SUBARU EAGLEMAN IRONMAN 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Note that Overall Rank I believe is place during the race noted in Athlete Tracking. So, it's now time for my wave to prepare and we move to the start buoys. Turns out close in, we could actually touch bottom and didn't have to tread water. Water is definitely warm and I'm somewhat glad I don't have a wetsuit on. Probably overheat. So we're just kinda hanging around here and finally the race director tells us we've got 3 minutes….then 1 1/2 and I start my watch so I don't waste time starting it at race start….30 seconds…..10….AIR HORN BLAST!!!! And I'm off on the swim portion in my 3rd Eagleman event!!

The swim course is basically a rectangular course starting just outside the park's boat ramp, heading up river, turning back to shore, and then turning again back to the park. Even though I started somewhat near the back, I'm running into folks who are either slower or just bumping into me. I try to catch feet here and there to draft, but the water is not very clear and I just can't find folks very well. For this first sight buoy, I'm actually doing quite well I thought and staying mostly with my wave. But bump into other folks and others are on my legs which slows me down. I don't intentionally kick folks to get off but every now and then in the beginning here, I do tend to hit a few bony spots on someone else. Without the wetsuit, my arms are feeling okay and I believe I doing fine at this point and just maintain. Pass the first sighting buoy and onto the next. Now somewhere between the second and third sighting buoy, I start losing my sighting I've been doing okay with. I'm going way left it seems for some reason and not sure if there's some sort of current or what, but it definitely making for a bit longer swim. And I'm STILL bumping into folks, some from the wave previously already. That's kind why I wish we hadn't started earlier, so we don't bump into the previous wave. Finally, the first turn buoy is near and I round it okay. But, then I can't seem to locate the next sighting buoy and have to breast stroke just for a bit. Locate it and press onward. Somewhere here, two guys from the wave behind have caught us! And I also don't seem to be with the majority of my wave any longer. This makes me lose a bit of concentration, but I also am aware that I'm still feeling decent and my arms are still okay. The brackish water in my mouth isn't tasting so good (YUK!), though, and I was thinking that I hope it doesn't give me much distress later. I'm not going left too much here but I've definitely fallen behind a bit due to my navigation. Finally round the next turn buoy and head to the finish. The distance is now taking it's toll on me, physically as well as mentally. While my arms aren't really tired, I'm just getting a bit tired overall after seemingly slogging through the water. I'm also still going left! And now we're REALLY bumping up against the wave ahead as well as fast swimmers in the wave behind are going by. Here and there I get a bit of draft from them but it's short lived. Just a couple of buoys to go but that swim finish arch sure seems quite far now! And I realize I'm losing some of my swim balance in the water and I think my legs are drooping too often than I'd like. After the last sighting buoy, I notice some folks standing and walking! I didn't realize it was that shallow but decided to keep swimming a bit. Then I dolphined a few times before also standing up and trudging to the swim finish arch. FINALLY, jog up on shore through the arch and enter in the transition area for T1!


Not really sure. The fact that I couldn't consistently swim 1 1/2 months before the race might've affected me and also I probably should've swam without a wetsuit during my last OWS practice swim. But, many folks were affected and it's difficult to deal with chop sometimes if that's not what you swim in. Still, time is my usual slow swim time. Perhaps next season get evaluated.

Jogging into T1 and feeling decent after the swim. Look at my watch and see my approximate swim time – 48 min…Egads! Well, that's NOT going to help get me to a Personal Record (PR) today! But, no time to really think about that and get to my spot as quickly as possible. Decided on no socks for the bike as I do okay like that and they also won't get dirty when I get out my shoes for T2. Race number belt on (you had to wear it this year on the bike), shoes on, headband, sunglasses, and helmet. Grab my bike and head to the bike out and mount area. Mount the bike okay and I'm off on the 56 mile Eagleman course!!

