Florida Challenge Triathlon - Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Clermont, Florida
United States
Sommer Sports
88F / 31C
Overcast
Total Time = 8h 40m 1s
Overall Rank = 413/500
Age Group = Clyd 15-39
Age Group Rank = 11/13
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:30 am because Wendi was a body marking volunteer.... ate a bagel, cliff bar, milk and a water....
Drove to the race site about 15 miles from out hotel...We found a place to park and carried everything to body marking and weigh in.
Then down to transition...my sugar was a little high so had to adjust that down, which caused me to start a little dehydrated.... I got my wetsuit half on but it was hot so kept it off until right before the start....
Then everything started about 30 minutes late because someone parked a car on the race course (standing around is not fun)

Event warmup:

Good stretch had plenty of time.... watched the little kids run around and tried not to get carried away by mosquitoes...
Swim
  • 51m
  • 2250 yards
  • 02m 16s / 100 yards
Comments:

The first leg of the triangle shaped course was the longest and I did not remember that and I thought I was really going slow when I made the first turn.... but as I finished the next turn things were looking up since both the second and third legs were much shorter....
I was in a good groove at that point so a little Bostic voice in my head kept saying conserve energy on the swim...I hoped to be faster but I am satisfied with the swim....

This was a good swim for me... pretty steady and no major issues....

What would you do differently?:

Go out slower and get into my breathing rhythm much faster...
Transition 1
  • 09m 58s
Comments:

As you can tell I take my time in transition...checking blood sugar and just making sure I do not forget anything...and as you will read I did forget something :( It was nice to have a wetsuit stripper though.... they told us it was just for the IM people so when they help me get it off I was really pleased...one less thing to have to mess with....
What would you do differently?:

remember to take everything I need out of transition with me the first time....
Bike
  • 4h 11m 30s
  • 56 miles
  • 13.36 mile/hr
Comments:

This is a very challenging bike course for me for a lot of reasons but mostly the hills...

As I got out of T1 and got about half a mile down the road I realized I for got to put my Insulin pump on after the swim...(yes Wendi yelled over the fence not to forget my pump) Unfortunately I forgot it anyways ... so I turned around and rode back to transition and found a USAT official who let me run back through transition and come back out where I came in and not have to start from the beginning again...

So now I am a little shaken but on my way...I am glad I had ridden the course several times because I had a pretty good idea where I was going...The first 25-30 miles were good I really though I would be under 4 hours but “oh nellie” that did not happen....

I got to Buckhill Road and made it up and down all 3 hills without stopping or having any issues.... I hit my max speed going down the second hill at 41.3 mph (I feel the need...the need for speed...) then you wind back up to Sugarloaf Mountain...man that is a big hill...I got up about three quarters of the way and had to walk it to the top....

Now the tough part...as I was going over the hills the sun came out and I did not drink enough and had a huge cramping problem in my left quad.... It was so tight I could not bend my leg...so what do you do to bend a straight object? You put your leg on the top tube of you bike right at the knee and pull your ankle.... I am not sure if this is the best way to do it but it got the muscle to let go and I spent about 10 minutes walking eating and drinking lots of fluids...for about the next 10 mile I rode real slow and could not hammer up any hills without the cramping firing up again...then with about 10 miles to go I guess I had dehydrated pretty well and was about to pick up the pace back into transition...

What would you do differently?:

Hydrate better going over those dang hills.... and not leave the insulin pump in transition...
Transition 2
  • 07m 54s
Comments:

This was a better transition...checked sugar and was off to the run.....
What would you do differently?:

really not much other than just move faster....
Run
  • 3h 16m 39s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 15m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

I was pretty much spent.... I ran and walked the whole 13.1 miles...but I made it to the finish line...coming to the finish line you had a major up hill run and then a couple hundred yards up to the finish line...I ran up the steep hill then realized I still had 200 to go.... I could not run any more until I saw Wendi and the kids yelling for me to finish.... so I started running (well at least I was moving my legs faster...lol) and crossed the finish line with the kids one on each side....
What would you do differently?:

Keep training get stronger....
Post race
Warm down:

stretched a little...ate some pizza....and walked up and down the hill again to get my gear out of transition and back up to the truck...(;) Wendi carried most of it...thanks hon....)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

my level of conditioning....

Event comments:

race was good ...it is a very challenging course....




Last updated: 2005-10-24 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:51:00 | 2250 yards | 02m 16s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/13
Overall: 0/500
Performance: Good
Suit: Pro Motion Wetsuit
Course: This was my first lake swim...really was not a big deal...The water was ice tea color so you could not see your hands but really no issues.....
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 09:58
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
04:11:30 | 56 miles | 13.36 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/13
Overall: 0/500
Performance: Average
Wind: Some with gusts
Course: There were a lot of short steep hills and the roads are in pretty bad shape...
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 07:54
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
03:16:39 | 13.1 miles | 15m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/13
Overall: 0/500
Performance: Below average
Course: The first 5 miles had some hills and the remainder of the race was flat around Lake Minneola.... no shade at all on the course...
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3