login
 Swim
Comments: I lined up on the far right bouy to avoid the fighting for position. I took a front spot and got a clean start. I hit open water right away and didn't have anyone on my feet either. I tried to make my way to the left but wasn't very efficent in my effort. I soon ran into previous wave traffic and began to navigate my way though that. I got a bit of water in my goggles from time to time and would breast stroke to readjust them. The straps also kept sliding down my head which was a bit annoying. I made both turns very efficiently and started back toward the start. The sun was pretty gnarly on the way back so it made it harder to navigate. I had to deal with quite a bit of traffic from previous waves, but only ran into other people a few times. I worked my way toward the ramp and had a quick exit to transition. What would you do differently?: I would work on getting to the inside bouy faster. I also need to figure out how to better deal with the sun and goggle straps sliding down my head.  Transition 1
Comments: I had always heard to take your goggles and cap off, then take off one of the sleeves to trap the goggles. This didn't work very well as my goggles soon fell out followed by my cap. I was breathing quite hard and thought I knew where my bike was at, but I was wrong. I wasted 30 seconds or so before I found my bike. I finished taking my suit, put on my helmet and shoes and ran to the mount line. I passed everyone trying to get on the bike right at the mount line and got on the bike and on the course. What would you do differently?: Figure out how to keep track on my goggles and cap better. Make a better plan on how to get to my bike quickly.  Bike
Comments: I started the bike leg of the race knowing that this was my weakest discipline. My goal was 3 hours and based on previous times riding the course I would have gladly taken that time before the race. I felt good from the start and waited to make my way out of the park before taking in any fluids or food. I felt great for the first hour and tried to race my own race. I was passing boatloads of people on the hills and getting passed by the good bikers on the flat parts. I took a GU every 45 minutes starting at minute 15. I also ate half a cliff bar around mile 10. I had 3 bottles of GuBrew and picked up a bottle of water at the second aid station. I averaged 20 mph for the first hour which had me a bit worried that I was going too hard. My legs were a bit tired on the hills, but nothing horrible. I stuck with the same effort since my body still felt fine and nutrition was going according to plan. My pace slowed a bit, but I still powered on feeling great. I arrived at the oil spill and got a good stretch of the legs. The back up to get past there was long, but I went as fast as possible. I hammered up the big hill at mile 50 passing lots of people on the way. The ride back into the park was calm as I tried to save energy for the run. I finished 9 minutes faster than my goal. It was a GREAT ride. What would you do differently?: Train more on the bike and do more long rides. Transition 2
Comments: I had a great dismount and ran to my T2 spot which I found MUCH easier than my T1 spot. I put on my shoes and hat, took a salt tablet, put 2 GU's in my top and headed out to the run course. What would you do differently?: None  Run
Comments: I was a bit worried that I would blow up becuase I went too fast on the bike. My hamstring were pretty tired from the start but I stayed around 8 minute pace. I soon realized that I would have to slow down if I wanted to finish in one piece. There were thoughts about walking going through my head, but I pushed on making new goals as I ran. Around mile 4 I decided I would walk thought the aid stations. It may have been the best decision I made all day. I took water and ice at every aid station until the end. I would put ice down the front and back of my top to keep cool and drink most of the water. I felt great coming out of each aid station which gave me positive thoughs about finishing. I passed my wife, dad, brother, and friend on the start of the second lap. They didn't catch me on the first lap because they had got to T2 too late to see me get off the bike. I guess that is what I get for telling them I was gonna split 3+ hours on the bike. They gave me a huge cheer which really helped. I pushed on, soon realizing that I had a great shot of beating my goal of 5:30. I crossed the finish line with my arms up finishing my first HIM. I had accomplished my goal and would have beat it even if may or may not have been a free 1/2 mile on the run. What would you do differently?: Keep a quicker pace while running. Post race
Warm down: I drank a few bottles of water, jumped in the ice pool with all the other finishers to keep my hamstring from cramping up, and chatted with my family. I tried to eat a sandwich, but only could get down half of it. What limited your ability to perform faster: I need to get better on the bike and learn to run faster off the bike. Event comments: This was first HIM and I absolutely LOVED it. I am already looking forward to my next race in September. I need to sit down and set new goals for that race. Last updated: 2010-01-12 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
78F / 26C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 462/1592
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 57/169
I got to the race site late Saturday morning with my wife. We set up camp, I checked in for the race, and took my bike out for a quick spin before checking it into T1. I tried to stay in the shade and beat the heat for the rest of the afternoon before meeting up with fellow BTer's and going for short swim in a very choppy lake. The walk to the "beach" may have been more eventful than the swim. It was fun though and great to meet some of the people I talk to here on BT.
My wife made an amazing cold pasta salad with orzo and shrimp for dinner and I enjoyed that with my brother and her. It was my brother's birthday so he decided to bring down a few bottles of wine and some beer. I gave into my love of beer and had one while my wife and brother drank the wine. We played cards most of the night before hitting the sack around 10pm. It took me quite a while to get to sleep due to nerves, my crazy Viszla walking around the tent, the howling wind, and my brother rambling on in his drunken state. I ended up getting around 3 hours of sleep which is probably what I would have got no matter where I slept.
I woke up at 4am with my wife and dog. I ate a bagel with almond butter, a banana, and drank a bottle of water for breakfast. The plan was to make coffee, but I bought the wrong type of burner and therefore could not start the fire. A family friend who arrive after I had gone to sleep a few hours early was resourceful enough to gather wood, find newspaper, and light a fire. Unfortunately it was too late for me as I had already made my way to T2.
I set up T2 around 5:40 and realized that I forgot my sunglasses. My wife ran back to the campsite and got them while I hung out by T2. We made our way down to T1, I set everything up there, hung out in the bathroom line for a good 20 minutes and then went to find my wife. I took a GU 15-20 minutes before my wave.
I was one of the later waves so I got to see the pros go off and come in from the swim. It is awesome to be able to see so many of the pro men and women up close. They called my wave, and I swam out to the bouys for my "warm up".