Beach2Battleship Half Iron Distance Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Wilmington, North Carolina
United States
Set Up Events
68F / 20C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 14m 23s
Overall Rank = 255/441
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 34/59
Pre-race routine:

Woke up @1:30 am to go to the bathroom and then couldn't fall back to sleep.Drank an Ensure and some water. I was definitely nervous due to the fact that I got sick and spent the most part of the previous 4 days in bed.I laid in bed awake until about 4:30 when i decided to just get up and listen to my Ipod and eat breakfast.Breakfast consisted of 2 bowls granola cereal with almond milk.I also had a banana and a bottle of water.I also had a handful of pretzels before I left the hotel around 6:15.
Event warmup:

Headed to T1 with my wife to drop off my bottles of Perpetuum and put my Garmin 705 on my bike. Checked tires and made sure brakes were not rubbing against rims.Set up my transition area,got body marked and jumped on bus to swim start(7:45). waiting for my wave was pretty nerve racking as my wave was second to last to hit the water(8:55am).We did get to go in the water for about 5 mins before our wave went off. I used this time to quickly acclimate to the cold water and swim a little.Actually the 64 degree water wasn't too bad compared to the air temp(48 degrees). I also went to the bathroom about 15 mins before my wave went in and took 3 Endurolytes and drank more water.
Swim
  • 44m 31s
  • 2078 yards
  • 02m 08s / 100 yards
Comments:

My swim was slower than anticipated but I was ok with that.Being that I just learned how to swim last winter made it acceptable.The current that everyone talked about wasn't there this year according to most people.Swim times were generally much slower t5han in the 2 previous years.At times I felt the current,other time it felt as if I was swimming in place.I navigated very poorly at times so i added about an extra 2/10 of a mile according to my Garmin 310xt.At one point I was following a small group and as we headed towards the green turn buoy they were way left and they just kept going,cutting off quite a distance. I decided to swim back across the channel anf around the buoy the proper way because I just felt it was just cheating myself if I cut all that distance off. I also got confused in the marina area and ended up swimming way too far right in the first section of the marina. I thought the swim exit was over there. I did a very poor job sighting.Once I figured out everybody was going in the other direction I regrouped and continued to swim towards the exit in the distance.
What would you do differently?:

Sight better. Know the course better. Next year, I will do a practice swim from The Blockade Runner to the swim exit for practice the day before the race. This year I just swam out to the middle of the channel and back for practice.
Transition 1
  • 06m 36s
Comments:

Basically it was a pretty long run to T1 from the water exit. Aprox 1/4 mile,some of it over asphalt. i wore neoprene booties for the swim and they really helped on the run to T1. I took my time in T1 to dry my arms off so i could get my arm warmers on.I decided to not wear a long sleeved cycling jersey because I knew It was going to get warm in a few hours.I did put socks on to keep my feet warm and that helped.
What would you do differently?:

Move a little faster
Bike
  • 2h 59m
  • 56 miles
  • 18.77 mile/hr
Comments:

I had a decent bike split.Rode conservatively and made sure to stay in power and HR zones. Drank 3.5 bottles, 2 gels, a hammer bar, and had Endurolytes every 20 mins. Had one guy that kept sucking on my rear wheel It was pretty annoying. He would then pass me and then eventually fall back and stay on my wheel again.I didn't want to get a drafting penalty because of this dope. I finally dropped him at the Blueberry turnaround.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I pretty much rode they way my coach and I had planned.
Transition 2
  • 04m 47s
Comments:

As i got closer to the dismount line I unclipped my right foot and kicked my right leg over my bike and rode in on my left leg. Unfortunately,I didn't unclip my left foot fast enough so I got off balance and almost took out the left arch at the dismount line. That was too funny. I had to laugh at myself on that. A volunteer quickly took my bike from me and I ran towards T2 to find my bag. A volunteer asked what my number was and they helped me find the right rack. My left quad locked up as soon as I bent over to put my running shoes on. Oh no. I knew I was going to be in for a long run. As much as I drank and ate I still must have been dehydrated my the meds I was taking all week. I was afraid this would happen.I also had to take a pee so I stopped for a quick one and proceeded to almost run out the run exit. I was about to run through the full IM exit but a volunteer stopped and I was redirected back down the transition area, across and towards the correct exit.
What would you do differently?:

I wasted too much time in T2. probably 2-3 mins extra
Run
  • 2h 19m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 10m 37s  min/mile
Comments:

I gave it everything I had on the run. I had nothing left by the time I hit the finish line. I ended up sitting in the warming tent for about 30 mins after I finished because I felt really sick again.
What would you do differently?:

Not get sick the week of the race, Damnit!
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Cramps/exhaustion on run

Event comments:

I plan on coming back next year to either do a much faster half or to try the full 140.6. I will decide over the next month or so




Last updated: 2010-11-18 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:44:31 | 2078 yards | 02m 08s / 100yards
Age Group: 54/59
Overall: 380/441
Performance: Below average
AVG Hr=117bpm, max HR 133bpm
Suit: DeSoto
Course: The swim takes place in Banks Channel and is a point to point swim.Basically, you swim straight up the channel to a green buoy then make a 90 degree left hand turn into the marina area. The swim exit is on the right side of the marina
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 64F / 18C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Below average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Bad
T1
Time: 06:36
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:59:00 | 56 miles | 18.77 mile/hr
Age Group: 31/59
Overall: 243/441
Performance: Good
Avg HR= 132bpm, max hr=147bpm Avg watts=182 Cadence=81 rpm
Wind: Headwind
Course: Course was pretty nice. After winding on roads away from Wrightsville Beach we got on I-140 for a nice long smooth ride. At this point we pretty much had a crosswind of 10-15mph.After heading west on I-140 we turned onto Rte 421 North. Here is where we head a headwind and sections of false flats.The course turned left onto Blueberry Road for a bit then we turned around and headed back. At this point I knew we had about 15 miles or so to the Battleship so I picked up my pace. We finally had the strong winds to our back so I avg 22-24mph for the last 15 or so miles.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 81
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 04:47
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:19:00 | 13.1 miles | 10m 37s  min/mile
Age Group: 37/59
Overall: 254/441
Performance: Bad
avg hr=138 max hr=155
Course: Nice course that had 2 bridges that had to be crossed in the first 2 miles and on the return in the last 2 miles. This made for quite a challenge for me as my left quad and hamstring kept cramping up. I ended up having to walk up part of the uphills. I had to stop and stretch quite a few times on the run to stop the cramping.It was a very painful and slow run for me.The section by the Hilton was really nice because there were lots of people lining the streets cheering us on. The course ran out along Greenfield Lake as well.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Ok
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