Beach 2 Battleship Iron Distance - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Wilmington, North Carolina
United States
Setup Events
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 11h 50m 4s
Overall Rank = 80/429
Age Group = 20-24
Age Group Rank = 2/18
Pre-race routine:

Nothing unusual. Woke up 4am ate bowl of oatmeal, banana, and some water. Felt good but just not quite there (if that makes any sense) I just wasn't as amped and excited as I was for Louisville.
Event warmup:

WARMUP!!!?!?!?! Ha! It was 30 degrees, once I got down to the water after the long beach walk to the start I got in the water swam out about 80yds and was called back in to start the race.
Swim
  • 1h 20m 48s
  • 4224 yards
  • 01m 55s / 100 yards
Comments:

Well the swim...It was suppose to be an incoming tide that puts up super fast swim times, instead there was no tide and there were some really slow times. Hind sight is 20/20 but I shouldn't have just assumed the swim would be fast. I did 1:20 in Louisville and that was without a suit. I should have trained and got the swim down closer to 1:10. Not much to say, just didn't go hard used it as a warm-up for a long day.

On a good note I was 158 overall on the swim still top 25%
What would you do differently?:

Train more in the Water.
Transition 1
  • 08m 10s
Comments:

It was a very long run from the water to T1. Like 400 yds long. And COLD!!! But when I got to the tent I took my time made sure to get everything on. This was my first IM so Transitions weren't a concern. Maybe next time I'll go faster
Bike
  • 5h 48m 53s
  • 112 miles
  • 19.26 mile/hr
Comments:

If there is anything I hated about this race it was the Bike course. It was flat, boring, and super windy. We started out with a slight headwind but nothing unbearable. The further into the bike the stronger it got. I kept thinking this is great. We will get a tail wind for the 2nd half of the bike. I WAS WRONG! We got a tailwind for the last 20 or so miles. I fully expected a bike time of around 5:20-30 not near 6 hours. Oh well you have to take what the course gives you, and this one was tough. Much tougher than expected.

97 overall on the bike still top 25%
Transition 2
  • 05m 9s
Comments:

I was just so happy to be off the stinking bike. I sat there and got my composure before the real work started.
Run
  • 4h 27m 6s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 10m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

I went into the run thinking I would go out and back at a very slow pace (which is hard to control) then I'd pick it up on the way back out. So the first 13 miles were pretty uneventful at around a 10-11 min pace. I only walked at aid stations. I refused to allow myself to walk and I was passing the land of zombies the entire time by actually running. Then the 2nd half came. I planned to pick it up and though I felt really good I just couldn't. I had formed a rhythm and just couldn't break it. So I stayed at around 10-11 min miles. The cool part was definitely getting to blow by (well waddle by) people walking up hills. I got to see the family 3 times on the course and that means a lot when you've been out there for that long. Sure picks you up a bit. All I've ever heard was that the race starts at mile 18 of the run. Well that is stupid! I kept expecting to find this mythical place where the pain and zombie land would kick in... it didn't. And I can only attest that to good pacing and good nutrition. At around mile 20 I started wondering what my time would be, after the bad bike I knew going anywhere near 11hrs would be out of the question so now I was wondering if I would break 12:15 (a secret goal I've had since IMLou). Surprisingly my brain was functioning enough to do math and I realized that if I could just run sub 10 min miles the rest of the way I would break 12 hrs. The next 2 miles to the 22 mile marker where at 9:40's. (This is going to be tougher than I think.) I just kept pushing. Then somewhere between 22 and 23 it clicked I picked it up and I really picked it up. I was running through the darkness headed to the downtown lights, people, and the finish at around a 7:45 pace. I would run sub 8 min miles to the finish. The screaming crowds and the sight of the Battleship across the river helped a lot. The pure raw emotion of a years worth of training being over fueled my fire. I hit the two big bridges in the last 2 miles with a vengeance and never dropped pace. People thought I was crazy. Seriously one guy (who was on his first loop) said you know you have to turn around and run another 13 miles? I screamed no I don't I'm going home!!!! My last mile was 6:51 pace. It was incredible. No words can explain it. I felt no pain and was running my fastest miles by far in the last miles of the Marathon. Who does that? When I finally made that finishing shoot I couldn't help but smile, I saw my wife and Keegan and then a few tears and a huge smile started coming. They had put just as many hours into this as I had and it made it even more special having them see me finish. No words can explain that feeling of finishing your first Iron distance. I will never forget it.


97 overall run top 25%
Post race
Warm down:

Ha post event warm down! I was freezing!

Event comments:

Set-up does a great job. The race and venue is incredible. The only down fall is the boring bike course, but everything else is great!




Last updated: 2010-09-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:20:48 | 4224 yards | 01m 55s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/18
Overall: 158/429
Performance: Below average
Suit: Full Sleeve Xterra Velocity
Course: Channel, salt water swim
Start type: Run Plus: Shot
Water temp: 65F / 18C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 08:10
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
05:48:53 | 112 miles | 19.26 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/18
Overall: 97/429
Performance: Average
Wind: Headwind with gusts
Course: Somewhat flat. Well its flatter than I'm used to but there were occasional climbs, one big one on the interstate section when crossing a bridge. It was a welcomed sight in my opinion.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 05:09
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
04:27:06 | 26.2 miles | 10m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/18
Overall: 97/429
Performance: Average
Course: HILLYYYYYYY!!!! Really it was hilly and unexpectedly, hilly. 2 massive bridges, and lots of ups and downs in town. Think of a downtown near a river bank. They all have some good hills. 2 out and backs.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5