Beach 2 Battleship Iron Distance - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Wilmington, North Carolina
United States
Setup Events
65F / 18C
Sunny
Total Time = 10h 56m 58s
Overall Rank = 30/483
Age Group = Overall Females
Age Group Rank = 2/88
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 3:40 with a planned 4:40 AM departure from the house we were renting in Carolina Beach. Had some coffee, gatorade and an english muffin with peanut butter. Left around 4:45 and arrived at T1 around 5:15 AM. After issues with my brand new tubular race wheels on Friday (Bill at Two Wheeler Dealers was AWESOME and kept me from having a mental breakdown when I had a flat on Friday), I was anxious about checking my bike, but it was all good. At the suggestion of the bike shop, I went to the tech guys for air to avoid any issues.
Event warmup:

Does standing around sporting my wetsuit with a sweatshirt over top and Uggs on count? What a great fashion statement! Other than walking down to the beach, there was no warmup.
Swim
  • 1h 26m 2s
  • 4224 yards
  • 02m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

The swim is definitely my weakest part. I didn't really see any buoys at first and just followed the pack and hoped I was on course. I definitely swam more right than I should have. I never really felt cold in the water, but my hands were frozen and I couldn't keep my fingers together. I got a few cramps in my calves during the swim, but they didn't last too long. When I was climbing up the ladder coming out of the water and looked at my watch, I knew there was no current. (To be honest, in retrospect, I am glad there was no current because it makes me feel like it was a legit IM swim.) I got some assistance from the wetsuit strippers, ran quickly through the showers, and started my run to T1.
What would you do differently?:

I think I swam within my abilities though and felt good getting out of the water. I need to work on sighting though and strengthening my left arm so that I don't swim so right. And of course, getting faster with swimming would really help too.
Transition 1
  • 11m 28s
Comments:

I was shaking from being cold and had trouble getting my tri shirt on. Considering that, it wasn't a terrible transition. I changed my tri shorts from the swim and my top. I put on my tri top, a different pair of tri shorts, a bike jersey, arm warmers, compression sleeves (for warmth), and socks. I carried my bike shoes from the changing tent to my bike and put them on there to lessen my time running in them and put on thin little black gloves there too.
Bike
  • 5h 44m 55s
  • 112 miles
  • 19.48 mile/hr
Comments:

As soon as I started biking, I realized my bike computer was giving me funny readings...I was pretty sure I was riding faster than 5 MPH. I made a decision then to just ride without it (because it was giving me a speed reading, but it was just wacky, and it was giving me an accurate cadence reading, I figured that as a technologically-challenged person, I would not be able to figure out what the problem was quickly and it wasn't worth the time). I just went with riding comfortably hard at a pace I thought I could maintain all day. I wound up riding much faster than I expected. This may have been the most fun I have had on the bike. The headwinds and crosswinds for the first 70 miles didn't even bother me (and I generally hate the wind). I just kept telling myself I was going to cruise on the last 35 miles into town...and I did. For nutrition, I did a half a pack of Gu chomps about every half hour and did one Gu pack. I had one bottle of gatorade, two of heed, and three of water.
Transition 2
  • 04m 28s
Comments:

It was great to hand off my bike to a volunteer as soon as I got to T2. The volunteers with the bags had a little trouble pointing me to my bag, but we found it. I hit the changing tent, took off my bike jersey and arm warmers, changed my shoes, hit the port-a-potty and was off.
Run
  • 3h 30m 7s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

The run went better than I could have hoped. I was a little shocked when I hit mile marker one with a 7:45 mile. I slowed a little bit from that, but not too much. I walked almost every aid station for a few steps at least and got something at almost each one. I either went with Heed or pepsi and water (alternating). I had chicken broth at maybe 3 aid stations and it may have been the best thing I ever tasted (and I hate chicken broth). I did one Gu at Mile 2 and didn't do any more. I did grab some pretzels at one point, a few small pieces of a bagel and some banana. I basically let my body tell me what it wanted and it worked. I felt pretty strong on the run and felt like I was smiling and enjoying almost all of it.
Post race
Warm down:

No real warmdown. Took a couple of pics with my awesome support crew, grabbed my gear, got on a water taxi and headed back to our house for a shower, pizza and a beer!

Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better race, especially for my first IM. I went sub-11 (without a strong current on the swim) and was thrilled. I also had a blast out there on the course and had incredible family and friends cheering me on. The weather was perfect too. I was more than a little shocked to have finished as the second woman and 30th overall.

Event comments:

I really like this race. Jeremy and Set Up Events did a fantastic job and I would highly recommend this race to others. The volunteers were awesome and I thought it was well-organized. The only two complaints I have were that I thought there could be more buoys on the swim course (and I wish we weren't told to turn at the Wiggly Man) and that last portion of the bike course coming over the bridge when we were forced onto the shoulder and there were a ton or cars didn't make me feel very safe.




Last updated: 2010-07-26 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:26:02 | 4224 yards | 02m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 39/88
Overall: 270/483
Performance: Average
Suit: Full Wetsuit with Swim Socks
Course: In a channel connected to the Intercoastal Waterway. Salt water.
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 64F / 18C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 11:28
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
05:44:55 | 112 miles | 19.48 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/88
Overall: 91/483
Performance: Good
Wind:
Course: Flat, Roads in very good condition (except for one small part)
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 04:28
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
03:30:07 | 26.2 miles | 08m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/88
Overall: 10/483
Performance: Good
Course: Not entirely flat, but not too bad.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4