The T1 time of 2:20 is decent for me and probably due to no wetsuit. I thought there would be a good trade off between no wetsuit and transition time, but I only gained 14 secs in T1 over 2009 whereas I lost 7 1/2 min in swim time. Well, at least I started to gain somewhere ;-)


Not much really...more practice perhaps?

Note that Overall Rank I believe is place during the race noted in Athlete Tracking. On the bike course now. The bike course is basically one big loop out about 30 miles and back 26. The first part of the bike winds you through the Cambridge neighborhoods near the park. Decent roads and wide streets for the most part. The run takes place on some of these as well. It is sunny now as I begin the course. Start my countdown timer on my watch that beeps every 20 min to remind me to drink and/or take in nutrition/electrolytes. It is real easy to forget when you're concentrating on a race and this is a nice reminder to keep at least rehydrating as I move along. I practiced this during the first Half Ironman and it works quite well for me. Now just after mile 2, I realize that I FORGOT TO PUT MY BIKE GEAR BAG ON this morning!!!!! A wave of sheer PANIC washes over me for just a moment! You have to understand that during ALL of my bricks on the road I trained on, I flatted. Once was legitimate with a long staple in the tire and tube. The others were a mystery. I had the wheel looked at and the LBS guy replaced the rim tape as it appears to have been offset. Nothing else looked out of place. Seemed to have worked as on my last longish brick, I was okay. Still, here I was, about to go out about 30 miles from the race site with NO replacement tubes!! After the initial shock, I quickly calmed down and told myself there's nothing that can be done now. Just race the race as best you can and if it happens, so be it. Still, I was going to be a bit extra careful to avoid items that might cause a pinch flat to occur. Once out of the neighborhoods, we get out into more open road with long stretches of flat and in some cases straight roads. I'm passing a few folks here and there, mostly the earlier swim wave and perhaps a few from my AG. Warned one guy to stay right more or else the refs will cite him for blocking. And he was too on a few folks. I didn't see much of that today but then again, I was starting early in the race and the majority of folks weren't yet on the course. The winds are relatively light this year, thank goodness, and I'm grateful that it doesn't seem like I'll run into the long stretch of headwinds I ran into and wore me down in 2009. We get on a main road and I stay near the white line as there are rumble strips and slower riders to the right. I also don't want to tempt fate and be in the shoulder road debris zone. As I pass the 10 mile marker I notice that I'm near 30 min and this is about 20 mph. A goal of mine is to go over 20 mph for this bike course which I haven't been able to do in years past. But, I do remind myself that I won't do that at the expense of my run as I had done in 2009. Now either faster folks from my AG or else the younger AGs are now starting to zip by me here and there. This gets to me a bit mentally but I stick to my race and race plan. Pass the first bottle exchange but I'm not taking anything at this first one. As we make a left turn onto a more rural road, I remember that this used to be quite bumpy. But not this year as the road's been repaved! Wow! What nice smooth road and it helps that it seems like I have just a bit of a tailwind and press smartly ahead. Now pass the 20 mile mark and I'm still on my pace for a nice ride time here. Oh and around this time, I'm seeing a few folks changing flats and just cringe. Don't look, don't look, turn away, don't think about it….;-) And of course through a small town in this area, I see reflections of what look like little pieces of glass on the shoulder…Yikes! Just after this, I'm now progressing through the Wildlife Refuge and it's nice scenery but there's not much around. With more wide open space, any bit of wind is going to have a bit of an effect and so I go from having a head to cross during this time, slowing me down a bit. Unlike 2009, I remind myself to spin more here and not mash