around mile 22, but today I hit it with 13.1 miles to got. Every step was just brutal for me. I looked forward to every water station just so I could walk through it and take my time. I really felt dead out there during this point of the race. I was putting ice down my tri suit, dumping cold water on my head, and doing just about everything I could think of to wake up and get going, but nothing seemed to help me for very long. Overall I am very pleased with my first Ironman 70.3 experience and learned quite a bit out there. I also managed to beat my goal time and finished in 5:28:39! I set a goal time of 5:59:59 for myself, but I really secretly wanted to get under 5:30 (which I did). I think that if I hadn't of bonked out there I could have easily knocked 10-15 minutes off my run time, but hey, I'm still pleased.
What would you do differently?:

Not bonk.
Post race
Warm down:

Met Crissy Wellington and my wife (she was a volunteer) at the finish line. Got a hug from both of them. Drank some water, walked to the shade to (what felt like then) to die.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of experience / decisions on the course.

Event comments:

I really enjoyed my first Ironman 70.3 experience. The race kicked my butt, but I was pleased that I beat my goal time.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-11-30 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:43:17 | 2112 yards | 02m 03s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Suit: Zoot Zenith
Course: Clinton Lake Swim (Rectangle out and back course)
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:08
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Bad Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:49:40 | 56 miles | 19.80 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: Rolling Hills (much much more than we have in the Wichita area).
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:34
Overall: Bad
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Below average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:49:00 | 13.1 miles | 08m 19s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Course: Camp ground 2 lap course.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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