Ironman 70.3 Boise - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Boise, Idaho
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
53F / 12C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 09m 20s
Overall Rank = 213/1420
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 33/192
Pre-race routine:

Bike was checked in Friday up at T1 (Point-to-Point bike leg). I drove the course after bike check-in, and then headed back to the hotel to hang with the family.
Even with a noon start, I still woke up at 4am, then spent the next 3 hours trying to get back to sleep... with no success. I did like that I could have a normal breakfast (waffles,eggs etc), instead of bagels w/peanut butter, bananas and ensure, tucked away in the darkness and silence of a hotel room, so as not to wake up the wife.
Arrived at T2 in downtown Boise, checked in the run gear, and caught the shuttle up to the reservoir. I had nearly 3 hours at the reservoir before my wave started (I was in the 12th of 13 waves.. more on this later), but I enjoyed just sitting and taking in the sun, the atmoshpere, and watching the 1500 athletes and thousands of spectators moving in all directions.


Event warmup:

No warm-up
Swim
  • 33m 30s
  • 1931 meters
  • 01m 44s / 100 meters
Comments:

I spent the past two weeks doing open-water swims in Hymrum Dam which was in the low 50's, so I was completely prepared for the shock of the cold water. In fact, those OWS practices helped keep my nerves in check leading up to the start of the race.
Transition 1
  • 03m 47s
Comments:

Decided to do the flying mount, which I have practiced many times, but never had done in an actual race. I got on, got my feet on top of the shoes, and got out of T1 good... just as I was thinking how proud and relieved I was to have pulled it off, my left foot slipped off the shoe and as it shot around the crank, it hit the ground, which forced it out of the clip and flew a good 15 feet. So I had to stop the bike and go back against traffic with a slightly bruised ego to recover my shoe.

What would you do differently?:

I like what one BT'r said, they just leave there shoes clipped in all the time and thats how they do all of their training rides, mounting and dismounting, so I'm going to start doing that now.
Bike
  • 2h 42m 52s
  • 56 miles
  • 20.63 mile/hr
Comments:

I really enjoyed the bike ride. I realized that being in the 2nd to last wave has it's benefits, because I did a whole lot of passing rather than getting passed. I figured, if had been in the 2nd or 3rd wave, after the Pros, I would have been completely demoralized by all the people I'm sure that would have passed me.
My goal, based off of my training was a 21 mph, so I fell short of that, but I still felt really good with my bike time. I felt real good as I came into T2, which set me up for a great run, so maybe a 21 mph would have cost me on the run... I don't know.
Transition 2
  • 02m 10s
Comments:

Coming off the bike I had to pee but I figured I would just take care of it while running (I've actually been practicing that)... but right before the exit of T2 a girl stepped out of the porta-potty, and with no line I just jumped in and took care of business. I was trying for a 1 minute T2, and I'm sure that added 30 seconds or more.
Run
  • 1h 47m 1s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

I had the run of my life. For most an 8:10 is hardly noteworthy, but after the 1.2 swim and the 56 bike, the fastest I've been able to do is 9:00mm.
I usually go out too fast and blow up around mile 9. This time I really had to pull back the reins on the first 6 miles. At times, early on, I found myself running a 7:30mm, so I would slow up, which before I just kept with it. This time at the start of the second loop I still felt fresh, so I picked it up slightly, so from mile 6 - 10 I was doing about an 8:15mm, and at mile 10 I still felt really good, so I dropped it to a 7:30mm for the last 3 miles. About the 12.5 marker I started feeling like maybe I started my push too early, but just about that time, I rounded the corner where I could see the finish line, although it was still some distance away, I got a another bolt of energy from the crowd, and I practically did a dead sprint the last 1/4 mile.

I converted to running in sandals about 7 months ago (I've had so many ankle and toe issues I was willing to try anything, and while I still don't know the science behind it or the long-term affects... for me... right now... its paradise!), and while thats all I have trained in since then, I was nervous how it would be in a race. IT WAS BUTTER. I killed my fastest race-time by 20 minutes.
Post race
Warm down:

Eat, Eat, Eat, and then I ate some more.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I need more time on the bike

Event comments:

This is my first IRONMAN trademarked race.... I'm not sure I can go back to the others. The organization was incredible. The volunteers were AMAZING.




Last updated: 2010-12-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:33:30 | 1931 meters | 01m 44s / 100meters
Age Group: 31/192
Overall: 189/1420
Performance: Average
Suit: Orca Equip
Course: One Triangle loop
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 53F / 12C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:47
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Bad
Biking
02:42:52 | 56 miles | 20.63 mile/hr
Age Group: 38/192
Overall: 235/1420
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Point - to point. First 1/2 took us out North of the Boise Airport, then for the last 1/2 we wound our way into downtown Boise.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 100
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:10
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
01:47:01 | 13.1 miles | 08m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 33/192
Overall: 213/1420
Performance: Good
Course: Two loops along the greenbelt pathway, around the Boise River. It was a beautiful trail.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
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:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5