login
 Swim
Comments: I was very relaxed for the swim portion. There were 25 waves and I was in wave #17. I had a chance to meet quite a few of the guys in my wave and talk about the course and such. I was in the wave with the 50-54 age groupers although my division was the Clydesdales. They did all the Clydesdales and Athenas that way. The swim was comfortable for me. I started way on the outside by the bouys and found my own space rather quickly without too much contact with other swimmers. I did not get beat up at all and there were about 120 men in my wave. I kept a slow but steady pace the entire time and did not tire much until the end of the swim. What would you do differently?: I was happy with my performance although I need to practice breathing every other stroke and/or stroke and a half as well as keeping body more level in the water. I was happy where I started and stayign close to the bouys.  Transition 1
Comments: As I exited the water they had wetsuit strippers for us. They were great although I had to help mine get the wetsuit off. It got stuck. No real difference in time though. As I got to my bike I stuck an open hammer jel in my mouth to suck down as I got ready. i had a quick drink from my perpetuem bottle also. What would you do differently?: I would move a little quicker. I wanted to take my time in order not to forget anything. I was a little nervous so I took my time. I had all my transition equipment covered bcause it was a rainy mess by the time I got there. Glad I covered my things up.  Bike
Comments: For the bike segment I had a two hour 24 ounce bottle of perpetuem mixed as well as a 34 ounce bottle of gatorade. I also had a zip lock on my arrow bars with about 10 fig newtons, 20 endurolytes and 4 hammer jels. I used one more 32 once bottle at the exchange and that was it for fluid. I ate about 6 of the figs and had 2 of the hammer jels oduring the ride. Transition 2
Comments: I thought this was a good transition although the one mistake I did make was to eat a handful of wheaties fuel cereal with no drink. I choked that up for about the first mile. The one thing I did great on was bringing a second pair of socks as the pair I wore on the bike were completely soaked. I dried my feet and changed socks so my feet and running shoes were dry. Great decision and will bring extra socks next time. What would you do differently?: Just speed up. Since this was my first HIM I tended to take my time to ensure a finish.  Run
Comments: I got a little surprised at how fried my legs were off the bike. I cannot complain too much because this run was faster than the half-marathon I ran last year by about 4 minutes. I played it a little too conservative on the run due to the way my legs felt and wanting to ensure a finish. I drank either water or gatorade at every stop and probably had about 3 or 4 power gels along the way also. I ran with several people along the way. It made the time and distance go a little quicker. What would you do differently?: I would definitely push the run harder without being concerned that I would finish. I felt I played it a little to conservative on the run to ensure my finish. My heart rate was really good so in hindsight I thing i could have taked about 20 - 30 minutes off the run by running the entire distance. Post race
Warm down: Walked around for about 10 minutes and drank plenty of water along with two slices of pizza. What limited your ability to perform faster: Weight, weight and weight. Also I lacked the training time I really needed although I felt OK for the entire event. Event comments: This was an excellent HIM for me to do. The swim was with the current, the bike was relatively flat with a few long rollers and the run was flat. The weather also cooperated to a great extent. The day before the race it got up to 98 degrees. For the event it rained most of the morning so the temperature dropped to around 80 degrees. It was a real spectator-friendly course for the run because it was two loops in the downtown area. My family saw me running at least 6 - 7 times during the run. The event was really well-organized and there were plenty of volunteers to help. The citizens of Augusta were also out in high numbers cheering us on. My number had my name on it so many called me by name. I also had a BT tri outfit on so some of the BTers cheered and encouraged me. This was a lot of fun and I will be back next year. Last updated: 2010-05-07 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
Premier Event Management
80F / 27C
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 2246/2443
Age Group = Clydesdale
Age Group Rank = 54/74
Kelly, Jake and myself drove to Augusta on Friday just in time to register, go to the expo and attend the last pre-race meeting of Friday. It was nice getting there on Friday as Saturday was a total madhouse. After the pre-race meeting we went to the hotel to check in and then went for a dip in the hotel pool with Jake. It was really relaxing although at this point I was stressed because Kelly bought me some Augusta Esi Ironman clothes and a "finish" frame for race pictures. Jitters, now I have to finish no matter what.
On Saturday afternoon around 3PM Kelly and myself went down to the race venue to check bike in and then go for a run. Bike Check-in was easy and bike was in a good position to see coming into transition. After that we went for a 2.17 mile run along the river. It was really hot on saturday. The temperature got to as high as 98 degrees so I did not want to run too far in fear of loosing too much fluid. I was really hoping that Sunday would not be that hot or it would have changed my plan drastically. As luck would have it the forecast called for rain and rain it did. After our run I wanted to take a swim in the river just to get a feel for the water, current and postion. I swam about 400 yards down river and than back against the current. I felt really good with no issues. on Saturday night my parents, Kelly, Jake and myself all went to a really good Italian place to eat. I have a large bowl of pasta and a really nice time.
On Sunday morning I woke up at about 4AM and started breakfast and streching out. My parents were a blessing because they kept Jake overnight in their room in order that I could get up and Kelly could take me to the race around 5:30AM. Kelly went back and picked them up from the hotel before the run started so they could take it easy until then. It worked out great. From 4 until we left at about 5:15 I ate a bagel with peanut butter, a cup of wheaties fuel cereal (highly recommend), 1 hammer gel, a banana and a few endurolyte tabelets. I also kept drinking water the whole time up until the event.
We Parked the truck at the swim area and walked 1.2 miles to set up the transition. Kelly was a real trooper by waiting around for the event to begin. After setup they had buses to take participants to the swim start although I opted to walk back with Kelly to work out the Jitters. it was nice that Kelly was there so she could help calm me down a bit as well as take my glasses and sandals. At the swim start most people were just waiting around under trees (rain) for the start. There was water tables there so I kept hydrating and had two hammer gels before the swim start. I had no issues at all with intestinal distress during the event. I only used the toilet once during bike. They had a huge American flag hanging from the bridge over the river and we sang the National Anthem. It really had the feel of a major sporting event even for us beginners. I had goosebumps most of the time.