the gears. Caught myself a few time dropping cadence below 80, which I quickly corrected when needed. Now I'm slowly catching up to a rider ahead of me here and all of a sudden, something BIG flies up from the left and goes right in front of this cyclist! It was a wild turkey and I swear it was low enough to nearly hit this guy! I mean can you imagine telling someone that you crashed because you got hit by a turkey?? Amazing what you might just see on a course! Finally I make a left turn on the course which starts to head us back to the end of the bike course. Just after this turn is the next bottle exchange and I decide to grab some water. I have some in my back water bottle cage, but there too much danger of being dehydrated on the bike. So, I guzzle down as much water as I can before discarding the bottle altogther. Tasted good too! Now at 30 miles into the course, more than halfway and no issues on the bike. My time is still looking okay but still a bit lower than I'd like. Believe it or not, a tune from "My Fair Lady" is going through my head and I hear "…get me to the church on time!". Sun getting to me? Nah, just making light of the fact that I'm on the way back and hoping to get back with no issues and in a good time. Helps to lighten up a bit mentally out there sometimes ;-) Now, there's a good line of folks here ahead of me, but I'm still passing every now and then. Because of the fast guys coming up behind, I looked back more often than I usually do before passing.. Sometimes, someone would just catch me at the same time, unfortunately. I really don't like getting in someone else's way and apologize if I think I've stayed over too long. But, it's not usually a problem. Every now and then, a moto ref would come up along side the line of folks I'm with to check drafting. Y'know, sometimes, it's really just inadvertent. I mean you come up on someone slowly and you're going to pass but someone else charges up behind and you have to fall back for a moment, perhaps falling into the draft area. I make it so I'm not drafting on purpose but I do catch passing folks' draft every now and then just because they're moving ahead ahead so quickly and it just doesn't make sense to slow and fall back as the rules state. Somewhere along here, I see a Team Intellisys jersey pass me and think it's George, so I yell out "Go George!" Rider doesn't seem to hear me but that's kinda normal when you're racing. Now we're coming up to the 40 mile mark and there's a car ahead not passing the slower person in front of me! And I'm catching…so what to do? Fortunately, the car goes right at the intersection while we're all going left. BTW, no problems with traffic and the police/volunteers did a great job at all the intersections except for one on the run, which I'll get to. Now at around mile 46 is the last bottle exchange and I slow to get some Gatorade. I guzzle down a couple of big swigs and pour the rest into my aero drink bottle. Good to go for the next 10 miles or so. This is a real rural, open piece of road we've been on and we finally make the left turn which leads us onto the roads we came out on. My spirits brighten here as we're getting closer and my time is looking pretty decent here on the bike. We do have a headwind on this stretch, but I know it will be short-lived as we'll make another turn out of it soon. At mile 50, my spirits brighten even more as with only 6 miles left 1) I could actually jog back into town with my bike if I got a flat and perhaps still finish and 2) my bike time is looking close to my goal here. Very soon after this, I'm back in town going back through the neighborhoods. One final left turn and I can start to see the bike dismount area way in the distance. Get over a slight crest and now it is definitely in sight. Start getting out of my shoes here. My right leg cramps just a bit as I do this but this doesn't last and I'm pedaling on top of my shoes to the dismount area. I swung my leg over a bit soon, but have enough momentum going to get me to the dismount while balancing smartly on the one pedal. Off the bike and running into T2 at last!! Hear someone say "Yea Frederick!" as I pass by since I have my club jersey on. Smile at that as run to my rack spot :)

