Ironman 70.3 Augusta - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Started in the back, figuring I would not be going too fast. Almost immediately the goggle filled with water, so I was blind out of one eye. Did not feel like changing it. Wetsuit felt a bit tight, so it was a little harder to breathe. I tried not to panic, but adjusted my effort and went with the flow. Little contact except for the first 150m and the last 400m, where I was running into the stragglers from the previous waves.

- Fix the goggles
- Maybe get a new wetsuit? I think I have outgrown this one.
- Learn to relax more when swimming. But then again, masters classes will fix that.
- Be aggressive! Once again, masters.....

Wtf? HR was super high running out of the water, higher than normal, felt awful. Wetsuit stripper sucked, I could have gotten it off faster myself. Long run to my bike pissed me off, and fumbling with my stuff in the rain with cold hands did not help.

My transitions normally rock, but this blows.

- I need to work on keeping a level HR in transitioning from swim to run. Mine spikes too high for comfort. Once again, should get fixed with masters.

Little to report on the bike. Felt like I pushed, but kept it in check. The wet roads made me a bit cautious on descents, but I was still going pretty fast. Back pains aggravated me, but it was not too bad. Very crowded course.

- TITS to get rid of back pains.

Came in hot, but under control. Took my time but was efficient with my stuff. I was going great till I decided to kill it by waiting in line for a toilet in T2. If I had known I would have been waiting 1.5 minutes, I would have peed on the bike, or ran down course to find a good place. Poor choice led to a crappy T2 time.

Better piss conditions.

Came out hot, 7:3x pace I think, but quickly kept it in check. I felt good, surprisingly, and the rain was keeping me cool. My saving grace for the day was running into Matt at mile 1. Had no clue who he was, but we ran the entire 13 miles together. I need to find a pacer from now on, because having someone to keep you in check and to chat with helps tremendously. I would not have had a time like this without him, so thank you.

The run was mostly boring, aside from talking with my running partner. 3 gels, coke towards the end. At mile 10 is where I finally started to hurt. Every time I passed the all3sports tent, it was such a boost from the Endurance Concepts people, those guys are great! Having the support through downtown helped out a lot and gave everyone such a rush to run through. Lots of good people cheering us on.

Thinking back on it, not a thing. My effort was good throughout, and I was never "tired" or "hurting" until the last 5k, which I would say is pretty good. Could I have run faster? Perhaps, but I am still pleased.

Pizza, beer......


IM a month before. Though I am not sure if the residuals of IMKY were mental or physical. Yes, I did not have that pop back, but also I sandbagged myself by treating the event like "not a real race". I could have pushed a little more on each element, but I dont know how my body would have responded. I asked myself to give what it could (within reason) and it delivered, within reason.

I will say that I am SUPER DISAPPOINTED by a 5:03:xx. Oh come on, 3 minutes before being sub 5?? Ugh, I want those 3 minutes back that I wasted in transition and walking through a few aid stations.....

This is on the schedule for next year as an A race. Lets see what PRs I can set in 2011.


Eah, this event needs to work on organization a bit more. But I cant complain, they worked with what they had. I hear a lot of people complaining that Augusta is a horrible host city, which I disagree. It is a good snapshot of Georgia. Historic houses, nice downtown. Yes there were impoverished areas that we went through, but you're in the south, what else would you expect?