Ironman Kansas 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Lawrence, Kansas
United States
66F / 19C
Sunny
Total Time = 7h 22m 52s
Overall Rank = 1141/
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 62/82
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4am... watched lightning in the south and still had a lot of wind, so switched back to stock wheels. Bagel and PB, banana, water.
Separate transitions, so had to pack T1 and T2 bags.
Event warmup:

Rode with IronKids Saturday am, 20 miles...
Walk to T1 (twice) which is approx 1/2 mile from campsite.
Swim
  • 53m 44s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 32s / 100 yards
Comments:

Rough swim. Start was good, felt like I was in a good position, as wave was spread pretty evenly across start line. Almost right away, we got into lots of chop, just short of white caps. Wind blowing across course, so no advantage in either direction. Waves were tall, hindering stroke a number of times. Caught a number of waves where my hand going up in the strok never cleared the water, and then got thrown down into the bottom of the wave. I knew early on this wasn't going to be my best swim, just focused on getting through it.
What would you do differently?:

sleeveless suit possibly, and sighting more frequently.
Transition 1
  • 07m 2s
Comments:

With split transitions, we were supposed to cram everything into a back so the volunteers could haul the bags up to T2, or risk leaving stuff in T1 and risk it "walking away"... so this took a bit longer.
What would you do differently?:

I would be really tempted to just leave everything there and come back for it... it appeared to me as we ran past T1 twice that a lot of people had made that decision -- prior-year participants perhaps?
Bike
  • 3h 22m 28s
  • 56 miles
  • 16.60 mile/hr
Comments:

Really windy, many parts of which were cross winds. As much as I would have liked to be on the race wheels, I think the decision made earlier was the right one - I think I would have been fighting the bike too much otherwise... on two of the aid stations i grabbed a water, squeezed as much as i could into the aero bottle then drank what i could prior to the last trash bin. Feel like I managed the Infinit/nutrition and water intake pretty well. Never felt like I had excess sloshing around inside. Since I considered this a training event and really just wanted to make sure I didn't have another Galveston episode, pretty much just sat back and kept the pedals turning, not worrying about the clock.
What would you do differently?:

probably go with the 58s, would be the only difference.
Transition 2
  • 03m 50s
Comments:

Had to open bag, because I had wrapped my T bag in a plastic garbage bag in anticipation of rain.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure I would have done much differently, with the uncertain weather conditions. I am okay with this one
Run
  • 2h 55m 48s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 13m 25s  min/mile
Comments:

Started off pretty decently. Stop at mile 1 for potty break. Down and back up the hill, fully intended to walk up the hill. First 8 miles or so were at a pretty good pace, slow but not a lot of walking other than the hill.
2nd lap walked hill again, and humidity/heat was going up, so I walked a bit more. finished the last 3-4 miles alongside a Internal Medicine doc, probably walking more than I should have.
Drank water off the course, and actually successfully worked with the Perform Mango. This one isn't excessively sweet. cups were half full so it was enough for me. usually 1 cup perform and 1 water at entry to aid station, and grabbing 2 more waters exiting, 1 to drink and 1 for the head. But I am pretty sure they will have different flavor of Perform on IMFL, which will be too sweet.
The finish itself was awesome! Chrissie Wellington putting the medal around my neck. What a memory that will be!
What would you do differently?:

Need to remember to put a bandanna under my hat, cuz I think it would help 1) retain more of the cool water I dumped on my head, and 2) keep some of the heat off the back of my neck.
Post race
Warm down:

walk to campsite, HoneyMilk and water, and followed by a Coke while walking back up to transition to pick up my stuff. Chips and another coke in finishers' tent.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Wind, mental "stress" about the Galveston episode... just wanting to get the monkey off my back.

Event comments:

The race itself was put on well, with plenty of volunteers. Spectator-friendly venue. Camping in park is definitely the way to go, very convenient. Having IronKids on Saturday makes this a family-friendly event. I would definitely return for this one.
My race could have been better - swim could have gone a little better, bike might have been improved with wheels and after coming out of the water in better shape. The run is actually an improvement from previous HIMs, especially with the hill x2. But the goal was to finish vertically, and that was accomplished. So I will take what I learned from this into the IMFL journey.




Last updated: 2011-01-06 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:53:44 | 2112 yards | 02m 32s / 100yards
Age Group: 57/82
Overall: 1077/
Performance: Below average
Suit: Nineteen Full sleeve
Course: long U-shaped out, short bottom of U and long back in
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: High
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Below average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Below average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 07:02
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
03:22:28 | 56 miles | 16.60 mile/hr
Age Group: 61/82
Overall: 1036/
Performance: Good
Wind: Cross-winds with gusts
Course: Single loop with 2 turnarounds. From T1 by the water, immediately up a hill, exiting the park and out on to country roads. return into the park to T2 which is at the top of the outbound hill.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Average Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:50
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Below average
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:55:48 | 13.1 miles | 13m 25s  min/mile
Age Group: 62/82
Overall: 1141/
Performance: Average
Course: 2-loop course inside the park. Each loop is 1 mile out toward park entrance and turnaround, going all the way down the hill to the water and turnaround. Back up hill and right turn to wind through camp area.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3