I think I should've probably done more power work intervals a few months ago or incorporated that more during outside rides. While the ride was good, I'm more limited by myself (the engine) but also equipment as my bike is now 4 years old. It's been a good starter tri bike, but I really need to upgrade some day. Oh, and DON'T DEVIATE FROM THE PLAN IN TRANSITION! Don't do anything different than done in practice for setting up the bike the night before.

Now moving through T2. I use socks for the half marathon distance and wipe my feet of debris best I can, get my socks on and then shoes. Helmet and sweatband off, put my hat on, and grab anything else I'm taking. In this case, I'm taking my 4 bottle hydration belt which I've used in the past. I'm also taking a wetted towel (courtesy of Racine Multisports) that I use when the heat's on. I put this on my neck to cool the blood going to my head and also to occasionally wipe the sweat from my face and arms so my body can cool better. As I exit transition, I grab some water and Gatorade this year which hopefully will continue to help avert any cramping. The T2 time of 2:20 is 26 seconds better than Eagleman 2009. Pleased with this time!


Not much except maybe get into shoes on the bike which I say every year. I didn't really have any problems getting on the bike and getting going, so not sure how much time I would've saved.

Note that Overall Rank I believe is place during the race noted in Athlete Tracking. Now onto the run. The run course is an out 6.5 miles and back, covering some of the same parts as the bike course in the beginning. It's around 10:40 AM when I start the run and there's full sun plus it's gotten quite warm now. Probably in the low 80s. And the ghost of the disastrous 2009 run is haunting me a bit as I head out onto the course. I mean this is where it just went all wrong two years ago. My quads are only slightly complaining and my left calf is a bit too, but nothing is cramping here and I press forward being somewhat cautiously optimistic. Now remember I have my hydration belt on? Well, as I haven't used it this year, I realize unexpectedly that because I'm a bit thinner this year, that it's not fitting quite as well as before (chuckle). But, I'm able to get it to a place where it'll work after a bit. Now, it's taking my legs a bit of time to get running as usual but I can tell the long brick training is paying off. I'll tell ya though, other folks are not so lucky. I saw one guy who looked like me in 2009 in the very beginning already stopping and walking. And even early on here there are folks moving slowly, some stopping and stretching. But, unlike them, I'm moving well this year and the legs are feeling pretty good relatively speaking. Can I keep this up for the rest of the run? I think here is where club member Greg Snellings passes me and I shout out to him. He looks back and I say hi just for a moment and then wish him a good run as he's moving a bit better than I am at present. I round a corner shortly after this and see the first photographer, give a double thumbs up for the pic, and smile. I mean I really am feeling pretty good here. In 2009, my head was down, and I was barely walking for the photo. I mean I really didn't even want it taken that's how bad I was doing then. The first mile marker comes up shortly after this and I look at my watch. Unbelievably, I'm running at an 8 pace! I'm a bit in disbelief here and wonder if I'm going out too fast. But, I don't seem to be in distress and the legs aren't complaining. So, I press with the pace I'm at. At this point, I reach into the small pouch where I put all my electrolyte tabs and two gels in. But, I reach into emptiness. Yup…all have fallen out as I grabbed the belt because the pouch was open (zipper is stuck). So, I decide that I grab whatever gels are on the course at the aid stations and also use Gatorade on the course more than usual during the latter part of the run as I'll probably be out of my own Powerade I brought (more true than I realized later). Okay, we're moving through the neighborhoods again and a few of them have water hoses out for the runners. One person is hosing folks down and I get this as well. Anything to help keep me cool. On the one street, there's a party getting going and I really like going past this crowd on the way back! I think they had a sign out about this being the Energy Lab, referring to the point on the IM World Championships that's around the 20 something point into the run. We'll see them on the way back then as well. Shame I can't stop on the way back for a quick beer or better yet a margarita for the salt ;-) As we move out of the neighborhoods, we run onto Cambridge West By-pass. While most of the run course doesn't have much shade, this part is especially grueling when it's sunny and hot as there is NO SHADE anywhere and it's all asphalt. In 2008, this was new asphalt and we were in the near 100 degree heat. Pass mile 3 and I'm incredibly still on an 8 min/mile pace! Round the corner taking a right onto Hudson Road and see all the folks still on the bike course coming back. Take in whatever I need at the next aid station but I'm running through it. I think it's here where this one guy with a long stride passes me. I don't really take note of this too much until later and I'll get to that. Now as we're out of the neighborhoods, this is a LONG stretch of road and you can see the long line of runners ahead. I miss the mile 4 marker and so don't know what my pace is through this stretch. Come up to the next aid station and continue to run through it as I yell out for supplies. Grab a gel here, water to gulp, pour over my head and towel, gulp down some Gatorade. Now remember the guy with the long stride? He comes up behind me and passes again. It