Gulf Coast Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Panama City Beach, Florida
United States
83F / 28C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 15m 58s
Overall Rank = 121/872
Age Group = Masters Clydes
Age Group Rank = 2/44
Pre-race routine:

Slept in Boardwalk hotel right onsite. Consumed about 700 cals >90 mins from start. Had a muscle milk, oatmeal breakfast cookie, Thomas blueberry bagel.
Event warmup:

Hurried to set up transition then back to room for wetsuit/lube/sun lotion applications before hanging with alltom1 and tri-ghost to await our wave. No time for any physical warmup.
Swim
  • 45m 1s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 08s / 100 yards
Comments:

Water was very choppy and I got rocked like everyone but put in a solid swim comparatively. I sighted well.
What would you do differently?:

I stood up too early x2 and couldn't run back in due to the undercurrent. Next time I must swim as far as I can to the sand. Need more practice swimming in the ocean and with following feet.
Transition 1
  • 02m 55s
Comments:

Wetsuit off was a bit of a cockup. Couldn't find the zipper strap for a few steps. Left socks off due to wet feet. May have taxed myself alot on swim although wasn't intending to.
What would you do differently?:

Practice pulling wetsuit off quickly while running.
Bike
  • 2h 26m
  • 56 miles
  • 23.01 mile/hr
Comments:

Bike was superstrong, but very taxing as I spent 38 miles trying to hunt tri-ghost down then, while I was hoping to cruise some, he kept at me like a pesky knat. We chatted and had fun riding together. Got passed 4 times and rarely had that happen before except at IMAZ.
What would you do differently?:

Dial it down an avg of 10 watts or so on avg. Even out effort for the full course instead of hammering the first 38 and hanging on for dear life.
Transition 2
  • 02m
Comments:

Quickish but need to powder my shoes and socks better beforehand.
What would you do differently?:

not much
Run
  • 2h 00m 5s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

I came into T2 together with tri-ghost but I never got the active recovery I was hoping for. We went out for the run together and I lasted about 4 miles with him.

Miles 4-7 were a deep struggle with my negative thoughts as the heat and humidity whooped up. I got picked up by a triathlete from Birmingham named Robin for 7-10. Then I did my best to finish strong; however, I was really laboring.
What would you do differently?:

Budget better in the other two sports. In other words, I was overconfident in my run (based on early season training and not current fitness level which has suffered due to foot injury) and thus I overshot my bike. Hold back some on the swim and bike and keep fatigue off longer on the run.

Post race
Warm down:

Straight to the pizza and beer tent and parked at the keg. Drank about 6 glasses of beer and ate 4 slices of pizza and two krispy kreme donuts in the first hour for recovery haha.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Pacing relative to fitness seems to be my major dilemma to improve other than increasing both bike and run fitness and swim technique.

Event comments:

Truly was a good learning experience even though I performed below expectations. I enjoyed it but am in no big hurry to do a ocean swim again. IMFL 2010 is now a race to respect in advance due to the swim issues and the heat.




Last updated: 2009-12-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:45:01 | 2112 yards | 02m 08s / 100yards
Age Group: 16/44
Overall: 458/872
Performance: Below average
hr from garmin (may have misread it underwater) 94/114
Suit: Full sleeve b70 helix
Course: This a 1.2-mile open water swim in the Gulf of Mexico. The swim started/finished at the Boardwalk Beach Resort in PCB. The swim was an out and back course starting near the center of the Boardwalk Beach Resort. A wave start, the swimmers will swim straight out approximately 950 yards from shore, turn right for approximately 200 yards, and then swim back toward shore to the finish line. There were 13 waves spaced 5 minutes apart. I was about the 10th wave.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 77F / 25C Current: High
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Bad
Waves: Bad Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:55
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:26:00 | 56 miles | 23.01 mile/hr
Age Group: 2/44
Overall: 48/872
Performance: Good
Min HR: 126 Avg HR: 140 Max HR: 153 http://tpks.ws/hp1G garmin said 55.15 oa watts 264/273/722
Wind: Some
Course: The bike portion of the race was a circular course traveling through residential, commercial, and rural areas of Panama City and Panama City Beach. The course was flat, fast with head winds averaging 15 mph.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 83
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:00
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Bad
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:00:05 | 13.1 miles | 09m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 2/44
Overall: 0/872
Performance: Bad
Min HR: 118 Avg HR: 144 Max HR: 181 http://tpks.ws/r1Np garmin said 13.4 mi
Course: The run is a flat circular course traveling through some of the beachfront and state park areas.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Too much
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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