Revolution3 Half Ironman Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Knoxville, Tennessee
United States
Revolution3 Triathlon Series
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 12m 25s
Overall Rank = 36/367
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 9/51
Pre-race routine:

All screwed up. Travelled to Memphis the week before eating BBQ then drove up Atlanta the day before. Forgot cereal and nothing was open so had a cliff bar. Started the day off in a poor sort of way. Nice way to start my first HIM.
Event warmup:

Well pretty much nothing, figured I have plenty of time to warmup. Got gear in transition and made sure bike was in an easy gear. No warmup swim because once you jump in the river from the dock, no way back up onto it. Got in 3 min before wave started, stuck face in the water and took a few strokes to make sure I could breathe in 65 degree water (RD said 70, USAT said 65).
Swim
  • 35m 21s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 40s / 100 yards
Comments:

WOW do I love OWS instead of the pool. So much freedom and 6th out of the water, holy moly. For 115 in the wave, surprised how spread out it became early on. I'm used to sprint starts with the washing machine. First wave so smooth water, if you were in front. I was able to catch a draft from about 250-400, then he dropped me, then was on my own for the remainder. Swimming upstream, current wasn't too strong (not noticable). I stayed close to the shore going up, bilateral breathing sighting every 4 breaths. Seemed to work out great. Back got tired (weird) on the downriver portion. I think the wetsuit has the hips so much higher, I was not used to it. Bumped into a few floating objects, including a sighting buoy, not sure what the others were. Did notice a guy on my feet, he hit my feet twice, and about 500 yards apart so got a great ride. Got out of water near the front and only 1 guy from the next wave 4 minutes back passed me, sweet!!!

Transition 1
  • 01m 48s
Comments:

Not worried about Transitions for my first HIM, figured I take it slow but efficient, just keep moving. Suit came off in a breeze <10 seconds. Decided this season to start with shoes clipped in, that is way too easy, what a snap. Actually turned out to be fairly decent and efficient
Bike
  • 2h 45m 10s
  • 56 miles
  • 20.34 mile/hr
Comments:

Started off in an easy-ish pace to get the legs going and keep the HR down. I enjoyed the course, it had a mixture of climbs, rollers, climbs, etc and happy I'd been training on hills intermittently. Overall kept the HR in check and didn't chase too many people that passed me. I had been training to not fry my legs during the bike and wanted to do the same here so was hard but comfortable. I didn't chase too many rabbits that passed me, which was spordic as it was. Just a guy here, a guy there, nothing like pacelines or anything. Most of the ride was completely by myself with not another rider in sight, that was odd but refreshing, like a training ride. Around mile 47, the legs started to get tired and losing power so backed off slightly to keep HR in check.
Since this is in the country, I'd hear a dog bark and immediately scan searching for the linebacker to come get me. Unlike rural Georgia, rural Tennessee has figured out how to keep the dogs enclosed on their property. Whew!
Around mile 14, a volunteer at a turn wasn't wearing a shirt and was completely ripped doing muscle poses pointing the turn up ahead. I sat up, tried to flex my right bicep and grunt back, he laughed as I went by going around 22 mph. THANKS Mr Volunteer, I'm wirey, not skinny!
Throughout the bike leg, my stomach was hurting and I kept thinking, if I see a portojohn, I'm gonna stop. I remember reading the dood's report from Augusta a few years ago about a guy riding by him and I wasn't going to be that guy. Never found one and low and behold, no issue on the run, awesome.
What would you do differently?:

Realize my legs will be torched on the run anyway so push a little harder and chase those darn rabbits.
Transition 2
  • 01m 46s
Comments:

Took my feet out way too soon, like 1/2 mile down the street, oops. Get to the dismount line all by myself, flip leg over, hop off in a psuedo run and jog into T-2. Awesome! Then get to my rack, argh someones wetsuit is where my rear wheel goes in the rack. So reach down, move the wetsuit and rack the bike. No biggy. Again, HIM, don't rush, smooth, easy, efficient. Socks roll right on, shoes on (thanks Yankz) gu loaded up, drop empty gu packs, helmet off, wave to wife and daughter, and off.
Run
  • 1h 48m 20s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 16s  min/mile
Comments:

Started off feeling good, easy pace just clicking the time by not looking at the watch, just running at a reserved pace. Mile 1 down, mile 2 down, mile 3 down, feeling awesome, this is great and wow, I am actually enjoying this race. Mile 4, see the hill, well to keep the HR in check, decide to walk up it. At this point, I catch the 18yr old in pink that passed me on the bike, he is struggling. I comment, hey dude, calf? Nope it his foot is numb and he's not sure whey. WOW, that sucks. So get to the top and I keep digging, plodding along, up and down the long rollers. At the turnaround, my legs started getting tight so I develop the walk the aid station routine. Sure enough, it works!! Grab a cup of water, walk 30-45 seconds, refreshed, legs feel good, back to plodding along. This keeps up for the rest of the race and when I see a hill, I sacrificed speed for HR, Overall pace diminished but at least I didn't implode. At mile 9, I finally look at my watch, holy moly, I've banked a ton of time! I learned a lot with this run, choices, slow down early on and struggled late, or run based on feel early on and struggle late. Go with the latter.
Then I'm about at the 12.6 mark and the left quad starts to cramp on the uphills, oh no, walk, waddle, jog, run, etc. Just glad it waited til I was almost to the line. Not the best run ever but decent experience and a huge learning.
Post race
Warm down:

Get the foil wrapper, wow, what a difference that makes. Hear Slayer announced as he crosses the line so go congratulate him and introduce myself briefly, then see 15step Daniel cross and say hi to him. Kinda walk around on toasted legs that were cramping and super tight/sore, walk all the way back down to Transition to pack up the gear then push the bike back up to the hotel, jump in car and sleep on the way home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Happy with the effort other than the stomach pains.

Event comments:

Rev 3 - great race, great venue, tons of volunteers and atmospere was awesome. The family loved it.
First HIM, success! But these long races sure test my patience.




Last updated: 2010-12-29 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:21 | 2112 yards | 01m 40s / 100yards
Age Group: 5/51
Overall: 17/367
Performance: Good
Suit: QR Superfull
Course: Upriver swim about 800 yards, then straight back down past the start pulling out about 500 yds downstream of the start. Swim start, you jump off a dock and float for for a couple minutes before your wave, pretty easy. Swim exit is also a floating dock. No ladder but someone there to help you out and pull you up if you can't flop onto the deck.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:48
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:45:10 | 56 miles | 20.34 mile/hr
Age Group: 8/51
Overall: 34/367
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: Start downtown and first 3-4 miles on closed roads/highways then you get out into the countryside. Plenty of climbing and not too many long flat parts. Definately a fair course as there was absolutely no pack riding because of the ascents/decents. Couple 1-2 mile climbs but not brutal. Decents were technical with curves. THere were tons of volunteers and police blocking traffic which kept all the intersections clear. 3 aid stations with GU and Gatorade bottles. Course a little long at 56.8
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:46
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:48:20 | 13.1 miles | 08m 16s  min/mile
Age Group: 22/51
Overall: 90/367
Performance: Average
7:20 pace first 5k, 7:40 next 3 miles, then mixed run/walk at 8:30-9:30ish for the balance.
Course: Out and back, fairly flat for the first 3 miles (last 3). The middle section at mile 4 has a steep hill that took about 30 seconds to walk up. Miles 4-6 to turnaround and back was a mixture of rolling hills through a neighborhood, definatley more hills that I'd had been lead to believe. At least 6 of the 13 miles were actually flat.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
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