seems like with a lot of folks today, he's walking through the aid stations. So, I gain on him by running through them and he gains it back shortly thereafter. We do this until I think after mile 8. I don't remember if he just paused too long and I left him or whether he was able to just continue ahead. During this stretch, I see and pass a few folks that had passed me early on. They are now walking and trying to stretch. Or they're walking through the aid stations as I had done in 2008 due to the heat. But, as I come up to mile 5 marker, I'm at a sub 8 pace!! Yeah, I pass it in 39+ minutes. Whoa! And everything is still feeling okay. Granted it's quite warm to hot now. But, taking water and sometimes Gatorade plus using my wet towel, are definitely doing their job to help keep me going here. Past mile 5, my timer goes off again. I take my second Powerade bottle only to see that about half of it has leaked. So I drink the rest and reach for another. This has only water. Reach for the other. This too only has water. Why did I do that? I meant to fill 3 with Powerade and the other with water. One of the main reasons I take the belt is so I can run while drinking. I really can't do that too well with the aid station cups. Oh well. I decide then to reduce my overall weight an also reduce any jiggling by the belt by just splashing the one water over my head and towel. Save the other a bit later. So out of Powerade now and will rely on the course Gatorade instead. Around here I think I see a someone familiar who I seem to be gaining on. It's Greg again. I catch up and ask what's happening? Apparently, the conditions are just wearing on him here. He's still moving though which is better than others. Well, I wish him well for the rest of the run and press onward at the pace I've set. Coming up to mile 6 now and incredibly 3 deer dart across the course in succession!! So what is it with having animal life on the course today? Fortunately, it wasn't on the bike course. At mile 6 I'm at 47+ minutes and still slightly under 8 min/mile. Incredible! Still doing good too! The turn around is just up ahead too! Turn around and a guy passes me with some encouragement saying it's all downhill. I smile at that thought. My friend Mike Matney let's me know later as he was following that my pace to the turn around was right at 8 min/mile (52:30). On the way back now and things are still holding together. I may be slowing slightly but I still seem to be keeping pace pretty well. Just after the turn around are the snow cones! This is quite welcome! I take one and chomp down on the ice. Put some down my shirt and under my hat. What cooling relief! I'm now seeing a lot of runners coming back on the course from the later AG waves. This is so much better than in 2009 when there starting to be very few numbers still on the run course in that latter parts. I almost missed George and he calls out my name. I think I yelled back and later wondered how I looked. George said I was looking good. I meant to say something to how I was feeling but didn't for some reason. Still passing slower folks as we are come back to that stretch of no shade road. I'm still doing good and look at my watch…I'm here under 5 hours! Mental math tells me if I maintain pace, I should reach the finish before 5h 30m. Oh wow! So hold it together here for the next half hour. As we're halfway on the no shade road, I thought my shadow had returned, but it's I a guy I haven't seen before who has the same longish stride the previous guy had. I almost made a comment like "oh, you're back" before I saw it wasn't the same guy. After we complete this part, it's a little under 3 miles to the Finish! Running back through the neighborhoods once again. I'm getting psyched to finish. I see another Intellisys jersey ahead of me then and wonder who that is and if it really is an Intellisys team member. Found out later it was club member Jason Senuta who had a great finishing time. I think Jason paused a the next aid station ahead as I lost track of him somewhere during this stretch. Pass the "Energy Lab" again and yell out if there's beers waiting at the finish? They yell that there are some here and wave to come over. Well, thanks, but not right now ;-) Now the volunteer is holding traffic at the next crossing and telling us to crossover. So I start to cross, but then the car I'm about to cross in front of starts going! React to this by quickly going behind the car as there are none behind him. Couldn't believe he went through! Well, round the next turn after the aid station and down to 2 miles to go. About halfway down this stretch, I decide to pick up my pace slightly. BTW, I pass the guy here who passed me just a bit earlier on the no shade road. That helps a bit mentally to do that. At the end of this stretch, I see the Choptank and the water breeze feels real nice as I turn another corner. Last aid station coming up and mile 12 marker appears shortly after. Round another corner and the guy with the hose is still there watering down folks. I ask to hit me front and back please – AAAAHHH! Pass the outgoing mile 1 marker, round the corner, and now see the race tents at the park. I now really start to pick up my pace! Others are going somewhat slow here, but I'm moving and moving well. Now starting to push as I complete this last longish stretch, round a corner, round the next, and the next is the corner to the Finish! A few guys are here in front and unfortunately, one almost goes down due to cramps. I basically blast by these guys and drive to the Finish! Arms are now pumping, loudspeaker is calling out names, and folks are cheering my on! Coming to the Finish arch just after the guy ahead me, over the timing mats, and raise my arms in triumph at the Finish!! Eagleman 2011 is done!

