Ironman 70.3 Miami - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Miami, Florida
United States
Paramount Productions
87F / 31C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 7h 00m
Overall Rank = 1668/2500
Age Group = M40-45
Age Group Rank = 303/
Pre-race routine:

Woke up an hour early and ate bagle with peanut butter, sipped Gatorade. Checked weather report obsessively, as though it was going to change.
Event warmup:

Short walk of half-mile to get blood moving. Light stretching.
Swim
  • 58m 54s
  • 2400 meters
  • 02m 27s / 100 meters
Comments:

No real time expectations going into swim (lack of training) and just took it easy to conserve engery. Tried to maintain a 2:30 or 2:40 pace (per 100m) and was probably right on track. Course was a little long, possibly by 400-500m.
Transition 1
  • 04m 32s
Comments:

The only benefit to being slow is that I have plenty of room to work in T1. No problems, everything went smoothly. Goal was to be under 5:00 and I was, despite the .2 mile run from Swim Exit to T1.
Bike
  • 3h 08m 51s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.79 mile/hr
Comments:

By halfway through bike segment and with no visible aid at aid stations, I reduced effort and lowered expectations. Average speed for first half of bike was 19.2 and for last half was 17.6, overall average speed was 17.8.
Transition 2
  • 06m 17s
Comments:

Took time to put on sun block and take a couple of gels with me since I was not able to find sufficient nutrition on bike.
Run
  • 3h 16m 12s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 14m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

This was a horrible, hot run. It's understandable that race management might change the run course prior to race day, but adding eight loops of a bridge is not acceptable. I had planned to do run/walk intervals of 4:1 in hopes of maintaining a 10:30 or so pace, but that fell apart by a couple miles into the run, so I just walked the rest.
Post race
Warm down:

None, I had to stand in the Finish area for 55 minutes waiting on an event shirt (they had run out) so no warm-down was needed/possible.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Conditions of the race and a general undertraining due to work commitments.

Event comments:

This is the worst-managed race that I've seen as an athlete, a USAT official, or as a volunteer/spectator. Despite WTC's offer of a free 70.3 race entry to athletes who completed this race as an apology for how poorly it played out, I am not sure I would ever consider paying the higher price for an Ironman-brand event in the future.

Transition area opened three hours late and was not secured at night (one bike was missing on race day), expo was horrible, event swag was cheapest garbage I've ever seen, and the race managment staff didn't seem to care. The volunteers were visibily frustrated at their inability to deliver for the athletes who were depending on them.

A more detailed race report is available here: http://www.davidcarr.org/blog/2010/10/2010-ironman-703-miami.html




Last updated: 2010-09-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:58:54 | 2400 meters | 02m 27s / 100meters
Age Group: 291/
Overall: 1510/2500
Performance: Below average
Suit: Triathlon shorts and singlet
Course: Course was counter-clockwise in triangle pattern with four buoys. Difficulty sighting especially for early waves (swimming into sunrise) and for all waves due to lack of sighting buoys along each leg of swim course. Waterway is protected area of Miami Bay, which has a slight current but otherwise makes for an excellent swim location.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 80F / 27C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:32
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:08:51 | 56 miles | 17.79 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/2500
Performance: Below average
Data for lap (5-mile increments) below. Average HR was 152, max HR was 169 bpm. 1 00:17:37 5.00 17.0 2 00:14:56 5.00 20.1 3 00:15:27 5.00 19.4 4 00:15:46 5.00 19.0 5 00:15:29 5.00 19.4 6 00:16:32 5.00 18.1 7 00:17:06 5.00 17.5 8 00:18:05 5.00 16.6 9 00:17:17 5.00 17.4 10 00:17:24 5.00 17.2 11 00:17:10 5.00 17.5 12 00:05:55 1.63 16.5
Wind: Some
Course: Course was an out-and-back through Miami suburbs, including a number of 90-deg turns that required frequent adjustements in speed. Drafting and illegal positioning was commonplace. Local police did an excellent job of stopping traffic (I have no doubt the people of Miami who drove that day hated us) and movement was only hindered once when a car stopped in an intersection blocking my path. Course was full of potholes and bumps, water bottles were ejected four times, eventually put one on frame and one in jersey pocket. Aid stations were stocked insufficiently (only two of three operational) and no promised nutrition available on course until third stop at mile 45.
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence: 75
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 06:17
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Below average
Running
03:16:12 | 13.1 miles | 14m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 303/
Overall: 1668/2500
Performance: Below average
Per GPS, the run course was short at only 12.92 miles. Average HR was 141 and max HR was 169 bpm. 1 00:13:33 1.00 13:33 2 00:13:57 1.00 13:57 3 00:14:23 1.00 14:23 4 00:15:46 1.00 15:46 5 00:14:14 1.00 14:14 6 00:13:45 1.00 13:45 7 00:14:45 1.00 14:45 8 00:14:53 1.00 14:53 9 00:15:46 1.00 15:46 10 00:14:54 1.00 14:54 11 00:16:24 1.00 16:24 12 00:15:42 1.00 15:42 13 00:18:04 0.92 19:36
Course: Course went south along riverwalk and back, then through a waterfront mall and onto a bridge where athletes went east over the bridge and then back west, did a 1-mile out-and-back, then east over bridge and back west, returning to start and repeating. Total times over bridge was eight laps for a race that was a simple out-and-back a year ago when athletes committed. The shade on this course was limited to 200' when passing under the east end of the bridge and maybe 400' due to building shadow just south of turnaround. Air temperature was 87F and humidity was 82%, which yields a heat index of 104F. There was no nutrition available at aid stations (race mgmt promised gels, powerbars, fruit, bagels) and at different times they ran out of water, ice or cups.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? No
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Bad
Race evaluation [1-5] 1