Ironman Kansas 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Lawrence, Kansas
United States
6585F / 3641C
Total Time = 5h 58m 6s
Overall Rank = 950/1586
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

I camped out at the race site the night before - didn't get much sleep, but that's to be expected before any big race I suppose. Woke up at 4:00 when there started to be some more activity, got up at 4:30 and went to take a shower (I'd covered my arms and legs in bug spray the night before and felt gross). Went back to the campsite, ate my usual mini-bagel w/peanut butter and had a banana as well, then headed over to T2 to drop off my bag. It was really nice to be camping just a couple minutes' walk from T2 and the finish line, and not have to deal with parking.
Event warmup:

Walked the .5 mile down to the swim start with Lisa (lisac957) and Josh (diamed), then set up T1 and hung around with Lisa and Amber (InnerAthlete) until our wave was ready to go. I had somehow managed to forget my wetsuit the day before, but Lisa had brought two, and said I could borrow one, so that was my backup plan. Everyone had been saying that it wasn't going to be wetsuit legal anyway, so I hadn't worried about driving back to get mine. But as luck would have it, the lake temp was measured at 77.5 the morning of the swim.
Swim
  • 42m 57s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim started out just fine - I was comfortable in Lisa's wetsuit (it's a lot nicer than my cheapie one!), and I seeded myself a little more aggressively than I usually do. I started out strong and felt good right away - I was determined to have a good swim, but then I started to get really, really warm. This temperature is really too high for a full-sleeve wetsuit. I had a mini-panic where I wanted to claw out of it, because I was overheating, and I had to breaststroke for maybe a minute or two, but then I realized I was as warm as I was going to get and that I would be just fine. It was definitely warm, but the suit was very buoyant, and I ended up settling into a decent rhythm. Sighting was much better than usual for me. Overall, I felt like this was one of my better swims. Thanks again for letting me borrow the suit, Lisa!
What would you do differently?:

not forget my wetsuit! :)
oh, and start my watch at the beginning. I got wrapped up in the excitement and forgot to start it. It would have been nice to know the running totals for the race later on.
Transition 1
  • 04m 39s
Comments:

It was definitely harder to get the full-sleeve wetsuit off, and I was trying to be really careful to not snag it on anything, since it wasn't mine! Then you had to gather all you stuff together in a bag if you wanted the volunteers to bring it up to T2 afterwards (I knew I wouldn't want to walk back down in the heat after the race). Other than that, T1 was pretty standard... so those must've been the reasons it took so long. I guess I also took some extra time to really clean off my feet. They had a ton of grit on them.
Bike
  • 3h 00m 57s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.57 mile/hr
Comments:

What a great day for a bike ride! It felt SO GOOD to get out on the bike, after the warm swim. I settled into a good pace from the get-go, and felt very comfortable riding. I pushed myself up all the hills, getting out of the saddle on most of them (even staying in the big ring for a couple). I got passed by a couple ladies and a TON of the carbon fiber posse of course!, but did a lot of passing myself. In the back of my mind I was worried about that mean dog that had bothered me last month, but there were just so many cyclists out there, that I wasn't really concerned by the time we got to his house (and he wasn't out anyway).

The bigger issue was with the cars getting in the midst of large groups of cyclists. Seriously people, do you need to be going somewhere that badly? Just stay at home and make some pancakes, m'kay? Overall, though, it wasn't so bad. The most annoying thing was the mandatory dismount around mile 25 for the oil spill in the road. Nice. But besides that, I thoroughly enjoyed this ride! Nutrition was one bottle of Gatorade, 2-3 bottles of water, one endurolyte every half hour, and alternating a GU & granola bar every 45 min. Works well for me.
What would you do differently?:

nada
Transition 2
  • 04m 23s
Comments:

Apparently I spent a lot of time in T2! All I can really remember doing is putting on sunscreen and messing with my shoes (don't have yankz on this season).
What would you do differently?:

Put yankz on my shoes. Get a spray sunscreen and use that on arms/shoulder/legs, but skip the face and use a visor instead - I got pretty badly burned on my forehead because I didn't put sunscreen on it. I was afraid it would run into my eyes during the whole run (which it probably would have), but still, my poor forehead is crazy red now...
Run
  • 2h 05m 12s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 34s  min/mile
Comments:

I started off the run at an average pace - I wasn't looking to break any speed records, just wanted to find a comfortable pace, and hold it as long as I could. Surprisingly, I ended up feeling pretty good the whole time. Don't get me wrong, it was freaking HOT out there, and there was very, very little shade, but muscle/joint-wise, this was one of my best runs. I kept waiting for the wheels to fall off, but they never did. At just about every aid station, I got a cup of ice and dumped it in the front & back of my sports bra. That was really the saving grace of the day. I also took in Gatorade at most stations. Had a GU about halfway through, and a couple endurolytes spaced throughout the run.

I ran every step of this run, which I am very proud of. I have never done such a long continuous run, period, much less at this kind of pace. Although the course *should* have been 13.1 miles, a lot of people's Garmins reported 12.56, and after mapping it out as best I could on mapmyrun.com, I agree that it was short. But even at 12.56 miles, that still works out to a 9:58 pace, and I am so, so very pysched about that. Any way you slice it, this was a "half-marathon" PR for me. :)
What would you do differently?:

nothing! I still can't believe I pulled this off.
Post race
Warm down:

Right after I finished I found some BT friends (IKENTRI, Petetring, and Montyzooma) and chatted a little, while stretching. Walked around the site, but it was kind of lonely (I was flying solo for this race), so I went ahead and picked up my bike and packed the car. I got my results printed off at the finisher's tent - I knew I'd be close to 6 hours, but since I'd forgotten to start my watch at the very beginning, I wasn't sure if I'd made it under 6 or not. I was very pleasantly surprised to get my results, and high-fived a random dude. Then got some post-race food (pulled pork sandwiches & chips). Went over to Lisa, Whizzzz, Coredump, & Barkeep's campsite to visit briefly before heading home to a much-needed shower & aloe slathering!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I feel like I did my best considering the course and weather. The was my first Half IM under 6:00, and yeah, the run was short, but I'll take it. (I figure the bike course being so hilly has to count for some extra points, right?) ;)

Seriously, though, I'm very proud of myself for all the training I've done, thankful to my coach Kathy for putting such a perfect training plan together for me, and extremely happy to see & meet so many great friends at the race this weekend!

Event comments:

I really enjoyed everything about this race. It is a well-organized, well-supported race. I don't think I have ever seen so many volunteers, and they were WONDERFUL!




Last updated: 2010-04-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:42:57 | 2112 yards | 02m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/1586
Performance: Good
Suit: Lisa's full sleeve
Course: counterclockwise rectangle
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 78F / 25C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:39
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:00:57 | 56 miles | 18.57 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/1586
Performance:
Wind: Little
Course:
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 04:23
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:05:12 | 13.1 miles | 09m 34s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/1586
Performance: Good
Course: two loops around T2 and campsite 3 at Clinton State Park
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5