I had such a good run that there's not much to improve on. The brick training paid off I think. Maybe start that earlier and do a bit more interval work to get more speed. Hydration/electrolyte/nutrition worked great! Perhaps push myself a bit more on the way back but I was just ensuring I didn't cramp like many other (and better) folks did. Gosh, check to make sure my gear I take on the run works and is okay!

After finishing, the nice volunteers handed me water, gave me my Finisher's medal, took my timing chip (took my chip band too, but I have others), and I walked over to the Gatorade area. While I was moving slow, I felt decent considering. Moving slowly but legs weren't really sore much. My back was having a slight issue when I bent over a bit. I decided I should continue to walk around and go grab a soda plus all the great food that was available. Thanked all the volunteers at the food and drink areas. Congratulated other club members as they came in with many having a great time while others just glad they were done. Found out later that all members finished their respective courses which I was glad to hear. George did so well that he was in line for possibly a 70.3 Championship slot but missed it by 2 folks. Well, perhaps another year. Hung around for a while talking to folks. Met back up with Kristen White and chatted with her for a while about her performance. Met members Kelly Cummings and Nicole Prorock who were cheering on their friend Ryan who was doing the race. Kelly said they heard my name (which I didn't) at the finish and rushed over to see but I was pushing so much, they missed me finish. I still thanked them for their support and congratulating me afterwards. Decided to again get a massage on my legs though I had to wait a while for that and out in the sun. They really needed to have shade for the folks who were waiting and this year, it was out on a park road. So folks had to stand or sit on that while they waited. Still, I was VERY appreciative of the massage that the nice woman gave on my legs. Shame I couldn't also spend some time in that Recovery Pump that we tried during the expo ;-)

Packed up my stuff and headed back to George's car to get on home. Treated myself to a large burger with fries for dinner! Yum!



No wetsuit on the swim was a limiter, but I also think my present condition (though pretty good) could be better on the bike wrt power as well as more modern and aero bike equipment.


This race is really like a 4.5. The only detractors I think is that there doesn't seem to be much for families/specators nor are there any places for folks to sit afterwards. I thought there were tables two years ago, but they were not there and I really like to sit in a chair somewhere out of the sun. There's free massage which is great! Now, for those who have not done Eagleman yet and are moving to the Half Ironman distance, this course if for you if you like flat and a close Half Iron event. It promises to be fast but looks can be deceiving as flat means constantly pedaling with no break. And no shade on the run plus hot conditions can mean long and grueling 13.1 miles on the run. The event is very well organized with plenty of volunteers and amenities for the competitors. Well stocked with ice and supplies on the run. Plus it's always a treat to meet with some of the pros. Tri Columbia in my opinion puts on a class act triathlon production and you do get what you pay for here I believe. This year, despite some of my mistakes, I thoroughly enjoyed the event! Will I do it again? Yes, but probably not next year. Now that I've put the ghost of the 2009 disasterous run to rest plus really crushing the course this year, I'll turn my attention to possibly doing a full ironman distance triathlon in 2012.