Marquee Triathlon - DuathlonStandard


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Tempe, Arizona
United States
Red Rock Co.
45F / 7C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 59m 10s
Overall Rank = 127/180
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 39/49
Pre-race routine:

Got up about 4:45 and got everything loaded into the car. Boy was it cool out! Ate some oatmeal on the way and parked the car. Made my way to transition and dried off my bike. Of course I thought the rain was over for the day when I went to rack my bike, so I didn't cover it so my armpads were soaked race day morning. Met up with fellow BT'er Todd S. and talked with a guy from my work as well as my neighbor. Got the rest of transition set up and hit the restroom one last time before heading up to the start line.
Event warmup:

Mostly bouncing around at the start line waiting for everything to kick in. Of course the swim was cancelled due to the Tempe Town Lake conditions from the rain, then the start line inflatable started to collapse when a generator kicked off, then finally we were told that we had to delay the start because there was a car wreck up on the bike course and it was blocking all 4 lanes of traffic. Finally we were clear to start and I was in the 2nd wave for the start of what was supposed to be my first 1/2 Iron Distance Triathlon, now a 1/2 Iron distance Duathlon.
Run
  • 31m 35s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 10m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

It was plenty cool at the start of the day, so I wore my bike arm warmers for the 1st run and the entire bike ride. I've never ran more than 13.1 miles in a single day before, so I took this first run pretty easy, just making sure I didn't set myself up for a long day.
What would you do differently?:

I could have pushed it just a bit harder, but not really too much if I didn't want to mess up my ride and the last run.
Transition 1
  • 01m 54s
Comments:

Easy T1 here with no swim. I took off my race bib belt, got my running shoes off and bike shoes on w/o any problems. This should have been faster, but I guess I stood around wondering if I forgot something because it was so going so smoothly.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, just quick dorking around. I was just really afraid of forgetting something. I hadn't done a Tri since August.
Bike
  • 3h 10m 1s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.68 mile/hr
Comments:

The wind wasn't super strong, but it seemed to come from all directions. A week prior to the race I rode the course and was flying down at 24-25 MPH on the way back. This weekend I could only manage an average of 18.1 MPH based on the 57.22 mile distance. Still not bad. I kept my HR between 145 and 150 and averaged 148. It was good to see familiar faces out on the bike course. Nutrition and hydration worked out well with Cytomax and Larabars. This was the first time I had really thought about a race nutrition plan and it worked pretty well.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. Not forget my sunscreen for one. I have a decent sunburn on shoulders, legs and small of my back. I was tempted so many times to pick up the pace on the bike when people were passing me, but I held out and saved myself for the run.
Transition 2
  • 02m 46s
Comments:

I have no idea why this transition was so long. I had to put my race belt back on and also my hydration belt, but it didn't feel like I spent almost 3 minutes in this transition. I had taken my feet out of my shoes prior to dismount and when my feet hit the ground I felt my legs wobble badly. I was immediately wondering how I was going to run a half marathon after that ride. I wobbled over to my rack and got my running shoes on and the two belts and headed out to the run course.
What would you do differently?:

I'm trying to figure out what I did for almost 3 minutes in transition here. I should have somebody video tape my transitions so I can figure out where I'm wasting time.
Run
  • 2h 12m 53s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 08s  min/mile
Comments:

As soon as I got out of T2, I hit the restroom because I was dying on the bike I needed to go so badly. I stopped my Garmin while in the bathroom and I think I spent almost a minute in there. As soon as I came out, my legs were back and I set off running. My first mile was my fastest of the whole run, but after that I dialed it back down and was trying to keep my HR around 155 for the first loop. As that loop progressed, I started creeping up toward 160 and I didn't try to stop it. I felt good after the first loop so on the 2nd I sped up and let it go to 160+. Toward the end I was at 170 and spiked to 175 or so. Aid stations were good and frequent. I downed a few animal crackers, pretzels and oranges. The oranges were really good on the course. I was drinking the Ironman Powerade and it was not the best drink out there, so I drank all the water from my hydration belt. I took a Hammer gel (Apple Cinnamon) at the start of the run and then every 45 minutes or so. I passed on the beer at the last aid station on both loops. I originally thought I'd be in the 2:15 to 2:20 range for this run, so the 2:12 (2:11 if you don't count the bathroom break) I ran was very cool.
What would you do differently?:

At this point, nothing. I was happy with my pacing and my fueling. Legs felt good the whole time and I just barely negatively split the run. I plan on building more run time this year as I plan to finally run a full marathon in my quest for full IM status.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around with my family that met me at the finish line, watched a few more people come in (todds) and drank some more nasty orange Powerade. After getting some more fluids in me, I packed up transition and headed home. Got a big Chipotle chicken fajita bowl and it tasted so good.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Wind on the bike course, lack of longer run training. 8 miles was just about the highest I had run lately. If the swim hadn't been cancelled, I probably would have been about 15-20 minutes slower on my overall finish time. Oh well, having completed this one will make my next 70.3 seem so much less daunting.

Event comments:

What a great race! I didn't have a great training plan for this race (read: no training plan) and I probably wouldn't have been able to follow it if I did since work had been so crazy lately. I was stoked to finish this race and can't wait to tackle my next half Iron distance...hopefully with a swim this time.

Photos at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112143&id=1125210883&l=51333...





Last updated: 2010-11-15 12:00 AM
Running
00:31:35 | 03.1 miles | 10m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 47/49
Overall: 170/180
Performance: Good
1 00:09:59** 2 00:10:26** 3 00:10:30** 4 00:00:38
Course: Easy 3 mile loop around the lake in the opposite direction of what would later that day become the half marathon course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
T1
Time: 01:54
Overall: Good
Run with bike? Good
Jump on bike?
Getting up to speed and into shoes:
Biking
03:10:01 | 56 miles | 17.68 mile/hr
Age Group: 37/49
Overall: 131/180
Performance: Good
HR was appx 160 when I finally got going on the bike out of T1, so I just settled down and let my HR come down.
Wind: Some
Course: 2 loops of a shortened IMAZ bike. Course measured about 14.25 miles long according to my Garmin, so my total bike was 57.22 miles.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 82
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:46
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:12:53 | 13.1 miles | 10m 08s  min/mile
Age Group: 34/49
Overall: 116/180
Performance: Good
1 09:34 ** 2 10:14 ** 3 10:16 ** 4 10:32 ** 5 10:15 ** 6 10:10 ** 7 09:51 ** 8 09:45 ** 9 09:39 ** 10 09:51 ** 11 10:11 ** 12 10:21 ** 13 10:02 ** 14 10:36
Course: 2 clockwise loops around Tempe Town Lake with a short out and back along Rio Salado.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5